About Second Chance
Mission
Our mission is to empower people to change their lives. We accomplish this through:
- Job readiness
- Employment placement
- Housing placement
- Connecting community resources
- In-house supportive services
We support ongoing success through:
- Education
- Enhancing life skills
- Establishing long term stable relationships.
Second Chance
- Second Chance gets people off the streets and into the workforce to become contributing members of society, improving public health, safety and financial stability.
- Second Chance carries out its mission by providing workforce readiness training and job placement programs, as well as wrap-around services, to youth (16-18 years old), adults, veterans, former substance abusers and formerly incarcerated persons.
- Second Chance delivers workforce readiness training programs, supported by wrap-around services that include rehabilitation, housing, mental health and financial literacy, to get people off the streets and into the workforce.
- Second Chance’s nationally known work readiness program develops appropriate workplace behavior, effective interviewing, job search techniques, and a positive outlook toward working and employment.
- Three university-performed, independent studies demonstrate that each year, 70 percent of Second Chance graduates remain employed for at least two years after completing workforce training.
- These life transformations mean a more stable community, a reduction in government costs, and a powerful response to the State of California’s prison realignment program.
- Since our founding in 1993, Second Chance has graduated over 5,000 individuals who are now contributing members of society, earning wages and paying taxes.
- Second Chance estimates that our 18 years of service has returned more than $400 million of avoid government costs for public services and more than $100 million in government payments in the form of state and federal income taxes from our graduates. This equates to a 1,000% return on investment.
- The community can support Second Chance in any of the following ways:
- Sponsor a workforce readiness training class
- Offer our graduates employment opportunities
- Volunteer on a committee
- Host a Second Chance Friend-Raiser
- Make a donation

