What we do

Recovery Career Services helps people in recovery find and keep work.

How?

Recovery Career Services helps people in recovery from addiction, homelessness, and past criminal justice involvement find and keep work. We also provide education to employers and HR professionals about the importance of offering employment opportunities and support for these populations.

We connect with, relate to, coach, and educate people in recovery to help them move from addiction to sustainable employment. Many of the people we serve have experienced homelessness; they may also have criminal records. We don’t discriminate: we’re here for anyone who wants to return to employment and put the past behind them, or any company interested in having hiring policies that allow for more inclusion of these individuals.

Who do you work with?

We serve individuals, employers, and organizations that provide support services to people who are working their way out of addiction and those in recovery.

What services do you provide for individuals?

For individuals looking to re-enter the workforce, we provide confidential, customized career coaching (please see our coaching page for this program). We also offer individual coaching for those who are currently working. We typically work with two groups of people:

The House Has Burned

These individuals are usually starting over from scratch. The typical client will have been in recovery for 30 days or more, out of work or underemployed, and figuring out how to find and keep employment. We connect clients to facilitators and organizations that can help them take advantage of retraining, educational programs, and other resources. We also offer skills discovery, resume preparation, mock interviews, and employment referrals for those with little or no work history.

For this group of individuals, we also know that having a valid driver’s license is incredibly important for employment. For many who are restarting their work lives, the first positions available are usually in-person, on-site positions, where being physically present is necessary. It can be challenging to find and keep employment without the ability to drive. Significant fines often impede people from getting their licenses reinstated, and we are designing a program to assist with funds to help with this problem.

The House is On Fire

This group includes people who are still working but whose careers have been impacted by drug or alcohol use. Often, these individuals have gone to treatment or taken a leave of absence and are trying to navigate a return to the workplace. Our coaching programs help clients prepare to return to work, improve communications and relationships with supervisors, and rebuild their reputations. These programs enable clients to keep their jobs or change jobs on positive terms.

What services do you provide for Employers?

We provide second-chance employment consulting services and help employers source quality candidates from this pool of overlooked and untapped talent. Please see our Employers page for more info.

We also work with community agencies that provide worker retraining for individuals rebuilding their lives. These agencies offer ongoing support and wraparound employee services while connecting employers with a pool of applicants who’ve already received services and completed training.

Many employers are open to providing a second chance for applicants who need it, but it can be challenging to establish relationships with multiple organizations. We help manage all that. We can contact partner organizations to help supply suitable candidates if employers have a specific need.

This creates a win-win-win situation: the employer makes a positive impact on the community while improving the bottom line, the agency can place and continue to support the employee, and the employee gets a job that provides income, self-esteem, and hope.

If you are an employer interested in providing second-chance employment for individuals who need it, please contact us.

Additionally, we provide post-treatment support and career coaching for employees who have been on leave due to alcohol or drugs and are returning to the workplace. We also offer these completely confidential coaching services to both employers on behalf of their employees and directly to employees in recovery.

 If you are interested in setting up a program like this for your employees or have questions, please contact us.

What services do you provide for organizations that serve people in recovery?

We offer workshops that help case managers better communicate with their clients about employment-related issues. The Speaking page lists available topics for case workers/employment specialists, and the Presentations page lists topics for job seekers.

We have also launched a reasonably priced online course for people in early recovery or with criminal convictions, which is appropriate for agency use. Our training programs address people in recovery seeking employment and those trying to save their jobs. 

 Please contact us if you have questions about how we can help your organization.