Connecticut Innovations awarded a $200,000 grant to a Goodwin College pilot program aimed at encouraging entrepreneurship for people who have served prison time.
The CT Next Higher Education Entrepreneurship grant will support ENet Entrepreneurial Network, a one-year pilot that will provide counseling and education to 15 people who have been released from prison within the last six months, and are interested in starting a business.
“We know individuals coming out of prison have a difficult time finding employment,” said Matt Connell, program director and assistant professor of business administration at Goodwin College, who is overseeing the pilot. “Hopefully, if we do it correctly, they will become employers within the community who are willing to employ individuals with a background of incarceration.”
Those selected for the program should begin counseling for behavioral and emotional support at the end of September or beginning of October, Connell said. Then, a six-month academic program worth 18 credits is scheduled to start around January.
At the end of the program, Connell said he wants to see 85 percent of participants complete the program, and for a majority of those individuals to start their own business, he said.
Tuition will be covered by a combination of the grant funds and a cash match from Goodwin College, Connecticut Innovations said. Services include tutoring, career services, health services, library and research assistance, student engagement programs, a childcare center, and veterans’ services.
