NEW ORLEANS WILL Create Pathways to Prosperity with NOLA for Life

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Safety and support often go hand in hand. To create a safe environment for all New Orleanians, city officials implemented the NOLAForLife program, a comprehensive strategy for reducing violent crime and murder rates within the city. In addition to its overall mission to stop shootings, NOLAForLife takes a close look at the underlying causes of violence in the city.

nola for life

NOLAForLife enriches our city through its multitude of initiatives that build a stronger community. (Photo courtesy NOLAForLife on Facebook)

The other four pillars of the program include investing in prevention, promoting jobs and opportunity, rebuilding neighborhoods, and strengthening the police department. Under these five pillars, NOLAForLife has developed 34 initiatives. Some of these initiatives include:

Comprehensive Workforce Reentry Strategy

This initiative aims to reduce the rate of recidivism among criminal offenders through formal partnerships with members of the criminal justice system, city departments, businesses, and faith-based communities. With a goal of providing reentry employment for ex-offenders, the workforce reentry strategy focuses on preventing future crimes through professional development.

Connecting High-Need Students to the Coordinated System of Care

The Coordinated System of Care (CSoC) provides comprehensive services to families of children with serious behavioral health issues. NOLAForLife connects students in need to the CSoC by raising awareness in schools around the city. As of this past April, 124 students take part in the CSoC to alleviate behavioral problems that can lead to disruptive life paths.

NOLAForLife Mentoring

Mentorship can have a profound impact on young individuals. Specifically, this initiative aims to equip mentors with best practices, policies, and tools to provide high-quality mentoring for young males in New Orleans with high-risk backgrounds.

NOLAForLife also extends grants to worthy causes within the city, including Jazz in the Park in Armstrong Park. Through its NOLAForLife grant, Jazz in the Park provides job training like basic grounds-keeping and even management positions.

New Orleans residents and visitors can participate in the ninth annual NOLAForLife Day on Saturday, Jan. 10 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Volunteer activities aimed at rebuilding neighborhoods will take place in and around Edith Sampson Playground.