Press Room

Empowerment Center Article

Educational nonprofit nets federal grant

$464,380 to help teens with bad records

By BRIAN NEWSOME THE GAZETTE

   A local nonprofit that provides training and jobs to people with disabilities or criminal pasts has received a grant for nearly half a million dollars from the U.S. Department of Labor.
   The Labor Department announced Tuesday it will give $464,380 to Aspen Diversified Industries, a member of Pikes Peak Behavioral Health Group, which offers vocational training for people with mental or physical disabilities or criminal histories and finds them employment.
   The grant will bolster a program that provides educational services to 16- to 21-year-olds with criminal records, said Jonathan Liebert, program director for Aspen Diversified Industries. The program, called Right Track, was started with a $1.7 million, two-year Labor Department grant.
   The goal of the grant, he said, will be to help troubled students or dropouts improve in math and reading and earn their diplomas. The organization plans to supplement the services offered by local public high schools by offering tutors, vocational classes, lifeskills classes, counseling, and computer and technology classes.
   “They certainly gave us a tough nut to crack,” he said about the Labor Department, “but I’m really excited that we’ll be able to do some creative and innovative things with this money, and it’s definitely going to benefit El Paso County.”
   Aspen’s grant is part of a broader multimillion funding push by the Labor Department known as the High Growth Youth Offender Initiative, which aims to put teens with criminal pasts into high-growth industries such as construction, hospitality, automotive and retail.
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