‘I draw the line at withholding food from someone as a form of consequence.’

Yesterday, Governor Pillen vetoed LB319, Senator Victor Rountree’s priority bill to end Nebraska’s lifetime Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) ban for people with certain drug felony convictions.

Today, May 14th, 2025, the Nebraska Legislature voted to pass LB319, by and large ending the lifetime ban on SNAP benefits for people with one set of felony convictions.

Leadership takes many forms—whether it’s driving change within a Fortune 500 company or transforming lives through second chances.

Background barriers to employment, whether direct or indirect, can significantly impact an individual's ability to secure and maintain a job.

RISE is honored to be awarded an Impact Grant from FNBO supporting workforce development for formerly incarcerated individuals in Nebraska.

Union Pacific in Omaha, Nebraska hosts a RISE Reentry Simulation.

“The RISE reentry simulation was an incredibly impactful event for our team. It built a profound awareness of the challenges that justice-impacted individuals face, an awareness that I am confident our team will carry with them for many years to come.”

While reentry can never be fully understood without personal lived experience, creating a learning experience can, at the very least, encourage empathy and avenue for change.

Thousands of people who are incarcerated in Nebraska’s county jails will have access to voting rights information this week thanks to a mass mailing organized by the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska and reentry organization RISE. Educational pamphlets produced by the organizations began arriving at the jails yesterday.

LB20, passed in April, was not new and not radical. It represented 8 years of advocacy and resilience to change the hearts and minds of legislators across Nebraska. We know Nebraskans believe in second chances. We stand with those affected and will keep advocating and working to make change.

Christ Community Church hosted RISE CEO and founder of RISE, Jeremy Bouman; Community Navigator, Aaron Pettes; and Volunteer Relations Manager, Chantal Wentz on Sunday, July 28th for their Ordinary People, Extraordinary God series.

RISE is a re-entry program with a mission to help people both inside and outside prison get back on their feet.

"We're helping them with housing, employment, healthy relationships, building a healthy peer community of others who are navigating carceral systems and coming home," said Jeremy Bouman, CEO of RISE.

On June 11th, 2024 the 9th RISE Cohort at the Omaha Correctional Center pitched their business ideas and graduated!

At ISE we are building a volunteer opportunity service for RISE Graduates who want to give back! One of the recurring things we hear is, “I want to give back but nobody will give me a chance.”

“Off paper” after your felony sentence? Learn how and when you can register to vote!

When Ray returned to the community, he struggled like so many do. Addiction took over and he lost touch with us. He went back to prison. But he came back home, he reached back out, and RISE was here. We'll always be here if they're ready.

Meet the RISE Staff! This week, meet Maeve Hemmer, RISE Community Navigator!

Meet the RISE Staff! This week, meet Charita Dailey, Director of Development

RISE provides "Welcome Home" bags to all RISE graduates who return home. Valued at over $100, each bag includes personal care items like body wash, shampoo, laundry detergent and towels. We all know how expensive a trip for essentials like this can be - lifting this one financial burden means a lot to us and the people we serve.

Although Nebraska has an unemployment rate of 2.3%, the state is faced with a workforce shortage.