Because we have a unicameral, the only one in the country, everyday Nebraskans are the second house. Our job is to weigh in on these important issues and let lawmakers know how these policies will impact our families, people we serve and our communities.
RISE is honored to be a top finalist for the Courageous Innovator Impact Award for 2023!
Use and share this guide before heading out to the polls on election day!
RISE is proud to announce being awarded a $30,000 Impact Grant through FNBO's First National Bank Fund c/o the Nebraska Community Foundation.
Know your voting rights if you or a loved one is detained in jail in Nebraska.
Know the voting rights for the formerly incarcerated of Nebraska.
RISE founder and CEO, Jeremy Bouman, was invited to the unComfotable Conversations about Culture & Christianity podcast created by Christ Community Church.
Jeremy talks with hosts Eric and Alex about RISE's reentry organization, stigmas, social determinants, reentry, reincarceration, prison overcrowding, sentencing reform, and more.
RISE received iPads from the Bellevue Papillion Rotary Club in September as a means to ease case management support in the field. The ease of use and portability is essential to RISE Reentry Specialists as they work one-on-one with program participants navigating their reentry post-incarceration.
The RISE Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee invites you to recognize Hispanic Heritage Month during September, as this directly impacts the people we work with and care about.
National Hispanic Heritage Month, which begins each year on Sept. 15, celebrates U.S. Latinos, their culture, and their history.
The first in-unit cohort of the RISE In-Prison Program at the Nebraska State Penitentiary continues to be progressing well. This is a group of men living in an intentional learning community and going to class together.
I was having a conversation with Charles, one of our program participants in the Nebraska State Penitentiary. He asked me a common question, “what brought you here?”
The RISE Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee invites you to recognize Women’s Equality during August, as this directly impacts the people we work with and care about.
RISE announced a donation of $20,000 from the Medica Foundation, a community-focused giving arm of Medica funding health initiatives across Nebraska. Medica’s funding of $20,000 goes directly to supporting RISE’s In-Prison Program and Youth & Family Program.
RISE graduates received free Tech Packs from Do Space as a means to support digital equity in Omaha. The Tech Pack program distributed laptops,Wi-Fi hotspots, free internet, computer training, and one-on-one technology tutoring - a substantial need for those coming out of incarceration.
You can help make a direct impact this month!
The RISE Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee invites you to recognize National Second Chance Month and Arab-American Heritage Month during April, as these events directly impact the population we serve and care about.
By increasing employer relationships in Omaha, Lincoln and across the state, RISE established itself as one of the leaders in the Metro area for successfully navigating employment for the formerly incarcerated.
Previously, the responsibility of self-betterment has been placed on the applicant. However, employers are beginning to ask themselves, “what can we do to help, what is our role as employers to support all applicants and the community overall?”
Nebraska needs criminal justice reform now. Our prison system is in an overcrowding crisis and we have the opportunity to do something about it. We need your help to make LB920 a reality!
RISE has always understood that to experience reentry is to experience crisis. Incarcerated individuals are often released to area communities with little to no financial support, emotional support, mental health support, or support for substance use addictions. This often leaves formerly incarcerated individuals operating in crisis mode and at a higher likelihood of reoffending.
There are so many amazing and prominent women throughout history to be celebrated and at RISE we are lucky enough to work with some of the smartest and most resilient women. While March is aimed to celebrate women, we must also recognize the struggles the women we work with can face during their lifetime and during their incarceration.
The RISE In-Prison Program continued to have programming delays in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic as facilities would go into lockdowns for weeks - even months on end. However, our program participants and peer facilitators stayed focused and determined, often meeting with their fellow classmates in housing units, which allowed the program to stay on course.
RISE is celebrating African American History month this February with a formal presentation by Dr. Nikitah Imani at tomorrow's RISE all staff meeting, February 25th.
On February 16, 2022, Jasmine L. Harris, RISE’s Director of Policy and Advocacy, graduated from Dream Corps JUSTICE’s first-ever Empathy Network Leadership Cohort.
“There are so many people who are coming out of incarceration who just need that opportunity, that chance, so something like this tax credit will get employees to say ‘well, okay, I’ll take this chance,’ and it gives the people coming out of incarceration that opportunity to say ‘I can prove to you that I’m a good worker."
- Jasmine Harris, RISE Director of Policy & Advocacy
We are thrilled to share RISE has been selected to receive a $1,000 grant from The Starbucks Foundation as part of their Neighborhood Grants program.
Please join us for one of our upcoming RISE Annual Appreciation Breakfasts in February!
"I’m not a competition guy. I'm a creation guy...when you are competing, compete in the spirit of creation. Compete in the spirit of bringing people together united and then we can all win. We can all rise above our current circumstances.”
- RISE Graduate
We are thrilled to announce RISE's most recent team member, Emma Johnson, as the Director of Annual Giving & Stewardship!
In February I was blessed with the opportunity to document the Defy Ventures Program Kickoff Event at the Nebraska Correctional Center for Women in York, Nebraska. This is the third women’s facility in the nation that Defy Ventures has gotten its program into. It was an experience I’ll cherish in my heart forever.
