Second Chance Boston

Second Chance Boston is a nonprofit reentry organization based in Boston, Massachusetts, focused on supporting formerly incarcerated people with housing, employment, and legal resources. It operates within the ecosystem of Boston-area service providers including Massachusetts Department of Correction, Boston Public Health Commission, Pine Street Inn, Greater Boston Legal Services, and Harvard Law School clinical programs. The organization collaborates with municipal entities such as the City of Boston and regional institutions like Tufts University and Boston Medical Center to deliver transitional services.

History

Second Chance Boston was founded in 1997 amid national conversations shaped by events such as the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act and local initiatives responding to rising incarceration rates in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. Early partners included Criminal Justice Policy Coalition advocates, staff from Massachusetts ACLU, and community organizers from neighborhoods like Roxbury, Boston and Dorchester, Boston. In the 2000s the organization expanded programs following collaboration with philanthropic funders such as The Boston Foundation and national foundations modeled after Ford Foundation approaches to reentry. Post-2010, Second Chance Boston adjusted services in response to state reforms influenced by cases litigated in venues like the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and by policy shifts under the Commonwealth of Massachusetts governor's offices. Major milestones include launches of an employment initiative co-designed with Year Up Boston and a legal clinic partnership with Boston College Law School.

Services and Programs

Second Chance Boston operates multiple program lines including transitional housing, job-training, legal aid coordination, and peer navigation. Transitional housing partnerships have involved providers like Rosie's Place and Bridge Over Troubled Waters, and program models draw on research from Urban Institute and evaluations by Harvard Kennedy School. Employment services collaborate with employers such as Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Southwestern Advantage, and hospitality partners including Hilton Hotels & Resorts in Boston to place participants into roles. Legal services coordinate pro bono representation from firms active in clinics with Northeastern University School of Law and nonprofits including Legal Services Corporation grantees. Behavioral health and substance use treatment referrals are made to providers like Massachusetts General Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center substance use programs. Education pathways link program participants to certificate programs at Bunker Hill Community College and workforce programs run by Associated Industries of Massachusetts.

Impact and Outcomes

Program evaluations cite reductions in recidivism and increases in employment rates among participants, measured in studies employing methodologies similar to those used by Pew Charitable Trusts and the Brookings Institution. Outcomes reported include higher job placement compared with control cohorts in studies patterned on National Institute of Justice standards. Second Chance Boston documents housing stability improvements and linkages to benefits administered through MassHealth and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Collaborations with researchers at Boston University and Tufts University School of Medicine have produced data on mental health outcomes and social determinants of health for returning residents. Impact narratives highlight cases where participants secured jobs at institutions such as Massachusetts General Hospital and advanced to education at University of Massachusetts Boston.

Funding and Partnerships

Second Chance Boston's funding portfolio mixes public grants, private philanthropy, and earned revenue. Major public funders have included the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs and state contracts from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services. Philanthropic support has come from entities like The Boston Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and local family foundations. Corporate partners include local branches of Bank of America and State Street Corporation which have provided employment pipelines and financial literacy training. Strategic partnerships extend to national networks such as America Works-style workforce intermediaries and research collaborations with institutions including Johns Hopkins University and Columbia University researchers on reentry best practices.

Governance and Leadership

The organization is governed by a board of directors composed of civic leaders, philanthropists, legal advocates, and formerly incarcerated leaders. Past and present board members have included alumni of programs run by Massachusetts Trial Court diversion initiatives and leaders affiliated with Mass Inc. civic programs. Executive leadership has featured professionals with backgrounds in nonprofit management, social work, and restorative justice models informed by practitioners connected to Root & Branch and restorative justice programs at Northeastern University. Day-to-day operations are overseen by an executive director who reports to the board and coordinates program directors responsible for housing, employment, legal services, and research partnerships with universities such as Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Category:Non-profit organizations based in Boston Category:Criminal justice reform in Massachusetts