Safer foundation trains formerly incarcerated people for solar jobs in Illinois

The Safer Foundation provides solar industry training to people with criminal convictions at a transitional center in Chicago, Illinois.

The nonprofit uses a mock-up house to teach residents how to install solar panels, wire electrical systems, and manage inverters. This initiative helps individuals transition from prison to stable employment in the clean energy sector. The program operates under Illinois state laws that prioritize job training for marginalized communities.

The state provides grants to help the foundation offer remedial education, professional skills, and wraparound services such as mental health support and substance abuse treatment. These services help trainees overcome personal and logistical barriers to employment. The foundation also provides subsidized housing for unhoused individuals with criminal records. Safer establishes relationships with companies like Millennium Solar Electric and SunRun to help trainees find work.

The organization creates memorandums of understanding with these employers to ensure they hire people with gaps in their work history or criminal records. Trainees receive stipends during their training, which lasts between one and six weeks after an initial month of basic skills instruction. The program also expands into prisons to train people who are within three years of their release date. After they leave prison, the foundation provides them with mentorship and connections to employers.

One graduate of the program now works as an instructor for state clean energy trainings.