PITTSBURGH, Jan. 28, 2025 --The City of Pittsburgh will honor the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) with a proclamation declaring Center for Employment Opportunities Day. This recognition highlights CEO's success in providing comprehensive employment services to people released from incarceration into the local community.
Allegheny County – January 16, 2025 – Today, Senator Wayne Fontana announced a total of $8,636,483 in state funding from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) for agencies and organizations that serve the people of the 42nd District. These grants provide funding for structured programming opportunities for at-risk school-age youth and violence intervention and prevention initiatives.
Lt. Gov. Austin Davis hosted a roundtable conversation to tackle the issue, with local officials and community members commenting on the initiatives they’re taking to find solutions. “Some people think that this [gun violence] is just a Harrisburg issue, or a Philadelphia issue or a Pittsburgh issue,” Davis said. “I want to be clear that this is a Pennsylvania issue, and it is uniquely an American issue. But it’s an issue that we can and must do something about.”
HARRISBURG, Pa. — A new program started in Dauphin County that helps formerly incarcerated individuals get back on their feet. In partnership with the county, the Center for Employment Opportunity (CEO), a New York-based nonprofit, provides a structured, supervised program to assist formerly incarcerated people with their re-entry into the workforce.
Rasheed Abdus says when he got out of prison four years ago, at age 21, he struggled to find a job. “Maybe cause I didn’t know how to use a computer,” he said. A friend connected him to the Center for Employment Opportunities, a national work readiness organization with a Philadelphia chapter, and he started cleaning up parks in Kensington. Now, he’s learning to train other formerly incarcerated people.
Newly installed House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., hosted his first public meeting on the 2023 farm bill on Jan. 13 at the Pennsylvania Farm Show here, emphasizing the need for farmers and producers to get involved in the process and “stay at the table.”
Pittsburgh City Council has given the final go-ahead for the city to begin two partnerships — one with an organization that helps employ people who have recently been released from jail, another to refurbish old electronic devices.
Pittsburgh City Council on Wednesday advanced legislation that would allow the city to enter an agreement with a nonprofit to provide temporary employment opportunities to recently incarcerated individuals.
Pittsburgh City Council on Wednesday gave preliminary approval to creating a partnership between the city and the Center for Employment Opportunities, a nationwide organization that helps provide temporary employment to people who were recently released from incarceration
More than any other reason, released prisoners end up back in jail because they can’t find dignified work that pays a decent wage. Mr. Burgess’ proposal would establish a partnership with the Center for Employment Opportunities to provide transitional work for people coming out of prison.
Pittsburgh City Council proposed two new ordinances during Tuesday’s meeting, one to approve a contract for an outside consultant to analyze the city’s police force, the other to create a work program for people recently released from incarceration.
Legislation introduced to Pittsburgh City Council Tuesday would urge the city to explore employment opportunities for recently incarcerated people.
Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday held off on giving final approval to a bill that would regulate pedestrian stops by police in order to consider suggestions for amending the bill.
The city of Pittsburgh has 10,000 vacant lots that need care and former inmates who need new careers. Councilman Ricky Burgess sees the chance to help both.
Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon announced $1 million in new federal funding she recently secured to support a workforce training program for formerly incarcerated Philadelphians. It is one of 10 Community Project Funding awards, formerly known as earmarks, Scanlon delivered for her district through the Fiscal Year 2022 federal government funding package passed by Congress in March.
Despite the ongoing pandemic, Philadelphia officials said they are trying to expand one of their key gun violence prevention programs.
July 8, 2025
At the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) Pittsburgh, we know that strong partnerships with local employers are vital to creating real opportunities for our participants. Today, we're thrilled to highlight our incredible partnership with Construction Junction (CJ), a pillar of fair chance employment and community empowerment in Pittsburgh.
May 20, 2025
Aliyah Tyson
On May 16th, 2025, American Eagle and Pittsburgh Cares teamed up with the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) Pittsburgh for a meaningful day of service, assembling care packages for individuals transitioning back into the community due to reentry after incarceration. We spoke with Ken from Pittsburgh Cares, a dedicated community leader, about the deeper impact of volunteerism and the importance of small acts of kindness.
Terrance, CEO Pittsburgh Participant
I had to grow up fast. At 16, I went from playing third base for my middle school team to what we called the Gladiator Camp. We gave it that name because every day felt like a battle. Fighting wasn’t mandatory—but if you backed down, you became prey.
April 15, 2024
Quiana Brifu, Federal Policy Associate
In the bustling streets of Philadelphia's Germantown area, a remarkable partnership recently unfolded between the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) and Mayor Cherelle Parker.
November 15, 2023
Jason Kahler
Philadelphia Hilco Crew Site Supervisor Ella Saunders can’t help but sing Reggie’s praises. “Reggie serves as an inspiring example of personal growth and determination to positively impact society,” says Saunders.
August 26, 2022
Eric Borsuk
Jose heard about the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) while residing at a halfway house in Philadelphia. With a referral from his unit team, he soon began working with a CEO crew cleaning up the streets of Philly, earning daily pay and receiving coaching to pursue the job of his choice. After 24 years of incarceration, he says the most troubling part of reentry was the fear of recidivism.
April 4, 2022
Quiana Pugh
At CEO, we have a vision that each person returning home from incarceration will have access to a quality job and economic mobility. Even though more than 600,000 individuals return home from incarceration each year, they are largely unable to access our country’s public workforce system and the support needed to focus on employment training during reentry. This past winter, CEO invited federal lawmakers to 9 of our sites to hear directly from justice-impacted experts on needed changes to law to make employment training better.
December 11, 2018
Charles Brown began his prison sentence when he was 17. By the time he returned home to Philadelphia he was a 53 year old whose entire adult life had been shaped by the criminal justice system. All of Charles’ accomplishments — from earning his GED to enrolling in college classes to becoming a mentor — were inseparable from his incarceration.