Equipping Participants for Success in Reentry - WorkWell and Lambent Data

Since March 2025, WorkWell Partnership and Lambent Data have been working together, to equip the WorkWell participants who are seeking work after a time of incarceration.  For each cohort of participants who complete the program, WorkWell hosts a celebratory graduation ceremony and warmly welcomes them into WorkWell’s alumni network.  Since March 2025, eight cohorts of participants (Cohorts 28 through 35) have used OurREACH™, Lambent Data’s software platform and app.  The graduates continue to have access to use WorkWell OurREACH™ after graduation, to continue to work to achieve their desired milestones, access resources, and more. (As with any organization using OurREACH™, the software’s name is expanded to add the organization’s  name, plus other customization and branding.) 

The WorkWell Partnership is a nonprofit founded in 2018, serving the Mercer County, NJ area, with a training location in Trenton, NJ.   The organization partners with other individuals and external organizations that collaborate to provide programming for people returning to society after periods of incarceration. WorkWell offers a four-week in-person program for participants in which they engage in workforce skills training, interpersonal relationship training, and counseling from professionals, mentors, and advocates. The program aims to help participants receive employment offers by the end of the four-week period, providing them with stability, sustainment, and the feeling of personal accomplishment.  Cohorts typically begin their four week program several weeks after the previous cohort graduates.

WorkWell’s reentry program includes one-on-one case management that helps participants address individual needs in addition to jobs – such as housing, medical insurance, licenses, identification, and more, in coordination with various other partners. 

The OurREACH™ app and platform supports these efforts in the continuum of care, and can be easily customized. It is research-based for best practices in the arenas of recovery from substance use disorder and in reentry from prison back to the community. These arenas have some areas of overlap. The Lambent Data team (including Kirsten Hund Blair and Kevin McClarren) is grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with WorkWell and its team, including Jeannette Rizk, Andrea Kirton, Paulash Bannerjee, Damon Jackson, and others. 

OurREACH™ enables participants to work on milestones (with step-by-step goals), enabling them to easily visualize the steps they must take to achieve their goals. As with each organization using OurREACH™, the organization can customize “jumpstarter Milestones” to fit with their program, and can add branding – thus resulting in WorkWell OurREACH™.  The app and platform spans jobs, IDs, housing, health, financial literacy, and more. It offers 200+ milestone builder templates (with step-by-step mini-goals), linked resources, and surveys -- which all complement the WorkWell program. Staff report that participants' engagement with completing and "checking off" these goals has also streamlined their staff work.

WorkWell participants have benefitted from OurREACH™ and its integration into WorkWell’s job-training program.  The graduates have expressed enthusiastic support for the app and platform in feedback surveys at graduation, including ~90% of graduates gave OurREACH™ the highest ratings in wanting to continue to use it and recommending it to other justice-involved individuals. Graduates also cited high marks for specific aspects and described it as "unique," praised how it "integrates into [their] calendar," and valued its "many resources."

In quotes for a video made for future cohorts, several Cohort 30 graduates voiced enthusiasm and encouragement.  One graduate stated that “[WorkWell OurREACH™] helped me out very well with watching my milestones” and “staying sturdy to my goals.” Another graduate encouraged future participants “to use the app and use the amenities that come with it.” 

At their graduations, the graduates present their individual vision boards that reflect their aspirations for the future. Many plan to continue to use the WorkWell OurREACH™ platform and app beyond the WorkWell program. This is because WorkWell OurREACH™ empowers individuals to make their own milestones and hold themselves accountable in all areas of life. We are excited that OurREACH™ has played a positive role in their reentry journey.

The photos below show graduates from Cohorts 28 through 31 (holding their diplomas, which have been blurred for privacy). In the larger group photos, WorkWell staff members and the team members of community partners (including Lambent Data) join the graduates. Congratulations and best wishes to all!