Supportive Employment and Why 180 Demo Matters
A 180 Demo team member saws through a wall. (via 180_demo on Instagram)
Barriers to employment are real. Supportive employment affords workers with barriers to employment the dignity of constructively participating in the economy. When dislocated workers embark on reintegrating themselves into society, access to barrier removal resources like housing assistance and career advancement training is critical for self-determination.
Supportive employment matters because it enables workers to adjudicate their own internal desires. In other words, it allows workers to more closely participate meaningfully in institutions of freedom such as the family and civil society. Added benefits like healthcare, professional counseling, and 401k help to further stabilize workers, allowing them to act out more of their will and dreams in their personal lives.
Workers at 180 Demo are immersed in a supportive work culture. The company’s vision to “create the national model for guiding formerly incarcerated women and men into the construction industry” informs their specialization in selective interior demolition projects. The story of 180 Demo starts with the idea of a business with the purpose of giving women and men a shot to prove their pasts do not define them. The business was shaped and molded by this purpose.
180 Demo matters because they put energy toward connecting workers to productive roles in the economy. They matter because of their keen awareness that their “team members have big dreams for themselves and their families.” We appreciate their commitment to “leveraging the company as a way to address issues related to criminal justice reform.”
We look forward to spreading the word about 180 Demo to workers in our network and supporting them as they do their part to uplift the people of Columbus.
