The Cara Program empowers individuals affected by homelessness and poverty with the skills, confidence and resources needed to secure permanent employment and achieve real and lasting success. Since 1991, we have placed more than 2,500 individuals into full-time, quality jobs with leading Chicago area companies, including several in the Fortune 500. These jobs pay an average wage of $10.92 per hour, with benefits. Currently, 72% of individuals remain employed in that first job for at least one year (in comparison, companies nationwide have a 49.9% employee retention rate during a 12-month period).

The Cara Program's social enterprise, Cleanslate, provides transitional job opportunities to Cara students with more significant obstacles to employment. We are proud to share that Cleanslate provides neighborhood beautification services (including litter abatement for sidewalks, parkways, public gardens and vacant lots, snow removal, light landscaping and more) throughout Chicago's communities and for some of Chicago's most popular neighborhood festivals. Since its launch in 2005, Cleanslate has provided transitional jobs (internships) to over 841 Cara students, 322 of whom have been subsequently placed into quality, permanent employment.

For an overview of The Cara Program's most recent programmatic results, please review our performance update: http://thecaraprogram.org/performance/TCP_PU_2009_Q4_HighRes.pdf

And, for an overview of Cleanslate's impact in the community and on the lives of Cara students, please review the Cleanslate performance update: http://cleanslatechicago.org/CS/CLSL_PU_Q409.pdf

For more information on The Cara Program and Cleanslate, please call 312-798-3300 or check out our website www.thecaraprogram.org.