REBUILDING LIVES INITIATIVE (RLI) — Integrated Workforce Development Ecosystem

Fusion Café Workforce Pathways + Hands Up Outreach Center

The Rebuilding Lives Initiative Workforce Development Program is not a standalone job-training system.
 It is part of a fully integrated community stabilization pipeline, built around the Hands Up Outreach Center — a no-barrier, trauma-informed entry point where individuals can safely begin rebuilding their lives.

This model recognizes a truth the workforce field avoids:
 You cannot train someone for work if their basic needs, health, and safety are not secure.

RLI solves this by combining:

  • no-barrier shelter intake,

  • on-site healthcare,

  • trauma-informed stabilization, and

  • structured workforce pathways

into a single, continuous, dignity-centered system.

THE FRONT DOOR: HANDS UP OUTREACH CENTER

No-Barrier Shelter + Medical Stabilization Hub

The Hands Up Outreach Center provides the entry point for the entire workforce ecosystem.

It includes:

🛏 1. A No-Barrier Shelter Program

No sobriety requirements.
 No paperwork hurdles.
 No behavioral gatekeeping.
 No “prove yourself first” mentality.

Anyone can walk in.
 Anyone can start.

This ensures the people most excluded by other programs are finally included.

🩺 2. On-Site RN: Trans-Inclusive Public Health Advocate

The RN provides:

  • basic medical care

  • chronic condition monitoring

  • wound care

  • medication review / support

  • connections to behavioral health

  • trauma screening

  • LGBTQ+ and gender-affirming care

  • referrals to mental health or SUD treatment

  • health education and prevention

  • crisis safety planning

This is not just a nurse — this is the frontline of stability and triage.

🤝 3. Stabilization & Trust-Building

Participants receive:

  • safety

  • hygiene

  • nutrition

  • grounding techniques

  • crisis de-escalation

  • peer support

  • emotional regulation coaching

  • direct case navigation

  • harm reduction services

The most traumatized and excluded residents finally have a place to land safely.

THE BRIDGE: STABILITY → AGENCY → OPPORTUNITY

Once basic needs are stabilized, participants move into:

  • case management

  • institution navigation support

  • identity document recovery

  • transportation planning

  • benefits access

  • housing pathways

This is the “bridge phase” that prepares individuals to even consider workforce participation.

Most workforce programs skip this step — RLI centers it.

THE ENGINE: FUSION CAFÉ WORKFORCE PATHWAYS

Only after stabilization do participants enter the Fusion Café Workforce Development Program, where they participate in:

  • trauma-informed soft skills

  • workplace communication

  • executive functioning

  • customer service training

  • digital literacy

  • job simulations

  • civic literacy

  • paid work-based learning

Fusion Café functions as:

  • a learning lab

  • a micro-enterprise

  • a practice environment

  • a confidence builder

Here, participants rehearse the rhythms of employment in a supportive setting.

THE SPECIALTY LAYER: COMMUNITY INSIGHT & ACCOUNTABILITY DESK

Participants ready for advanced skill building can join the CIAD, where they learn:

  • data literacy

  • public-meeting monitoring

  • civic writing

  • community reporting

  • budget transparency basics

  • accessible communication

This develops a workforce of informed, civically-engaged residents who understand how their county works — and how to navigate it.

THE PIPELINE: FROM CRISIS TO EMPLOYMENT

The entire RLI system can be described in four phases:

PHASE 1 — SURVIVAL

Hands Up Outreach Center
 Safety • Shelter • Medical care • Crisis support

PHASE 2 — STABILIZATION

RN care • Navigation • Documentation • Housing pathways • Trauma-informed support

PHASE 3 — SKILL DEVELOPMENT

Fusion Café Workforce Pathways
 Soft skills • Digital skills • Practice environment • Paid work experiences

PHASE 4 — EMPLOYMENT & CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

Job placement • Retention coaching • CIAD involvement • Community leadership roles

This is the full continuum of care → competency → contribution.

WHAT MAKES RLI’S WORKFORCE MODEL UNIQUE

✔ No-barrier entry

✔ On-site medical + behavioral stabilization

✔ Trauma-informed every step

✔ Culturally inclusive (LGBTQ+, rural families, BIPOC residents)

✔ Workforce prep begins after safety, not before

✔ Real work experience through Fusion Café

✔ Civic empowerment via CIAD

✔ County and College partnerships embedded throughout

✔ A “whole-person → whole-community” design

This is not a workforce program.
 This is a rebuild-your-life program with workforce outcomes.