In 2011 a group of investors interested in taking a different approach to addressing a key social issue decided to pull together funding to launch CleanTurn, a professional commercial cleaning company founded in Cleveland, OH. The goal was to create a for-profit company intentional about leveraging its profit to fund supportive services for its team members and to reinvest in community outreach activities. CleanTurn is dedicated to changing perceptions and shattering the myth that a person’s past dictates their future and creates supportive employment for justice impacted individuals.
In 2021, CleanTurn launched a second branch in Chicago. In an effort to raise awareness of the need for justice reform and supportive employment, CleanTurn, in partnership with Responsible Business Initiative for Justice (RBI) and Represent Justice, hosted a screening of the feature-length documentary, Apart, at Mox.E Coworking. The documentary follows three unforgettable mothers as they return home from prison and confront the multiple challenges to rebuilding their lives after being incarcerated and separated from their children for years.
Women are the fastest-growing incarcerated population in the country, and the majority are mothers, further impacting future generations. More than 80% of women who enter the carceral system have experienced victimization or abuse in the past. Approximately 200 women in the US are released from jails and prisons every day. Reentry resources that take into account the trauma they have endured and the unique challenges they face are desperately needed for women impacted by the justice system. Opportunities with supportive employers as well as entrepreneurship education and resources can even the playing field for women and their families who’ve been impacted by the justice system and provide hope for the next generation.
