Tom Nielsen, Founder of Jason's Heart and Michaela Nielsen did a presentation at Lincoln South Rotary Club on March 24, 2023.
Tom and Michaela manage the Soarin Group. From their website " It is Soarin Group’s goal to enhance our clients’ ability to successfully serve their clients’ needs by leveraging IT, HR and Media.".
Tom focused on technology. He said his first non-profit client was Houses of Hope and the second was CenterPointe. Both of those organizations support citizens recovering from substance abuse and the related mental health issues.
While working with these organizations, Tom realized that he could do more than just provide IT support. They decided to set up an apprenticeship program to provide a job and training for the clients to further help them improve their lives. He learned of their struggles. They have been through the system. Now they just need a second chance.
They developed an apprenticeship program - a year-long program with intense training - the equivalent of 2 or 3 years in tech school. They work on developing, not only IT skills, but also resume writing, social skills and leadership through classroom and job experience.
The program focuses on:
- - those out of recovery – drug and alcohol
- - low- to moderate-income individuals
- - previously incarcerated – non-violent
There are only 3 people in each "class" of apprentices at this time. These are full-time positions - 5 days a week. They have to be sure they have funding to provide salary and benefits. One of the great challenges is to make sure that the participants can survive in the room with each other - get along.
The applicants go through a few interviews involving professionals in the fields that serve the clients. The criteria for the applicants includes that they have to be already fully independent - living on their own. They have to be on their feet. There is a focus on the future - not what happened in the past.
He worked with the IT staff in the organizations to help build and maintain the technology that could best serve their clients. He shared a story about Jason who was with Houses of Hope. Jason was dedicated to the organization and clients, making sure that they were always able to use the systems and get the support that they needed at all times. Tom shared that when Jason got a call he would drop everything to pay attention to the needs - even if it was in the middle of the night.
As the apprenticeship program became a reality, they named it Jason's Heart as a tribute to Jason from Houses of Hope.