Washington Joins Our House as Reentry Case Manager

Second-year student Ben Washington has joined Our House as a Reentry Case Manager.

Our House, a transitional housing program in Little Rock, empowers homeless and near-homeless families and individuals to succeed in the workforce, in school, and in life through hard work, wise decision-making, and active participation in the community.

In his new role, Washington will have significant responsibility for the implementation of the Reentry Program at Our House, working closely with clients enrolled in the program.

“My current motivation is to work with populations of people who have been or currently are incarcerated,” Washington said. “At this point in my career, I feel empowered to advocate for the needs of those people often neglected in American society.”

Washington previously worked for Our House as a Summer STEM VISTA for Children in 2013 and a Health and Wellness Coach in 2016. For a full year, Washington served as an AmeriCorps Employment Coach with Our House.

As a first-year student, Washington was a part of the Clinton School Practicum team that worked with Our House to research the possibility of creating a mentorship program to expand its reentry services. Washington and other members of the team conducted interviews with current and previous Our House clients to get a better sense of what they would like to see from a reentry mentorship program.

The team presented their findings at the 2019 Student Research and Creative Works Expo at UA Little Rock.

“I feel this work is a great place to start a career of advocacy for many underprivileged groups the world over,” Washington said. “I feel the questions raised during the time I spend working with formerly incarcerated people will shape how I view and work to achieve justice in the years to come.”

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