Make Mental Health Matter with Kelli Melissa Reinhardt: Breaking Barriers

Second Chances: Breaking Barriers with Ashley Furst

On this episode of the Make Mental Health Matter Show, Kelli chats with Ashley Furst.

Ashley is a passionate advocate for the belief that individuals are more than their worst mistakes and that every breakdown has the potential to become a breakthrough. As someone who has personally experienced the challenges of reentry after justice involvement due to mental health and substance misuse issues, she brings a deep understanding of the unique needs of this population and the transformative power of second chances. As the Director of Business Development & Community Engagement at Breakthrough, Ashley is responsible for identifying growth opportunities through funding, building strategic partnerships, and driving the implementation of organizational objectives through development and community engagement initiatives.

Breakthrough is a nonprofit organization that exists to transform the lives of incarcerated individuals here in Colorado and shift the community's perception of the incarcerated population. Their holistic approach includes an in-prison educational program, community engagement initiatives, reentry support, a fair chance hiring program, and criminal justice advocacy initiatives. The success of their participants speaks for itself, with a recidivism rate of only 6% (compared to the state average of 40%), and a 92% employment rate.

Find out more about Ashley go to one of these:

https://timetobreakthrough.org/

https://www.instagram.com/time2breakthrough/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/timetobreakthrough/

https://www.youtube.com/c/TimetoBreakthrough?sub_confirmation=1

Ashley personally: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleyfurst/

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Need more resources?

www.makementalhealthmatter.org

 https://linktr.ee/makementalhealthmatter