What does Vocare 180 do?

Vocare 180, formerly known as Compass 180, is an ex-offender re-entry program providing scholarships, educational workshops and community resources. Our mission is to promote restorative justice and reduce recidivism by empowering people through employment, education and entrepreneurial creation. 

Our Core Values.

We Exist to Promote Vocational Justice
We believe everyone who wants a job should have a job. Our goal is to level the playing field for participants so that they can better exercise their career abilities in the legitimate workforce.

We Believe in the Power of Work and Dreams
Our model is based on the premise that effective and comprehensive employment offers participants a dignified way to support their families. Entrepreneurship can change lives and create life-long freedom.

We Strive to Produce Exceptional and Sustainable Results
As a learning organization, we are committed to continually acquiring knowledge and building the capacity of our participants to produce outcomes they can hold themselves accountable for.

55

Scholarship
​Recipients

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$60,000+

 Awarded in
​ Scholarships

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65

S.T.A.N. Participants
​Enrolled YTD

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65

S.T.A.N. Participants Employed YTD

Our Programs.

Our Employment Program (S.T.A.N.)
​
Our Skills Training Advocacy Network (S.T.A.N) provides services to individuals re-entering the community from correctional facilities who face barriers to employment as a result of a criminal conviction. In the last twenty years, Minnesota’s penal population has increased four-fold. The expansion of this population has resulted in increasingly large numbers of people returning to our communities with limited job skills and employment history. Employment is critical to the successful re-entry of the formerly incarcerated. Employment not only creates the necessary economic opportunity but socialization, stability and responsibility. 

The core components of S.T.A.N. are Life Skills, Educational/Vocational Skills and Job Matches. Participants have access to Cognitive Behavior Groups, a Network of Employers, our Resource Center and Individual Case Management.

​Our Scholarship Program
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Vocare 180 is not just about making meaningful change, but reconnecting to dreams. It is about finding paths to get you where you want to be. It is about fostering entrepreneurial creation. Vocare 180 scholarships are grants of $4,000 ($3,000/$1,000). Ex-offenders who apply are interviewed and assessed to ensure that they have a specific vision of the future and use of funds. This can be an entrepreneurial business concept or a specific career path. When we started this program almost 10 years ago, we provided grants of $1,000 and we increased those grants to $1,500, which required ongoing contact to ensure that grant recipients were getting the support they needed to succeed. One of the program requirements is that each applicant be in a mentoring relationship in order to qualify. Now we are planning on increasing both the scholarship awards and the services needed to support our recipients.
 
Each Vocare 180 Scholarship recipient also receives training and assistance in Business, Financial and Marketing planning. Vertical market coaches provide specific insight tailored to the individual’s business plan.