The roots of our story are strong and ten years in the making
In 2007 our founder, Dr. Vanessa Y. Stuart, returned to adult higher education after consulting in banking for some time. After experiencing some personal transitions, she felt back in her “zone”, leading operations and the student experience. By year end, her team had award winning performance in retention and sight planning for their expansion to accommodate student growth.
Then it happened...the financial crisis of 2008 hit the banking industry and Charlotte was greatly impacted, as well as our founder. Education was one of many industries that experienced the ripple effect. During her transition into education, our founder managed student retention and her rapport with her students compelled her to take a closer look.
After surveying her students, she discovered that a disproportionate number of male students were reducing their courses or withdrawing. Upon further review, she found that many of these students had excellent academic performance. After facilitating a male-only focus group, her findings profoundly shaped her life and the intention of her future work with male youth ex-offenders.
Dr.V wanted to further understand why her students paid cash for courses instead of applying for student loans, and why they stayed in the same roles for years, despite obtaining a degree. She started researching their claims and learned a term she would never forget, collateral consequences. Collateral consequences of criminal conviction are the additional civil state penalties, mandated by statute.
Depending on the conviction, the individual may lose many of their civil rights. Such losses regularly result in becoming ineligible for and/or subjected to the following:
Welfare Benefits
Student Loans
Voting Rights
Jury Duty
Professional Licensure
Firearm Ownership
Community Bias
Wage Disparities
Dr.V was reminded of the memories and images of the most influential men in her life and in community. "The accounts of those men that night, reminded me of all the men in my own family who were business owners, coaches, and correction officers that were loved by the community for mentoring and guiding the children but many of them had a troubled past. I thought to myself, where would I and so many others be if they were not given a second chance?"
It was then, ten years ago, that the vision and foundation for Human Capital Investment, Inc. was born.