Containers for a Cause

 

Commodity to Humanity

Flagler College and LOCI Design

 

In St. John‟s County, more than two-thirds of released inmates are back in prison within 3 years. This vicious cycle of recidivism has devastating effects on their families, our community and our county budget. When prisoners get out of jail we give them $50 dollars and a change of clothes. Instead, what if we offered them immediate paid transitional work and housing?

 

Prisoners face an intimidating set of obstacles upon re-entry. Employment and housing are often their biggest challenges. Flagler SIFE proposes using these containers for discharge planning. Discharge planning prepares a person for return into the community.

 

Our idea is to recycle used shipping containers into supportive housing facilities. 800,000 shipping containers enter Jacksonville each year and 30% are left to rust in salvage yards. It is more cost effective to give these containers away than to store them. Converting a container into a home is at least 30% cheaper than building from scratch.

 

These containers will serve as supportive housing and transitional employment for our former prisoners. Supportive housing will save our community an average $16,282 annually per person by reducing the use of incarceration facilities, shelters, and public health services.

 

Flagler SIFE‟s vision is to create a business and vocational training program that will employ discharged inmates to convert these containers. The program will teach plumbing, electrical work, insulation, construction and more as these individuals transform containers into homes.

 

Containers for a Cause will give participants gainful and steady employment, the tools to become self-reliant, and a place to live with

the support they need. Containers for a Cause was created by Flagler College Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) and Loci Design to take containers on a new journey that will change lives, communities and our way of viewing the world around us.

 

LOCI Design team:

Tim Woods

Clayton Dodd

Cole Henson

Walter Woods

 

Flagler College | SIFE team:

Donna Delorenzo

Barry Sand

Victoria Van Arnam

Renee Chiaverini

David Le Duc