Travis Richey, along with his business partner Andrew Medal, has been fighting recidivism and addressing the social problems of mass incarceration by providing the incarcerated population and returning citizens the job skills and training they need to succeed.
The mission of AccomplishED Ventures is to change the global narrative about prison reform and provide real-world skills and education required to have a successful reentry into society. Richey points to the data that over 65% of individuals released from prison return within 3 years as a desperate need for curriculum change.
Through educational courses and digital training programs across the country, AccomplishED Ventures has taught hundreds of thousands of incarcerated individuals. It has enabled inmates to look beyond their circumstances, plan a better life once they leave prison, and, most importantly, identify a purpose. Believing that people have a definite reason for living, it puts a premium on pinpointing and exploring one’s “why” to remain grounded as they follow a path toward a happier and more fulfilling destination.
One of the most popular AccomplishED courses is the Self-Construction course. Defined as the pinnacle of all self-help courses, Self-Construction is about giving an individual the framework and the tools to build a life that’s true to who they are and what they care about. Truly finding their “why” in this life and setting a path towards that end. Self-construction isn’t a recipe for success or a detailed checklist; but it is a process of evolution that you’ll revisit anytime you need to remind yourself of who you are and what your purpose is.
At the core of AccomplishED Ventures and the services that Travis Richey delivers is the hope of seeing incarcerated or returned citizens possessing a template of success, regardless of what success looks like for them. As a firm believer in the power of purpose, he wants these inmates to move forward armed by their passion and dedication to their respective personal mission. In his words, “Our scars tell us where we’ve been in life. They don’t have to define where we are going. We understand that the storms of life make us stronger if we use those experiences for our benefit and the benefit of others. It is our responsibility to turn our MESS into our MESSAGE for the greater good of humankind.”
The five-year plan of AccomplishED Ventures is to establish the company as a leader in prison and reentry curriculum proving that with the proper life skills and job training, we can decrease the recidivism rate across the Country. The goal is to get prisoners engaged in their “why” within 72 hours of getting released, so they do not return to prison. For individuals to remain on the right path, they need to be in good shape financially, mentally, and physically, and to make that happen, equipping them with skills and job opportunities is the best way.
Learn more about AccomplishED on its website.
Opinions expressed by NY Weekly contributors are their own.
