It’s incredibly difficult to build a business, but that rings especially true for formerly incarcerated people.
Tarshire Battle, the founder of Roots2Empower, a social enterprise built to provide business and agriculture training for formerly incarcerated individuals in Rhode Island, is tackling that problem head on.
Founded just a few years ago in Pawtucket with help from the Social Enterprise Greenhouse accelerator in Providence, Roots2Empower (formerly Restoration Urban Farm of New England) uses agriculture training as a stepping stone to educate and empower former prisoners as they begin a new phase of their life. In addition to an urban farming education, the nonprofit start-up is building out connections to offer micro loans and entrepreneurship training. That includes tackling historic barriers to urban farming including land, access to capital and credit for marginalized communities.
In 2020, according to the Rhode Island Black Business Association, Rhode Island’s Black population made up 5.6% but business ownership among the community topped out at 3.7%. The state has some 150 Black Business owners, compared to 75 seven years ago.
Last week, Roots2Empower was named as one of 160 nonprofits to share in $5.4 million in federal coronavirus relief funding for those hardest hit by the pandemic, according to the Rhode Island Foundation. Battle said their share of the funds, an estimated $32,000, could be used to boost online training and secure a permanent home for the group.
When Battle founded the organization in 2018, she was inspired by former work and life at home equally. After spending years at the New England Center for Homeless Veterans and working as a discharge planner for the Department of Corrections, she saw firsthand the care individuals need when re-integrating into their communities. As a sister and mother, she saw the nearly impossible road family members faced in getting a job after serving time.
In her brother’s case, after spending five years behind bars, he completed a carpentry vocational program but still couldn’t get a job. Battle said he had to start his own business because he couldn’t get hired but still there were hurdles.
“I had to co-sign for his first work van so he could start,” she said. “I know there are a lot of programs that focus on secondary education but that’s why we’re focusing on financial and entrepreneurship end of things. We want to teach business skills while teaching practical skills.”
Recently, Roots2Empower was able to step in and help start up a nonprofit called Gather Together As One to work with homeless people in Rhode Island, securing temporary emergency shelter for 60 people.
“I assisted mutual aid to an African American mushroom farmer with a history of incarceration and another BIPOC small business owner in Pawtucket, who didn't have funds to pay rent, due to rent increases in the area,” Battle said.
Battle, who holds a master's of public administration from Northeastern University and a master's in mental health counseling from Boston University, said the last two years have been difficult to navigate with the looming threat of COVID-19.
“Overall, it's been difficult as I'm still trying to navigate programming post Covid and now we have another uptick with the variant,” she said. “Most of my work can be done outside safely but for workshops (entrepreneurship) this has to be done indoors. As a new start up, still looking for space but even with space, it may not be ideal without COVID protocols.”
