'Dress Your Best' Helps Juvenile Offenders
Dress for Job Interviews

LaPorte, Ind.— Indiana University's Helping Offenders Prosper through Employment (HOPE) mentoring program along with LaPorte Correctional Facility present their inaugural 'Dress Your Best' fashion show. 

HOPE Mentoring pairs incarcerated juveniles with college mentors who support the students during and after their stay. The goal is for the student and mentor to work together to obtain and maintain employment. HOPE allows the young women to select a business outfit to take home upon their release. This suit provides them appropriate job interview attire.  Once a year, a few of the young women will be picked to participate in a fashion show.  They proudly model their suit while an emcee discusses the young women’s future goals. 

"Our 'Dress Your Best' event, held February 21, 2020, made possible through HOPE mentoring was a huge success, " stated Warden Jason Smiley. "Our girls were able to learn great strategies on how to dress and communicate effectively for an interview. They carried themselves with pride and confidence. This is truly a wonderful program."

Donations of suits, dress shirts and pants, dresses and shoes are welcome. To donate email DOCoutreach@idoc.in.gov.

Juvenile students were able to walk-the-runway in their business attire during the HOPE fashion show.

Donations of suits, dress shirts and pants, dresses and shoes are welcome. To donate email DOCoutreach@idoc.in.gov.

One juvenile sang two songs during the fashion show.

Our “Dress Your Best” event, made possible through Hope Mentoring at IU and Dr Ochoa, was a huge success.

About HOPE

The H.O.P.E. Mentoring program is a subset of a larger team of colleagues that comprise the HOPE organization. The HOPE team researches incarceration, transition, and employment practices related to youth in the Indiana and greater United States area, with HOPE being an acronym for "Helping Offenders Prosper through Employment."  

The H.O.P.E. Mentoring Program Director is Dr. Theresa Ochoa, a professor of Special Education at Indiana University. Our leadership team is comprised of IU faculty, undergraduate students, and IU alum from a variety of majors and departments. Our mentors are undergraduate students from several Indiana University campuses, although we are eager to accept mentors from any Indiana college or University!

Our mentors are majoring in education, criminal justice, psychology, social work, public policy, and many other fields. We accept students from all backgrounds and fields of study, and would love to discuss how HOPE Mentoring can complement your course work.

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