The Road Up

Description

The Road Up is an award-winning documentary that follows four participants in Cara, a Chicago job-training program, as they search for stable employment and a pathway out of poverty. Throughout, they are guided, goaded, and challenged by their impassioned mentor, Mr. Jesse, whose own troubled past compels him to help others find hope in the face of addiction, homelessness, and the aftereffects of incarceration.

Hailed as “inspiring,” “astounding,” and “triumphant,” The Road Up creates a powerful mosaic of the struggles that millions of Americans face every day, the daunting and often interconnected barriers—large and small, internal and external, systemic and individual—that prevent so many from getting and keeping a job. In doing so, the film opens space for challenging conversations about issues like racial equity and second chance hiring, as well as the concrete steps companies can take to create a more inclusive workforce.

Learning Outcomes

• Contemplate the day-to-day realities of people who struggle to find—and sustain—employment
• Understand the barriers to employment that these underserved and challenged populations face
• Learn what you can do as individuals and employers to help people find permanent, meaningful work, and to support more inclusive recruitment, hiring, and retention policies

Watch the Trailer