Macon’s Adult Readiness Program Honored for Life-Changing Impact on Community
Roger Jackson, founder of the Adult Readiness Program, was awarded the Private Stakeholder of the Year Award by the Georgia Department of Community Supervision (DCS) on October 9. This honor recognizes the program’s significant impact on the community and its efforts to assist individuals with criminal records.
Jackson expressed pride in the recognition, stating, “To be chosen out of so many other great organizations around the State of Georgia is a tremendous accomplishment for the staff and our graduates who have come through the program.” He emphasized the program’s commitment to transforming lives and changing mindsets among those it serves in Macon-Bibb and surrounding areas.
The Adult Readiness Program focuses on training probationers, parolees, and individuals with criminal backgrounds, helping them secure interviews and job placements. Since its inception in 2020, the program has seen 26 graduating classes, with 234 out of 245 participants achieving interviews or securing jobs.
Jackson noted the program’s broader impact, saying, “We want people with criminal records, the unemployable that society has cast aside, and that no one believed they could turn their lives around.”
The program is a recipient of a $135,000 MVP grant, further supporting its mission to empower individuals in the community.
MVP Coordinator Jeremy Grissom praised Jackson and his team’s work, stating, “Having Roger Jackson and his team be part of MVP is an honor. This is what MVP is all about—giving our neighbors an opportunity to be great and make decisions that will make a difference in their lives and future generations.”
Highlighting the program’s reach, Jackson pointed out that the current cohort includes 31 participants who are parents to 74 children, demonstrating the far-reaching effects of the Adult Readiness Program on families and the community at large.
About the Macon Violence Prevention Program
Macon Violence Prevention is an evidence-based, multifaceted program created to address public safety in Macon-Bibb County. Supported and funded by the consolidated government, MVP is a community-wide effort that brings together elected officials, community leaders and representatives from more than 20 agencies, organizations and departments.
This summer, Macon-Bibb and the Community Foundation of Central Georgia announced more than $800,000 in grant money for 25 non-profit organizations. Since the inception of MVP in 2021, $1,685,000 has been awarded to 40 different organizations’ missions.
Though MVP is still fairly new in its implementation, it has already helped the community realize significant results in becoming safer. From 2022 to 2023, Macon-Bibb had a nearly 43% reduction in homicides, from 70 to 40. The reduction in homicides for children (those 18 years old and younger) went from 15 in 2022 to 5 in 2023 – which is a 66.7% reduction in just one year.
While other cities in Georgia and around the country also had a decline in their homicide rate, Macon-Bibb County’s 43% far surpassed them. Atlanta had a 21% decline, Columbus a 12%, Savannah a 13%, Mobile, Alabama a 21%, and Jackson, Mississippi a 14%.
The MVP program operates under the guidance of the MVP Strategic Plan, which was introduced in June of 2021. Created by community stakeholders and violent crime experts, this strategic plan combines data and research with community feedback to implement proven solutions that reduce violent crime and strengthen the community over time.
