Arouet Foundation

Health is the foundation of every opportunity.

As part of our series, The People Powering Opportunity, we’re proud to highlight Suzette Guzman, Arouet’s Health Equity Manager.

For women rebuilding their lives, long-term success requires more than just finding a job—it requires holistic well-being. Suzette works every day to bridge that gap, focusing on health education, healthcare navigation, and holistic healing to meet participants right where they’re at.

Her work builds a foundation for success that goes far deeper than routine care. When women are empowered to take charge of their health and strength, the impact ripples across entire families and communities.

Thank you, Suzette, for your heart, dedication, and leadership in walking alongside the women we serve.

A woman can serve her time, come home ready to work and rebuild, and still find that her past follows her into nearly every job application. That’s the part of reentry we don’t talk about enough.

Employment is about so much more than a paycheck. It can mean being able to secure housing, provide for your children, rebuild financial stability and begin making choices based on where you’re going — not where you’ve been.

At Arouet, we see women doing the hard work every day. They earn credentials, learn new skills, show up ready to work, and still, too many encounter barriers that have little to do with whether they can actually do the job.

This recent KJZZ Phoenix story puts real voices behind that reality and asks an important question about what it truly means to give someone the opportunity to start over. Successful reentry cannot rest on the individual alone. Employers, workforce organizations and communities all have a role in making sure the path forward actually leads somewhere.

Thank you to Kathy Ritchie and KJZZ Phoenix for helping tell this story and elevating the voices of women who know this experience firsthand. The story features our CEO Alison Rapping, Director of Community Impact Kim Thomas, and our Employment Navigator Jessica Marone, who each share a different perspective on the barriers women face and what it takes to move forward.
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Read and listen to the full story:

To really start over, formerly incarcerated women need jobs. Criminal records make it harder When a woman is released from prison, the roadmap back is complicated. But to really start over, she needs a job. For women with a criminal record, that can be difficult.

Tomorrow, we build. 🦺🔨

We are celebrating a big milestone for Arouet: our first NCCER Core Construction cohort officially begins tomorrow.

Our team has been busy getting everything ready—from tools and safety gear to materials and curriculum—so our first class can walk in ready to learn, earn nationally recognized credentials, and begin building a pathway into the skilled trades.

This is what workforce development should lead to ➡️ skills that employers value, credentials that travel with you, and access to careers that can create real economic mobility.

We’re incredibly grateful to The Home Depot Foundation for investing $10,000 through its 2026 Path to Pro Education Grant to help make this first cohort possible.

We also want to extend a major thank you to Brandy Smith and Jessica Bruner on our team for leading the vision and ex*****on behind this initiative.

ConstructionCareers EconomicMobility LISC Phoenix

Tomorrow, we build. 🦺🔨

We are celebrating a big milestone for Arouet: our first NCCER Core Construction cohort officially begins tomorrow.

Our team has been busy getting everything ready—from tools and safety gear to materials and curriculum—so our first class can walk in ready to learn, earn nationally recognized credentials, and begin building a pathway into the skilled trades.

This is what workforce development should lead to ➡️ skills that employers value, credentials that travel with you, and access to careers that can create real economic mobility.

We’re incredibly grateful to The Home Depot Foundation for investing $10,000 through its 2026 Path to Pro Education Grant to help make this first cohort possible.

We also want to extend a major thank you to Brandy Smith and Jessica Perry-Bruner on our team for leading the vision and ex*****on behind this initiative.

Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)

Arizona’s workforce future won’t be built by looking in the same places for talent.

We recently brought together leaders from business, government, philanthropy and the community to talk about what’s possible when we rethink who gets access to opportunity.

The talent is here. The business case is clear. Now it’s about turning conversation into action.

That work continues this October at UNLOCKED: The Action Forum for Arizona’s Workforce Future.

Arizona has an opportunity to lead. Let’s build what comes next. 🔓

Arizona’s workforce future won’t be built by looking in the same places for talent.

We recently brought together leaders from business, government, philanthropy and the community to talk about what’s possible when we rethink who gets access to opportunity.

The talent is here. The business case is clear. Now it’s about turning conversation into action.

That work continues this October at UNLOCKED: The Action Forum for Arizona’s Workforce Future.

Arizona has an opportunity to lead. Let’s build what comes next. 🔓

Some stories really bring you back to why this work matters. ❤️

Brandy Smith first came to Arouet as a participant. Today, she serves as our Vice President of Internal Affairs and Program Operations, helping shape the programs and support that women experience every day.

Her journey is incredible, but what we’re most proud of is the leader she has become and the perspective she brings to this work. As Brandy shares, “It’s not that we save people, but we give them the space, support and the opportunity to save themselves.”

We’re so grateful to Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Phoenix for sharing Brandy’s story and highlighting what’s possible when lived experience has a seat at the table — and a voice in leading the work.

Your leadership has shaped and is continuing to shape the vision and impact of Arouet.

Arouet VP is a Local Success Story Brandy Smith isn’t bragging when she says no one knows her job at Arouet Foundation like she does. It’s simply the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Opportunity starts with access.

At Arouet, we believe lasting economic mobility is created through intentional pathways and comprehensive support. As Arizona’s leader in workforce opportunity for justice-impacted women, we break down systemic barriers and build sustainable futures by:

♦️Aligning skillsets with high-growth career pathways.
♦️Connecting participants with professional mentors and industry networks.
♦️Providing the foundational resources required to thrive continuously.
♦️Unlocking sustainable career advancement and financial independence.

We focus on transforming local economies by investing in human potential and collaborating with forward-thinking Arizona employers to widen talent pipelines.

When we invest in talent, access, and partnership, our entire community grows stronger.

Learn more about joining our mission as a partner, advocate, or employer: https://arouetempowers.org/

We often talk about employment as the key to successful reentry. But employment starts with something even more fundamental: housing.

Without a safe place to live, it’s exponentially harder to secure a job, maintain stability, reunite with family, or build financial independence. That’s why housing isn’t separate from workforce development—it’s part of the foundation.

We’re grateful to Dream.Org for highlighting the experiences of women on the Arouet team and the broader conversation about what it truly takes to create pathways to prosperity.

Read the story: https://dream.org/news-articles/the-housing-crisis-arizona/

The Housing Crisis: Arizona’s Revolving Door | Dream.Org In 2026, the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the state of Arizona is just shy of $1,800 a month. A full-time worker would need to earn $34.18 an hour or a household income of $71,101 annually to afford that price. The median hourly wage for Arizona’s most common occupations is $17. Thi...