Since 1999, NLEN has provided a holistic approach to workforce development. We connect residents of North Lawndale and beyond to employment, training, and financial tools that lead to economic mobility, and brighter futures.
MISSION + IMPACT
What began as a community-led initiative guided by the Steans Family Foundation has grown into a trusted leader in workforce development, reentry services, and social enterprises. Our holistic approach includes job readiness training, transitional employment, industry-specific skills programs, and wraparound financial services.
In 2004, NLEN launched Sweet Beginnings: our award-winning social enterprise committed to solving the problem of underemployment among men and women with criminal backgrounds. We do this by providing reentry services, job training, and three-month transitional jobs in our honey and natural skincare business, beelove®.
NLEN is committed to:
Empowering job seekers to secure stable, family-sustaining employment
Partnering with employers to recruit and retain reliable, skilled talent
Advocating for equity and fair-chance employment in hiring and access to economic
opportunity
Providing financial education and coaching to help residents build wealth
Investing in a thriving, resilient North Lawndale community
Revitalizing the North Lawndale community and reducing the community’s unemployment rate by
10% by 2027We believe in fair chances and we’ve seen firsthand the power of employment to restore dignity and change lives.
NLEN’s President & CEO, Brenda M. Palms
The North Lawndale Employment Network’s mission is to improve the earnings potential of the North Lawndale community through innovative employment initiatives that lead to economic advancement and an improved quality of life.
As one of NLEN’s social enterprises, Sweet Beginnings has a triple-bottom line: people, product, and planet. Sweet Beginnings creates transitional job opportunities while producing high-quality, natural skincare products under the beelove® brand.
Creating sustainable jobs that contribute to North Lawndale’s renewal.
Providing individuals with criminal records a real chance to build a work history and reenter the workforce with confidence.
Producing and selling all-natural honey and honey-infused skincare products that are as good for your skin as they are for the community.
1,700
SNAP meals served to eligible community members
$19.51
average starting hourly wage
421
program graduates across all workforce programs
32%
increase in household net income
500+
household bank accounts opened
667
participants received one-on-one career and financial coaching
Given the high rate of poverty resulting from racial and economic wealth disparities, we serve the unemployed and asset-limited, income-constrained employed populations in North Lawndale. We help them to secure employment within one year, and develop the underlying skills and behaviors that improve their ability to successfully navigate the job market, secure sustained employment, close educational gaps, and/or improve household economic conditions.
We are deeply committed to equity, dignity, and community transformation.
These core values
guide everything we do.
Through data collection, community insights, and collaborative studies, our research informs program design, strengthens advocacy, and ensures we're meeting the real needs of North Lawndale residents. By grounding our work in evidence, we advance solutions that are both effective and equitable - building a stronger, more resilient community from the ground up.
Research
Sustainability + Clean Energy Jobs Whitepaper (2024)
Drugs, Crimes & Consequences: Arrests and Incarceration in North Lawndale (2002)
Impact Reports
“The most important thing that I’ve learned is that there’s actually people out there who care if I make it.”
— David
NLEN Graduate
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