This op-ed was published in the San Jose Mercury News and the East Bay Times.

Employers across California are asking, “Where can we find workers?” The truth is that many hundreds of thousands of Californians are locked out of opportunity. And it doesn’t have to be that way.

Many of our state’s most pressing economic challenges are the consequence of inaction. In this case, more than 55,000 Californians come home from incarceration each year and, without jobs or other options, about 50 percent go back to prison within three years.

Every night, more than 150,000 Californians sleep in the streets, tents or at best a shelter because they do not have a home. All told, hundreds of thousands of Californians with histories of homelessness or system involvement can and want to work but are prevented from doing so by biases and barriers.

As the economy emerges from the pandemic and our state and nation come to grips with our long history of racism and inequity, we can do much more to create an inclusive economy that will deliver benefits to us all.

To do so, we must refocus on individuals’ strengths, experiences and ability to contribute no matter their circumstances. We must stop boxing people into stereotyped categories — homeless person, ex-convict, addict — and see them instead as colleagues and contributors.

What are the underlying conditions that equip any of us to access the fundamentals of a good life? It’s a mix of supportive family or community, a work environment that treats us with respect and as contributors with potential for growth, and access to basic stability and safety as we make our way.

“Employment social enterprises” (ESEs) are purpose-driven, evidence-backed businesses that invest their profits in providing these fundamentals to talented people who are overcoming extremely challenging hardships and biases.

Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) is just one example. With sites in San Jose, Oakland the North Bay and beyond, this national social enterprise provides people returning from incarceration with paid jobs, skills training and continuing career support.

In partnership with the California Department of Transportation, CEO has employed more than 6,000 returning citizens to ensure our highways are clean and safe, with more than 3,000 placed into full-time jobs. Program participants have had just an 8% recidivism rate, compared to the statewide level of 65%, resulting in a taxpayer savings of $3 of incarceration costs for every $1 invested in the program.

In this and so many other ways, employment social enterprises show that profit and purpose are not mutually exclusive. In the last five years, just the 190-plus ESE companies that my organization works with across the country have earned $1 billion in revenue, reinvesting that money in the people they employ and growing the number of jobs offered.

Elected officials at all levels are beginning to recognize that our economic recovery plans must also prioritize investment in employment social enterprises and likeminded “second chance” employers.

The California Comeback Plan includes a $1.5 billion investment in keeping California’s roads and highways clean. The plan includes employing — through Caltrans — more than 15,000 people who have experienced incarceration, homelessness or youth involvement with the juvenile-justice or child-welfare systems.

We need these — and many more — investments in ESEs if we are to create a truly “new normal” of inclusive economic development in post-pandemic California.

There are hundreds of thousands of Californians who need and deserve the opportunity to build back better. They have so much to offer, and as a society we have so much to gain. It’s time we embrace California’s hidden talent — and invest in our shared success.