Before his release from prison, Charles Worpek joined Community Action Pioneer Valley’s Re-entry Workforce Development Program. Now, a year after his release, he works as a prep cook at Fitzwilly’s Restaurant in Northampton and lives with a friend in Chesterfield. The program, Worpek said, made the transition possible.
“The fact that I did work-release at all really set me up, because as soon as I was released, I already had employment, and I already had some savings,” Worpek said before his Friday shift at the restaurant. “Without that, you’d get released and just be homeless.”
With the help of a $200,000 state grant from the Commonwealth Corporation’s Re-entry Workforce Development Demonstration grants funded through the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development — an increase of $35,000 over last year’s award — 30 more recently released individuals or incarcerated individuals nearing their release will have a chance to follow Worpek’s path and join the crews of at least four local businesses.
Lisa Lapierre, director of youth and workforce development at Community Action, said the program sets currently or formerly incarcerated individuals up for employment by saving them seats in training programs at Greenfield Community College or Holyoke Community College. Through these programs, participants learn the foundations of fields like manufacturing and culinary arts, and for the first time this year, recovery coach training. The list of certifications will also expand this year to include Occupational Safety and Health Administration 10 Safety Training and ServSafe for food safety.
Lapierre said Community Action plans to diversify the program’s offerings into other fields like weatherization.
Beyond technical skills, the trainings teach necessary soft skills for entering or stepping back into the workforce. Participants learn tips for job interviews, etiquette for dressing for the job, clocking in on time and other unsaid workplace expectations.
Armed with skills and certifications, participants then work for businesses like Fitzwilly’s, Witman Properties Inc. in Holyoke, Nortek Inc. in West Springfield and Franklin County Community Development Corporation’s Western Massachusetts Food Processing Center in Greenfield. Now in its sixth year, Community Action will continue to pay for the first two weeks of their clients’ wages as an incentive for businesses willing to take a chance and “let [participants] get their foot in the door,” Lapierre said.
“This partnership represents a critical investment in people and in our community,” Franklin County Sheriff Lori Streeter said in a statement. “Employment is one of the strongest predictors of a successful re-entry. By connecting individuals to vocational training and real job opportunities, we are helping them build stability and a path forward.”
Liz Buxton, director of operations at the Food Processing Center, described obtaining a job as a first step for participants as they adjust to life outside of prison. By paying more than minimum wage salaries, jobs through Community Action’s program help soften the financial blow of housing, child support, transportation to work and smaller expenses that impact day-to-day life like a computer or cellphone for formerly incarcerated workers.
“Housing, transportation and a job. You have those three things, you’re already ahead of the game, you’re already leaning toward success,” Buxton said.
At the food processing center, Buxton has heard conversations between formerly incarcerated employees processing challenges they faced during and after incarceration, and trading tips with coworkers going through similar obstacles.
“Being in jail or prison or being in recovery, there’s a lot to unpack, and having a safe space to talk about it with people that have done it without it being a forced group therapy, it’s more natural,” she said.
According to Buxton, her employees often drive home coworkers who don’t have steady transportation and throw pizza parties when a member of the crew earns parole.
“It’s a culture that we’ve developed here,” she said. “My philosophy here is I really don’t care what you’ve done, I care about where you are right now and where you’re trying to get to.”
From peeling 2,000 tons of tomatillos to stirring hundreds of gallons of hot chocolate for the Hot Chocolate Run in Northampton, each work day at the food processing center entails a new challenge. Buxton develops the process and the crew executes it.
Although finished products range from salsa and hot fudge to honey, each day ends with a towering quantity of food — a clear reminder for the crew of their accomplishments, Buxton said.
Michelle Engel, director of re-entry and community housing services at the Hampshire County Sheriff’s Office, said participants often finish the program with work experience under their belts and a boost of confidence.
“They’re feeling really good about themselves, they’re accomplishing something that they probably never thought they could, whether the guy’s in his 20s or his 50s or anything in between, it’s definitely one of those prideful moments where, ‘Wow, I started something, I finished it all the way through, and here’s a result: I’m getting a job that I’ve probably never made this much money and I could make a career out of it,'” Engel said.
Inside Fitzwilly’s, participants in the program start as line cooks in the kitchen. Worpek now prepares ingredients like vegetables downstairs, which he says is a step up from his first role at Fitzwilly’s as a line cook with set hours.
Worpek joined Fitzwilly’s two years ago already equipped with restaurant experience before he was incarcerated. He chose the culinary arts training program at Holyoke Community College for the fast pace of cooking.
“You are never bored. There’s always moving, there’s always something to do,” Worpek said. “It [the program] gave me something to do while I was incarcerated, but I can picture it being an incredible resource for anybody who’s just looking for something to do upon release.”
At Witman Properties Inc., program participants’ responsibilities begin with groundskeeping vacant apartments before moving on to “higher-level landscaping” with more customer interaction, founder and owner Anthony Witman said.
By creating entry-level opportunities that can launch formerly incarcerated individuals into jobs and careers beyond the first gig, Witman said Community Action’s program chips away at stigma that clings to the incarcerated population.
“A lot of folks who are in prison are there because a lot of times one bad decision that they made years ago, and they’re carrying a lot of stigma around with them because of that,” Witman said. “As a community, we’re not going to be able to progress away from a culture of poverty and the crime that comes with it if we don’t find a way to help get these folks working hard and productively.”
Like Witman, Buxton said the program targets recidivism with action. Although she has read the names of past employees in police logs, she keeps track of the success stories.
Leaning forward in her office chair, she recalled a past incarcerated employee telling her about his weekly phone calls to his son, when he would break down his days at the food processing center, from the gallons of hot sauce to gallons of hot fudge. Two years later, Buxton spotted him in the doorway of the food processing center. He updated Buxton on his life: he had regained custody of his son and was working full-time at a restaurant close to home.
“It’s a win-win on both sides,” Buxton said of the program.
