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careers for convicts and that sustainability racket
sova
delocalized fractyllic harmonizing Veteran
Hey all, feeling well and of full ease i pray 
My friend just told me about this beautiful initiative in Chicago, where ex-cons can get work helping as beekeepers. Still growing as a program, but what a great direction.
an excerpt:
Three months after he was paroled, Smith is a beekeeper. With Sweet Beginnings, a program focused on providing ex-convicts with work experience and the start of an employment history, Smith tends to hives and, with others in the program, produces upscale beauty and consumer products from the resulting honey.
"Nervous? Yeah, just a little bit," Smith said, recalling his first time this summer among the hives when he forced himself to go out without any protective suit. "I'm used to it now, I'm kinda settled in."
With tattoos on both forearms and diamond hoops in his ears, he talks of the importance of his tools of the trade and how he can recognize when bees are "having a bad day."
"The program is a good experience, because you're learning respect ... You have to get used to the bees' attitudes and adjust to their emotions," he said. "It's like dealing with people - you have to learn to respect their space."
http://www.illinoisprisontalk.com/index.php?topic=2905.0;wap2
I was wondering if anyone had any similar tales ? Something that can re-empower convicted persons and help set them up for practical and healthy life on the "outside"
My friend just told me about this beautiful initiative in Chicago, where ex-cons can get work helping as beekeepers. Still growing as a program, but what a great direction.
an excerpt:
Three months after he was paroled, Smith is a beekeeper. With Sweet Beginnings, a program focused on providing ex-convicts with work experience and the start of an employment history, Smith tends to hives and, with others in the program, produces upscale beauty and consumer products from the resulting honey.
"Nervous? Yeah, just a little bit," Smith said, recalling his first time this summer among the hives when he forced himself to go out without any protective suit. "I'm used to it now, I'm kinda settled in."
With tattoos on both forearms and diamond hoops in his ears, he talks of the importance of his tools of the trade and how he can recognize when bees are "having a bad day."
"The program is a good experience, because you're learning respect ... You have to get used to the bees' attitudes and adjust to their emotions," he said. "It's like dealing with people - you have to learn to respect their space."
http://www.illinoisprisontalk.com/index.php?topic=2905.0;wap2
I was wondering if anyone had any similar tales ? Something that can re-empower convicted persons and help set them up for practical and healthy life on the "outside"
1
Comments
that being said it is good for those who do give people chances. of course these days with the government the way it is and all the silly laws, people can have a conviction for stuff that shouldn't even be a crime. Which is why it is good for some employers to at least talk to the person about the crime instead of just throwing out the application. In a day where there are more people looking for work then jobs though, I can see that there would be enough qualified people without a conviction to look into someone who has one, even if its for driving with a suspended license.
in my years of CPS I've worked with many people who've been convicted and I've seen their struggles, it certainly does not help to have a record however the state these days provides lots of help through one stop career centers and the like. I do feel that those who REALLY do want to turn their lives around will do it with their own hard work and determination, regardless of the obstacles, because that's how people succeed in the first place.