New program helps ex-offenders return to work

A new reentry program in Boise aims to help ex-offenders overcome the stigma of a criminal record and land gainful employment.

St. Vincent de Paul of Southwest Idaho recently launched a reentry service center to help those who are returning from prison or jail and eager to find work.

People with blemished backgrounds have the challenge of finding resources to help them integrate back into society, said Ralph May, the nonprofit’s executive director.

As the Vincent de Paul of Southwest Idaho works to help poor, hungry and homeless citizens in the area, one issue is a constant in the lives of about one-third of its clients.

“Many are struggling because they have a family member who is incarcerated or they are formerly incarcerated individuals,” said May.

Those people who left prison and are succeeding usually have a common denominator: a job. But first they need a place to land and some support to rebuild their lives and families, as well as return to the workforce.

People with criminal backgrounds who secure employment are much less likely to re-offend, reducing the recidivism rate, lowering taxpayer burden, and giving these people a real opportunity to make an honest living, said May, whose first job with St. Vincent de Paul was as an employment specialist.

He built an initial list of area employers “willing to work with us” and give former prisoners a second chance.

“It’s almost a personal mission for some of these employers to give them (people leaving prison) a shot at being successful,” said May, adding that some of them are construction companies, restaurants and trucking outfits.

Without Idaho employers stepping up, “the cost to society is even more massive,” said May, referring to the 68 percent of former prisoners who re-offend and head back to a correctional facility.

Located at 8620 W. Emerald St., Suite 140, the St. Vincent de Paul Reentry Services office is in the same office park as the reentry center for the Idaho Department of Corrections.

About 85 percent of the clients are men — and they get out of prison with just 30 days of transitional housing covered. “It’s important to have a job within two weeks and paycheck in another two weeks” before housing assistance ends, May said.

Staffers at the St. Vincent de Paul office, many of them former inmates, work fast to “point clients in the right direction” with services such as job search advice, Social Security cards, food stamp assistance, transportation to parole and probation offices, and referrals to other agencies, including the Veterans Administration, which  can provide health care and counseling.

Privately funded through donations, grants and thrift store profits, the program has made an impact with clients, May said.

“One is an older gentleman who had 20-plus felonies and some of them pretty grievous,” said May. The man recognized the harm he had done, took responsibility for it, and was very eager to redeem himself in the eyes of the community and his family, and be a contributing citizen.

“He told me when I met with him, ‘I’ve got to be different this time. I screwed up with my kids, but I’ve got to succeed for the sake of my grandchildren. I need to be a role model for them’” said May.