Triad Goodwill helps former prisoners get back on their feet

“Some of the choices that impacted my life were me being in constant trouble and making the wrong decisions, made poor choices, and those decisions basically led me down a dark hole into incarceration,” said Nathan Wren.

Wren says that once he got out of prison, a friend told him about Goodwill’s program to help formerly incarcerated people reintegrate into society. The program changed his life.

“It was awesome, like these guys that came and helped me with resume building and the things that I needed to be to return to society, because I haven’t been in society for over what, three and a half years, so it was kind of hard to scramble,” said Wren.

Program Manager Kelly Childress says what Wren experienced is common for people starting over after prison time. While they were inside, life changed outside.

“Specifically with people that have been incarcerated for over 10 to 15 years, or even six years, things have completely changed,” she says. “A lot of it is navigating those digital skills, learning how to use the computer, how to set up an email account, all of those kinds of great things. We walk them from the start to the end of their current path,” said Childress.

Thanks in part to a $10,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro, that path can include everything from learning how to do electrical or construction work to getting a commercial driver’s license. Numbers show the program is working. The recidivism rate is less than one percent, and more than 300 people finished the program to land jobs paying more than $15 an hour, but Childress says the program helps people learn something even more important than job skills.

“For individuals returning to community employment, it’s not just about a paycheck, but it’s about building confidence,” said Childress. “That’s really the key once you’re able to find employment; you can see a light show and their face, and they’re just super excited.”

Wren agrees that finding confidence is one of the program’s biggest benefits. He’s now a Goodwill Certified Peer Support Specialist with the self-assurance to help others rebuild their lives after incarceration, just like he did.

“Peer support specialist is a certified peer that you basically talk to, you can reach out to, they’ll, you know, guide you through life, and just different obstacles that you can’t, you know, look for, or you don’t know, so they’re like a shining light to a lot of people, and they’re, you know, they’re great. It’s a hard job, but it’s tough,” said Wren.