{"id":1054,"date":"2016-04-20T18:55:49","date_gmt":"2016-04-20T22:55:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/?p=1054"},"modified":"2016-04-20T18:59:29","modified_gmt":"2016-04-20T22:59:29","slug":"from-the-slammer-to-the-bakery-with-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/2016\/04\/from-the-slammer-to-the-bakery-with-love.html","title":{"rendered":"From the Slammer to the Bakery with LOVE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Morgan<\/p>\n

So you\u2019ve just been released from the Slammer. Now you get to join the 20 million<\/a> Americans who have felony convictions; and the estimated 65 million<\/a> with criminal backgrounds. The problem is: they\u2019re all looking for work too \u2013 and it ain\u2019t easy in a society leery of ex-cons.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bonnie Rice was released from prison a year ago. With a drug-related history, she knew she no longer had (nor desired) any kind of future with her former druggies.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know where to go, how to go,\u201d Rice told<\/a> NPR with a quiver in her voice. \u201cIt was scary.\u201d She felt eerily alone and vulnerable.<\/p>\n

Like many ex-cons, she managed to find temporary accommodation in a halfway house. But in spite of filing numerous job applications in the early months following her release, not many prospective employers called back. \u201cPeople look down on you,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Then she found Together We Bake<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a bakery in Alexandria, Va., that makes granola, cookies and kale chips for local food and catering companies. It\u2019s also a job-training and coaching program for women in need of a second chance \u2014 many of whom have served time, or are on probation following criminal charges.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese women face a lot of obstacles,\u201d according<\/a> to\u00a0Stephanie Wright, co-founder of the program.<\/p>\n

Rice has been in the program for approximately eight weeks. She\u2019s working toward her\u00a0Serv Safe certificate<\/a>, a practical transitional step to\u00a0securing employment in the culinary field once her training at the program ends.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not only the Yeast that Rises . .\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Together We Bake<\/em> also incorporates\u00a0resilience training and empowerment classes<\/a> to better equip trainees to cope with challenges. Wright, who has a background in social work, directs these classes and they\u2019re often led by women who\u2019ve graduated from the program.<\/p>\n

The curriculum is based on a book titled Houses of Healing<\/a>, a mindfulness-based, research-driven philosophy designed to help people change their behavior and overcome feelings of demoralization and lack of self-esteem.<\/p>\n

Wright says<\/a> the emotional training is key. \u201cThe women often need help with soft skills,\u201d Wright told NPR. In a sense, they\u2019re pouring new wine into new wine skins; <\/em>and these newly learned values are what\u00a0propel them forward.<\/p>\n

Buoyed by the support and camaraderie, Rice says for the first time in her life, she\u2019s experiencing her self-esteem rising. \u201cIt\u2019s like a team, like a family of sisters,\u201d Rice says<\/a>. \u201cThe women here at Together We Bake have showed me there\u2019s love and respect \u2014 and that you are\u00a0<\/em>someone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others follow suit . . \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a growing movement<\/a> called Ban the Box, intent on dissuading companies from requiring job applicants to disclose any criminal records, in the initial application process.<\/p>\n

Several food enterprises like\u00a0Butterball Farms<\/a> in Michigan and Greyston Bakery<\/a> in New York publicly support the employment of people with a criminal past.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most vocal of such enterprises is Dave\u2019s Killer Bread<\/a>, (I know . . ) an Oregon-based bakery that \"Powerseed-white\"\u00a0distributes its products nationally, including at many Costco stores.<\/p>\n

Their labels tell the story: Dave Dahl had spent time in prison. \u201cHis brother, Glenn, saw a change in him and gave Dave a second chance by welcoming him back to the family bakery.\u201d About 1 in 3 of its employees has a criminal past.<\/p>\n

The bakery\u2019s vision of hiring people with criminal backgrounds inspired the creation of Dave\u2019s Killer Bread Foundation, which is hosting a Second Chance Summit<\/a> in New York next month. The summit\u2019s sole objective is to encourage more employers to follow their lead.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe see a powerful connection between successful employment of people with criminal backgrounds and reducing the national recidivism rate, the company\u2019s website reads. Some of these workers \u201ccan be rock stars\u201d \u2014 if given a chance, Genevieve Martin<\/a>, executive director of the foundation told NPR by phone.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The way of compassion and rehabilitation<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a country beset with violence, criminality, a broken-beyond-repair incarceration system, and wandering ex-cons prone to recidivism, it behooves us, I believe, to take a little leaf out of the books of these visionaries who exemplify for me a better way to heal, welcome, and reform the \u2018lost sheep\u2019 in our midst.<\/p>\n

What say you?<\/em><\/p>\n

Cover Photo: Morgan McCloy\/NPR<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Image Insert: daveskillerbread.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So you\u2019ve just been released from the Slammer. Now you get to join the 20 million Americans who have felony convictions; and the estimated 65 million with criminal backgrounds. The problem is: they\u2019re all looking for work too \u2013 and it ain\u2019t easy in a society leery of ex-cons. \u00a0 Bonnie Rice was released from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2586,"featured_media":1055,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[65,67,64,66,63],"class_list":["post-1054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crime","tag-employment","tag-mercy","tag-prison","tag-recidivism"],"yoast_head":"\nFrom the Slammer to the Bakery with LOVE<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"So you've just been released from the Slammer. 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