Building Community Throught Hiring

Owning a business gives entrepreneurs the freedom to pursue more
than simply income and wealth from their businesses. Many choose to use
their businesses to become building blocks to help improve their
community.

Several students at Belmont University are
participating in a program addressing one challenge faced by every
community: Inmates are released from prison every day back into the
community and face a difficult transition back into society. TRIO, which
stands for Transformation Reconciliation from the Inside Out, uses
education as a tool to help build a path for successful reintegration of
former offenders from prison back into the community.

One
important partner in this process is local employers. Finding employment
for former offenders significantly reduces the probability that they
will return to prison in the future.

In the first phase of this
program, TRIO brings together college students and inmate students in
classes that are offered at the Charles Bass Correctional Complex Annex
in Nashville. The goal of the classes is to engage the inmates jointly
with college students in education to help foster understanding and
reconciliation through community support.

Some of the students are
trying to help with the next step in this program by identifying
employers who are willing to hire the offenders. This is not always an
easy task.

“I am especially discouraged when employers see only a
crime rather than an individual working toward reconciliation,” said
Lindsey Ricker, an entrepreneurship major at Belmont who is
participating in TRIO. “Many employers take one glance at a checked
felony box and throw a job application in the trash.”

“I have
confidence in our guys,” added Eliza Hemmings, a sociology and French
double major from Belmont. “I have confidence that given support and the
right opportunity that they will be successful in their re-entry
process. It is not possible to change the past — what’s done is done.
But what we can do as a larger community is support their will to
change, their will to contribute to society in a positive way and
rebuild their lives. We as community members have a choice as well, and I
choose to support my inside friends on their journey toward success.”

Employers who are participating find benefits from hiring men from this program.

“Which
Wich (a sandwich shop franchise) has found the employees re-entering
society to be hard-working, determined and bringing a positive attitude
to the other employees and customers,” said Tracie Maybaum, a Which Wich
general manager. “One of the most beneficial assets they bring to work
is their attitude. Theirs positivity influences other employees, and
their gratitude is motivating.”

The government can assist
employers who are willing to hire former offenders. The U.S. Department
of Labor insures qualified former offenders bonding for a range of
$5,000-$25,000 for six months. And those who hire a qualified former
offender within a year of release may be eligible for up to $9,000 in
tax credits.

Hiring former offenders certainly brings with it some
risks. But accepting these risks can help contribute toward building a
stronger community. And after all, isn’t entrepreneurship all about
taking risks?