Goodwill program gives young men tools to rewrite life

You’ve served your time. You need a job, but who’s going to hire an untrained man with a record in this economy?

These seemingly hopeless circumstances face many of the thousands of Michigan prisoners released each year. For those willing to earn a second chance at a better life, a Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit program can help them “Flip the Script.”

The mission is to prevent young men from returning to jail and putting them on a path to employment and a career. Less than one in ten of the ex-offenders who have completed the 16-week training in life skills and job preparation have had any serious contact with the criminal justice system since the launch of the Flip the Script program in 2003. The program works with minority males ages 18-30 prior to and after release through a partnership with Wayne County Jails and Courts. Director Keith Bennett says the messages in the program orientation, particularly for ex-offenders, are brutally straight-forward.

"Can you make a commitment to not kill?” Bennett says. “That’s a start. It may not stop you from stealing from a store, but it can reduce your chance of going to jail. Then if we can give you the skill set to get you a job ... maybe we can keep you out of jail. In many cases, the challenge is to convince them that regardless of your background, you can change your circumstances. We empower them with a spiritual belief in themselves.”

The approach is curriculum-based, but adds a human element that may catch many of the young men by surprise, Bennett says.

“We do that by sharing the fact … that we love them,” Bennett says. “We have some people that walk their experience. They’ve been poor and disenfranchised. Most of our guys didn’t have a dad in the home. I didn’t meet my dad till I was 35, so I’m a living, breathing experience that that is not an excuse.”

The intensive curriculum centers on training participants in the critical areas of math, reading, positive relationship development, parenting and workplace ethics. The impact is powerful, and timing is one of the reasons.

“We reach them at a crossroads in their life when they may finally be ready to listen,” says Bennett. “We’re hitting them when they’ve had enough failure.

“Now, let’s see if the education process will open some doors. We start with math. If we teach young men how to do math, they can help their children with their homework. When you can do that, you’re a dad,” says Bennett.

The stunning success of the Goodwill Industries initiative led to a major expansion in the program in November 2008. It included a move from Goodwill Detroit headquarters to its own facility in Detroit’s Northend neighborhood with capabilities that nearly doubled the number of men in the program to 180 per year. Many who are admitted have no criminal record, but meet admission requirements. The focus of Flip the Script has always included those who are economically and academically disadvantaged, and the positive results quickly caught the eye of school administrators. With two-thirds of the students in Detroit Public Schools living in poverty, and less than one-third graduating from high school, they were seeking solutions.

Several public and parochial-school principals called asking for help within the schools. The demand led to the In School Flip program, presented for boys and girls ages 12 to 17 during after-school and evening hours. The program, with funding support from The Skillman Foundation, includes academic skills development, substance abuse education, and anger management and domestic violence training.

The Flip the Script formula of training in life and workplace skills has curbed criminal activity, but many participants come from households where parents don’t get to work on time. Bennett says the program strives to teach alternatives and provide a skill set of a boss or business owner.

The stories of the young men differ. Some are re-entering society after release from jail. Others need to find their way after a series of setbacks. Joseph Humphries, 22, of Detroit, feels that he was on a path to nowhere before entering the program.

“I had messed up a lot of good opportunities, says Humphries. “I got real lazy and everything started falling through. I wasn’t too excited about the program when I first was told about it. I actually had to keep being reminded to go. After the first day, I fell in love with it.”

Humphries credits a motivational speaker at the program introduction, Raphael B. Johnson, with helping him to stop making excuses and be the “master of your universe.” After completing his course in March, Humphries found a part-time job in the meat department at a Meijer store.

“The program didn’t actually get me the job, but it definitely gave me the skills to pass the interview process. You get out of it what you put into it. I put my heart and soul into it and I got all kinds of job offers.”

Aaron Jennings, 20, of Detroit, was encouraged by his mother to enroll for Flip the Script training. He believes the emphasis on developing math skills paid off, and Jennings is now employed at a CVS Pharmacy.

Michigan’s sustained economic problems also have taken a toll on the program. Initially, Bennett said the program placed 80 percent in jobs. Last year the rate dropped to 67 percent.

“We’re struggling to keep it at 50 percent now,” says Bennett. “I share with them that this economy will not stay this way forever.”

The handful who have returned to prison have sent him apologetic letters, and he reminds them that it’s not too late to flip the script. The training that the curriculum provides is considered a start. It’s not an end to the challenges many of these young men will face, and the Flip staff vows to assist in any way it can.

Ex-offenders have always found it difficult to land employment opportunities in Michigan, Bennett says. But he believes that reluctance by hiring managers can and should change, and that the odds are with employers that hire a young man from the program. They’ll be investing in an applicant who brings a strong work ethic, academic and relationship-building skills that are freshly-ingrained and on-going to the job.

180 young men a year have chosen to change their lives by enrolling in the Goodwill Industries program. Regardless of what their adverse circumstances may be, they’re eager to Flip the Script.