By Kevin O’Sullivan
For many inmates, being released from prison is a daunting and often haphazard experience. Often, prisoners have difficulty acclimating to a “normal” life, and finding good work. This is a recurring theme in our current incarceration system. Once released from prison, finding purpose and productivity is a steep uphill battle, one that can cause recently released prisoners to repeat their mistakes and return to incarceration. However, this system is undergoing a change with efforts from non-profit organizations like NOEL (New Orleans Education League of the Construction Industry).
Thanks to the efforts of NOEL and their partnership with the Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans (HBAGNO), Louisiana Re-Entry Courts*, Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola), and Jefferson Parish Office of Community Development, newly released inmates are receiving certifications and placement in construction jobs around New Orleans. The goal of this program is to provide participants with the necessary tools they need to turn their lives around and return to a life with a new purpose and ability.
Although NOEL is a new addition to this ongoing joint effort, they have already begun placing participants and creating big plans for the new year. Philip Thomas is the Executive Director of NOEL, a member of the HBAGNO, and has been working diligently to help make this a constructive program for participants and hiring contractors alike. “These men are selected because they want to take advantage of a second chance,” explained Thomas, “and often times all they need is the support system to really turn their lives around.”
There are two sides to this growing program. At the front end, NOEL is in close partnership with the Re-Entry courts and Angola’s Rehabilitation and Workforce Development program. Non-violent and non-sex offenders can be selected for this program and are offered a two year moral rehabilitation and vocational training sentence as they complete their designated time in prison. In these courses the participant is provided all of the tools for personal development to prepare them for a productive return to a working life, and also a gamut of professional certifications that can be used to place them in well-paying trade jobs when they are released. “These are real, professionally recognized certificates,” said Thomas. “When they enter the workforce, they have the same certifications as anyone else, and that means a lot.”
The certification programs train participants for careers in carpentry, automotive and collision repair, drywall, painting, electrical, HVAC, landscape and horticulture, generator repair, masonry, outdoor power equipment, plumbing and electrical work. Many participants graduate from the program with multiple certifications that allow them options and professional diversity in the workplace.
NOEL’s participation really kicks in on the back end, when the participants are preparing for their release. NOEL places participants in continuing education courses that are offered by HBAGNO. The classes range from $50 to $300 per class, but are offered free of charge to participants in the re-entry program. “We recently had a day-of-education during which six hours of education were offered,” Thomas said.
“It would have cost a non-HBA member $150, but we were able to send three of our men there to take the full day of classes for free.”
The participants will ultimately receive the training and mentorship that they need to be placed in well-paying jobs with licensed contractors with the help of NOEL. Thomas envisions the program as the start of a transformation in Louisiana’s incarceration system. “We’re working with people that are already out right now.” Thomas said. “We’ve already placed a couple of participants in great jobs and have a few more men and women currently going through the education phase. Our ultimate goal is to set these candidates up with well-paying jobs so that they can live on their own comfortably. That’s the most important piece to this holistic approach – that they come out better off than they went in.”
Thomas hopes that as this program grows over the course of 2018 that NOEL will place fifteen to twenty re-entering men and women in HBAGNO education courses and ultimately well-paying careers. And although the intent of this program is to give recently incarcerated men and women the opportunity to reach success upon their release, the overarching philosophy has many more implications. The holistic approach is about mental and moral rehabilitation. It’s about recognizing that many inmates just need a support system and opportunities to grow and find purpose. It’s about addressing incarceration as a rehabilitation program and, especially in a state with the highest incarceration rate, the opportunity to positively change the lives of people who are often left behind and hopeless when they are released.
This isn’t a first for NOEL either. NOEL is notorious for their community impact programs. Their Jefferson Joining Forces program helps elderly homeowners remediate problems with their houses that have caused them to be cited by the Jefferson Parish Inspection and Code Enforcement. With funds from a HUD grant through Jefferson Parish Office of Community Development, NOEL will pay licensed contractors to fix faulty gutters, electric lines, drywall etc. to bring the house up to code at no cost to the homeowner.
Another NOEL program is their Owner Occupied Rehabilitation program, also funded through the Jefferson Parish Office of Community Development. Funding through this program allows NOEL to renovate elderly homeowners’ houses to address quality of life issues and code violations. This can be anything from a bathroom or kitchen remodel to make the area more elderly friendly, to flooring and roofing repair. These repairs are done at no cost to the home owner, while being fully compensated to licensed and insured contractors.
“We’re always looking for funding for new programs and new ideas,” said Thomas. “We want to expand our reach and make an even greater impact in Louisiana. I want NOEL to be a name that people recognize as a community leader. We’ve got big plans for 2018, so I think we’ll get there.”
*Footnote: Louisiana Re-Entry Courts include Judge Scott U. Schlegel, 24th Judicial District Court, Division D; Judge Laurie A. White, Orleans Criminal District Court, Chief Judge, Judicial District Court, Section A; Judge Arthur Hunter, Orleans Criminal District Court, Section K; Judge William J. Knight, 22nd Judicial District Court, Division J
“These men are selected because they want to take advantage of a second chance,
and often times all they need is the support system to really turn their lives around.”
