Philadelphia Nonprofit Helping Returning Citizens Realize True Worth
CBS3 Staff - July 31, 2019
"You’ve heard the saying, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. A nonprofit organization is using that saying to put people to work and to make sure people returning from prison know their true worth.
“You’re learning what’s good, what’s bad, what has value and what doesn’t,” Patrick White, a former prisoner, said.
The good, the bad, the valuable. And the people who are learning the difference.
“You have to have a plan,” White said. “Without a plan, you’re freestyling, you’re just running blind.”
White has been coming to People Advancing Reintegration – Recycle Works every morning for the past six weeks. His plan is to make sure he doesn’t return to prison.
White is one of nine people who come at 8 a.m. every day.
The non-profit started 3 1/2 years ago. The founders are George and Mimi Limbach, and their basic goal during the work day is to recycle unwanted electronics.
But they say their mission is to speak to the human spirit for former prisoners.
“If somebody throws something away, it’s still valuable to somebody else,” Al Butcher, a former prisoner, said.
...
Statistics say 67% of people who leave prison return within three years. But Jones says by giving these people a paycheck and workforce training, they’re putting them on the right track.
At PAR Recycle Works, only 2% of the 80 participants returned to prison."
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