SAGINAW -- Layne Grover of Express Personnel Services in West Duluth was one of the specialists who spent Tuesday afternoon trying to prepare men -- who have served time for crimes they have committed -- to be productive members of society.
Grover didn't hesitate when asked why she was representing her company at the Northeast Regional Corrections Center Fall Transition Fairco-sponsored by SOAR Career Solutions Community Offender Re-EntryProgram.
"Our main goal is helping good people find good jobs and helping good companies find good people,'' she said. "So the skill set that a person brings to a position is really important. A lot of times these people [NERCC residents] realize, 'This is an opportunity for me. This is a way for me to dig myself out of something.' So if we can utilize that drive that that person has, we see that as a good thing.''
Grover estimated that about 50 of the 150 residents at NERCC visited her table to seek advice on employment opportunities. In some instances she provided advice on skills employers are looking for and the experience needed. Sometimes her advice was much simpler: "When you go into a job interview make sure that you're wearing a nice pair of pants and a button-down shirt,'' she said.
Specialists in housing, health care, higher education, human services, veterans services, legal aid and child support were among those available to meet with men who need jobs and places to live when they are released from the minimum security facility.
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"The normal challenges that you and I face in everyday life such as housing, where to find a rent deposit, how to fill out a job application, how to interview for a job is amplified many, many times for an offender,'' said Tom Roy, executive director of Arrowhead Regional Corrections. "So putting them into these kind of connections is the first step they can take.''
About 60 percent of people who are released from prison and facilities nationwide return, Roy said. Many of them fail in the first three months after they are released. "So the challenge is to figure out what can be done in that first three months to get them stabilized and give them one foot back in the real world,'' Roy said.
Steve Walters, vice president of operations for E and W Properties in Duluth, was at the transition fair to help NERCC residents find housing when they are released. Walters said his company has housed a dozen men released from NERCC in the past year and he hasn't seen any negative behaviors.
"The big fear is, 'You're going to put a criminal in my unit,' '' Walters said of other tenants. "But the thing is when they come out of drug court or intensive supervision and some of these other programs all the safeguards are there. You almost wish you had a big-brother type situation for a lot of your regular rentals. That's not to say we open ourselves up to everyone and anyone, but there's no reason that we can't provide a service for these people when they're coming out. People need a second chance.''
Joe Verrill, 32, of Duluth is spending six months in NERCC after being convicted of felony credit card fraud and identify theft. He said he committed the crimes to support his methamphetamine habit. He said he's beaten his drug habit and has rediscovered the Christian faith he lost to "the most evil drug that was created by anybody.''
Verrill used the transition fair to get information on returning to college -- Lake Superior College and Hibbing Community College had representatives there -- and to look for housing.
What would he tell a potential employer about being a felon? "I think anybody deserves to have a second chance -- that's the main thing,'' he said. "To forgive, maybe not forget, maybe you'll be a little leery, but give a guy a second chance and let them prove themselves. If somebody doesn't work out as a felon, don't give up on other felons. Not everybody is alike.''
MARK STODGHILL covers public safety and courts. He can be reached weekdays at (218) 723-5333 or by e-mail at mstodghill@duluthnews.com .
