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n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m | A p r i l 2 0 2 2 | n e w h a v e n B I Z 15 "Having this one-stop shop is really going to make things easier for them," Zane said. Joe Toner, president of the Greater Hartford-New Britain Building Trades Council, a local trade union representing 13 cras with 30,000 members, said his group offers apprenticeship programs for those leaving incarceration and hoping to enter the construction field. Aer training, these employees can apply for apprenticeships with specific unions and get to work. "We give them 126 hours of core curriculum, and within that there's money management pieces, sexual harassment pieces — it's pretty extensive," said Toner, who is also business manager for Iron Workers Local 15. e building trades council contracted with the state corrections department and Department of Transportation to have some ex- offender trainees work on parts of the ongoing Windsor Locks train station development project. Good-paying jobs are important to curbing recidivism, Toner said, and construction union jobs can offer $20 per hour. "We want to keep a pipeline between ex-offenders and the Building Trades Council to make sure they have a place to come if they're interested," Toner said. "ey get a scarlet letter the moment they get out, but they did their time. We want to make sure they have an opportunity." Chrysalis Center CEO Sharon Castelli said her Hartford-based nonprofit has been running reentry programs for close to 20 years. e organization's transitional services program helps those being released from prison get housing and adjust back into society. Chrysalis previously ran an employment program where individuals would train to get credentials and licensing for skilled jobs. ey were serving about 350 people a year with high success and low recidivism rates, she said. "It gave them a starting point where they could earn an income, build that career and build that new beginning over a period of time," Castelli said. e state cut funding for the program years ago, Castelli said, something she called "shortsighted." She said she wants to see the state invest more in reentry programs. "Now's the time to reinvest," Castelli said. "We have people who want to work, and they may have a blemished past but the majority of them want to do better and turn their lives around." e Open Hearth, a Hartford-based men's shelter, is another nonprofit that has focused on reentry. Open Hearth Works was established as a partner organization in 2016. It serves as an employment agency providing work crews that perform maintenance, cleaning and other similar services to contracted companies. e Hartford Athletic soccer team and nonprofit Riverfront Recapture are clients. "is is a good job to put at the top of your resume and have your supervisor as an employment reference," said Open Hearth Works Director Stephen Haynes. "It's kind of like giving someone a helping hand by putting them to work, really." e Open Hearth was one of 10 nonprofits selected by the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving's inaugural Social Enterprise Accelerator program, which offered business plan development, implementation support and fundraising coaching to myriad organizations, including those working on reentry programs. An untapped workforce e Hartford Foundation works with many nonprofits that aim to help ex-offenders reenter society and find employment. Senior Public Policy and Media Relations Officer Chris Senecal said formerly incarcerated citizens are oen some of the most loyal and hard working employees. "ey appreciate the fact that employers gave them a chance," Senecal said. "We have all these employers saying 'there's not enough workers,' — this is a place they can look." Conaway got his chance and made the most of it. Today, he works for Dungarvin Connecticut, an organization that provides services to people with disabilities or other physical or mental limitations. In addition to his day job, Conaway runs his own nonprofit, the Training and Motivation Center (TMC), with his cousin, Torrence Conaway. e duo hosts everything from backpack drives to holiday toy collections, with a focus on helping young people. TMC received its 501(c)(3) nonprofit approval in 2021, so Conaway said the organization will continue to grow its mentorship opportunities with youth in Connecticut. "I hate to see kids go through what I went through," Conaway said. "I'm still eight years behind — I'm trying to catch up." n CT's prison population Month Average corrections population January 2021 9,106 February 2021 9,044 March 2021 9,048 April 2021 8,931 May 2021 8,955 June 2021 8,965 July 2021 9,009 August 2021 9,143 September 2021 9,253 October 2021 9,357 November 2021 9,426 December 2021 9,530 January 2022 9,456 February 2022 9,734 Source: CT Dept. of Corrections Sharon Castelli

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