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W h e n J a s o n L a r y w a s r e l e a s e d from pris- on in 2023, he was in need of a job — and work clothes, boots, tools and a way to get around. He found what he needed at MaineWorks, a Portland-based staffing agency that is anything but run-of-the-mill. Like most employment firms, MaineWorks places people in need of a job with companies in need of workers. But Maine- Works is different in that all of its employees are in recovery from alcohol and/or drug abuse or re-entering society from jail or prison. Besides providing people with jobs, MaineWorks provides support for housing, transportation, clothing, food, health care and other basic needs to help them succeed. Lary turned to MaineWorks when he was placed in a halfway house in Portland after serving three years in federal prison for drug trafficking. MaineWorks got him a job working with concrete, sewer pipes, roads, walkways and drainage at an excavation site, while also pro- viding him clothing, work boots, tools and other assistance. MaineWorks even gave him rides to and from work. That was huge, since Lary is from the ru- ral central Maine town of Hart- land and had never navigated public transportation before. Perhaps more importantly, MaineWorks gave Lary a sense of community and all that comes with it — dignity, hope for the future and the chance to succeed when the odds were stacked against him. "I think I would've been look- ing for a job for a while longer," he said, recalling when he en- tered the workforce in the fall of 2023. "Who knows how long it could've been, you know? Fresh out of prison? Not a lot of places want to hire you. Being in a half- P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F M A I N E W O R K S HELPING HAND MaineWorks provides jobs to people in recovery and out of prison B Y C L A R K E C A N F I E L D A C o n s t r u c t i o n / T r a d e s W O R K F O R M E / S P R I N G 2 0 2 5 8 At MaineWorks, founder Margo Walsh is pictured with her three full-time staff members: From left: Wesley Salvucci, Walsh, Garrett Blake and Cecil Solaguren.