As some of you might not know, I post at several forums which address sex offender and prison reform issues.  I come by this forum a few times a day to check my messages and see if I need to help out some of the good folks here.

I notice the board is very slow at the present time, so please allow me to post a couple of messages regarding employment that I have also posted to other boards.  Employment and housing are the two greatest obstacles to sex offender registrants trying to acclimate back into society, so I think the employment posts may help or give some of you some ideas.

Here are the posts regarding employment for a sex offender-----

Note: At certain points the posts may seem awkward or difficult to follow.  Remember these posts were directed toward a couple of registrants who had specific problems.  But I think everyone here can benefit from reading these posts-----

Post #1----

While actually incarcerated, two of my prison friends enrolled and completed a nine month welding vo-tech course. The last prison I was at had some very good vo-tech type courses as bona fide teachers came into the prison and taught the courses.

Both men are making close to $30 an hour welding for a small company.

I read an article the other day on how the trucking industry is begging for drivers---

tinyurl.com/ya8d4ums

I don’t know much about the trucking industry, but a few of my friends are driving trucks and making a decent living.

Since registrants are in a unique situation, sometimes we have to think outside the box to find employment. Two situations I encountered in the last several years are illustrations.

A few summers ago, I needed a deck built for my house. I could find nobody that wanted to work bad enough to take the job. I finally had to call a guy almost a hundred miles away to build me a deck. I am not a carpenter, but I think with some experience I could do that type of work---and the pay is good.

The problem is that many people want a job, but they don’t want to get their hands dirty or even sweat a little.

Awhile back I also replaced my carpet with vinyl flooring, which I purchased at Home Depot. Nobody wanted to put the flooring down. Home Depot called all over and three months later, they finally send a nice gentleman to fix my floor. Who was he?? A Russian immigrant.

While he tiled the floor, I just watched him. He did a great job, but let’s face it, it was not rocket science. With some practice anyone could have learned such a skill.

There is work out there if a person wants to find a job. Some areas of employment may dictate that a guy will work on weekends and long hours, but these jobs will put a roof over the family’s head and feed the youngsters.

When I was first released from prison in 2000, the major factory job---B F Goodrich----shut down in my town. It absolutely crippled the economy, as Goodrich had pumped 65 million dollars a year into my city and the area towns. My lady friend’s sister was married to one of the laid off workers. What did he do?? He needed a job, so he took a janitorial job working for McDonalds and a few other business to make ends meet. He had to work after the establishment closed through the wee hours of the morning. He had been a foreman at the Goodrich plant, but the fact that he was willing to work at a menial job---which surely must have hurt his pride somewhat---impressed me. He worked at night and went to college during the day. Now he is a CPA.

Sometimes we have to do things we don’t really like to be successful.

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Post #2----

A college degree is not the only method to acquiring the knowledge to earn a respectable living. Do not forget about trade schools or vo-tech type schools. Most of my former prison buddies who are sex offenders are working in a field without a degree. A few do not even have a high school diploma or GED.

One has a landscaping business, but all he really does is mow lawns. He has a riding lawn mower and mows in the spring and summer; in the off season, he does drywall work.

Welders make good money and most employers do not care if the employee is a sex offender. My friend in prison took a welding class while in prison and now he is making $25 an hour.

A couple of my buddies are truck drivers; several are doing construction work. If a person does a good job at a reasonable price, there will always be work. Word of mouth is a wonderful thing and if he does good work, the word will get around and he will be successful.

It is difficult to find people who really want to work, so a good worker is in demand. An offender might have to get his hands dirty, work on weekends sometimes, and also work odd hours, but a decent job will support him and his family.

You might think his sex offender status will be a hindrance, but if a person has a bathroom with six inches of water standing because of a plumbing problem, they probably won’t care who fixes it as long as it gets fixed.

A couple of years ago, I had some vinyl flooring I bought from Home Depot that needed to be installed. It took them three months to find anyone who wanted to do the job. Finally, a Russian immigrant showed up and did a wonderful job. As he put the strips into place, I said to myself, “A registrant could learn to do that quite easily. He could do jobs such as this to support him and his family.” The job was not brain surgery, but nobody wanted to get their hands dirty to work.

Sex offenders often have to think outside the box when considering employment. I know a registrant who has a good job operating heavy machinery, such as road graders. Another friend now owns a company which not only does construction jobs, but also puts on metal roofs and siding. He makes a very good living.

If you just sit down and make a list of all the possible jobs an offender can do, you would be surprised. While I admire someone furthering their education by going to college, it sometimes is not necessary.

Just my two cents.

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