Portland nonprofit paves the way for second chances after prison

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- The problems revolving around homelessness and crime in Portland are no secret, but one local organization prides itself on rebuilding lives and has a multitude of examples of people thriving when they are given a second chance.

Treneil Washington was born and raised in Northeast Portland in the 80s, a time he said when the area was "drug-riddled" and "infested with gangs."

"Being involved in guns and drug trafficking and gang activities had landed me in jail. And yes, it wasn't just one time. It took me several times," he said.

Upon release, Washington struggled to find a job that would pay a good wage, considering his checkered past.

"You hear once you got a felony, it pretty much ruins your life," he said. "I will say that it is difficult and hard. But when you have programs like Constructing Hope -- they understand."

Coming from a troubled background, with few opportunities and even fewer people who believed in him, Washington said Constructing Hope changed his life.

"When I came through Constructing Hope, they had some pretty good opportunities for me," Washington said.

The nonprofit focuses on helping people of color, those unemployed or formerly incarcerated, and low-income individuals re-enter the workforce and get middle-class wages.

Patricia Daniels founded the no-cost pre-apprenticeship training program, with wrap-around support to give people a second chance at life. The mission is to rebuild the lives of people in the community by encouraging self-sufficiency through skills training and education in the construction industry.

"When we look at our homeless situation today, most of these folks were formerly incarcerated with no way to reenter society," she said.

Constructing Hope provides construction career training to approximately 100 individuals each year. Participants are 100% low-income -- 70% people of color -- 63% criminal justice system -- and 47% unemployed.

"If you've done the time, how long should you pay for that crime? How do we move forward?" Daniels said. "Think about if these are your kids, do you punish them for anything that they do for the rest of their lives? So as a society, that's one of the things that we have to look at."

Oregon releases around 200,000 job candidates from its prisons and jails each year, according to the Prison Policy Initiative.

However, because of stigmas associated with having a criminal record only about half will get called back from potential employers. More than two-thirds of all inmates released from prison will be rearrested in 3 years, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The team at Constructing Hope wants to help employers change their perception of people with a criminal history.

"I think the main thing for us is making sure that the conversation about fighting recidivism and workforce development and rehabilitation become one conversation and not separate conversations," added Constructing Hope's Green Workforce Partnerships Manager Noah Koné.

Koné said not only are there financial and tax incentives for employers who offer jobs to people coming out of the criminal justice system, but it can also boost their bottom line.

"It's not a charity situation," he said. "These folks are actually going to bolster your workforce, they're going to contribute and they're going to come and actually help move your company forward."

Daniels added that it all comes down to seeing people’s potential.

"So, given the opportunity, anybody can do anything that they want if they have the proper support and guidance," she said. "If you don't make it the first time, you get to come back again. The one person who went through this program three times over a period of years is now a developer."

That "one person" she's referring to is Washington.

The chances he got at Constructing Hope propelled him from a life of crime to a current contractor, running his own business for nearly a decade.

"The people that I employ are previously incarcerated individuals, people that come from crisis, people that have a story similar to mine that know hardship," Washington said.

His company, BrothersIC, focuses on commercial and residential painting, but they also do graffiti removal and traffic control.

Through hard work and mentorship, his life has come full circle. The same neighborhood that led him astray also got him back on the straight and narrow.

"I feel like it's a purpose and a mission. I feel like everything that I went through, it all makes sense to me now to be able to align with people who also have been through tough times and to be able to share the compassion and the heart to be able to find change throughout our circumstances," Washington said.

While his path wasn’t easy, he attributes his success and the success of his employees to Constructing Hope.

"They work with people who need a second and third chance and it helps you to build your confidence back inside the community," Washington said. "It helps you to be able to understand why it's important to live a productive life in your community as well."

He tells anyone who feels lost in life that it’s not about how you start, it's about how you finish.

If you are inspired by the work Constructing Hope is doing, visit their website to learn how you can volunteer as a teacher.