Hello from Camp Atwood,
One of the foundational principles I am advocating for is improving the post-prison preparedness for inmates in federal custody. A month ago, I approached the Education Director, Mr. Clark, and asked him if I could teach an ACE Education class at the prison on job preparedness and interviewing post-prison. He reached out to one of theother directors, and yesterday I was notified I will be teaching an 8-week course on Interviewing Skills. I am really excited to be given the chance to teach this class, as there are no resources here currently that help inmates do this.
To prepare, I have sent letters to numerous organizations, requesting materials and resources for those who have felonies, to find companies that hire people with a felony on their background. Considering we have an active President with 34 felonies is not lost on me, and I have repeatedly shared with my fellow inmates that they are not their crime, and can move on from their past to a brighter future. I am grateful to my husband, who sent me the addresses for the organizations who are helping provide resources, as we do not have access to the internet in prison, making research a daunting task. It’s like a world back in the 80’s here- thank goodness I am GenX and can remember what that is like and can be resourceful 😉
My curriculuum is as follows:
– Prior to the class starting in April, I am asking all participants to fill out a questionnaire, so I can see where they will be living, what careers interest them, what their educational background and job experience are and see their literacy level. I want this class to be truly meaningful to them, so that they can have some success once leaving the prison.
– Week 1 – Discusses jobs vs. careers, and realistic expectations for these with a felony record
– Week 2- Reviews various ways to do a job search
– Week 3- Resume writing and cover letters
– Week 4- Pre-interview preparedness and questions likely to be asked in an interview
– Week 5 and 6 – Mock interviews
– Week 7- Interview follow up and salary negotiations
– Week 8- Networking and resources
I am excited to see how these classes go, and would love to turn these classes into something I can offer in the future within ASAP. I am grateful that my own education and experience in the workforce has prepared me to be able to help others in this way. Since my last blog post, I have helped 3 more inmates with writing letters to help them with their prison FSA and SCA credits not being applied properly. I will continue to do whatever I can in my time here to be of most help to others, until they actually fix our broken justice system, which I imagine won’t be fixed in my lifetime.
If you have any resources within Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania or Virginia that you can share for companies that aid former felons with jobs, or any other vocational resources, please either email me back, or you can mail them to:
Carolynne Parker 69123-510
FMC Lexington Federal Medical Center
Satellite Camp
PO Box 14525
Lexington, KY 40512
Thank you!
