Church program helps ex-convicts turn lives around
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A UMNS photo by Allysa Adams
The Rev. Tina Yankee, executive director of Turnabout, confers with program assistant Solomon Young.
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| The
Rev. Tina Yankee, executive director of Turnabout, confers with program
assistant Solomon Young. Turnabout is a program started by Trinity
United Methodist Church in Denver to help ex-convicts successfully
transition back into society. The program teaches job skills such as
construction and forklift and commercial driving along with resume
writing and interview techniques. Since 1997, Turnabout has served more
than 3,500 formerly incarcerated men and women, helping 900 clients
every year. A UMNS photo by Allysa Adams. Photo #06-1397. Accompanies
UMNS story #714. 12/12/06. |
Dec. 12, 2006
By Allysa Adams*
DENVER (UMNS)--On a fall Saturday, six ex-convicts are in an industrial
warehouse learning how to operate a forklift. The training could be the
ticket to a job.
The men are clients of Turnabout, a program started by Trinity United
Methodist Church to help ex-convicts make their way back into society.
Turnabout participant Ed Rollerson was released from prison in August
after serving three years on drug-related charges. At 50, he says he's
too old to start all over, but that's just what he's doing.
"I have goals that I've set," he says. "It's to find me employment and
get back into a good relationship with my family." He'll have to tackle
the relationship issues on his own, but Turnabout is helping with the
job.
After a day of classroom work and forklift training, Rollerson will
receive his forklift certification, enabling him to apply for a job that
pays well above minimum wage. Normally the certification costs hundreds
of dollars, but Turnabout picks up the cost for program participants.
Rollerson is grateful to Turnabout. "They help you with clothes and work
tools," he says. "Basically they help you with everything you need."
He's optimistic the staff will help him find a job driving a forklift.
Small beginnings
Trinity started Turnabout in 1985 as a small outreach ministry to help
homeless people in the downtown Denver neighborhood. At first, all it
could offer was coffee, conversation and maybe a few job leads. By 1997,
church members realized the need was much greater, and they decided to
reach out to prisoners, a population not easily accessed.
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A UMNS photo by Allysa Adams
Bobby Williams (right), a Turnabout reintegration specialist, counsels a client.
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| Bobby
Williams (right), a Turnabout reintegration specialist, counsels a
client. Turnabout is a program started by Trinity United Methodist
Church in Denver to help ex-convicts successfully transition back into
society. The program teaches job skills such as construction and
forklift and commercial driving, along with resume writing and interview
techniques. Since 1997, Turnabout has served more than 3,500 formerly
incarcerated men and women, helping 900 clients every year. A UMNS photo
by Allysa Adams. Photo #06-1398. Accompanies UMNS story #714. 12/12/06. |
"People commit crimes and go to jail; we're not against law
enforcement," says the Rev. Tina Yankee, Turnabout executive director,
but "95 percent of all people will get out, and when they get out, they
need help. We're there to help them hopefully not go back and commit
another crime."
Since 1997, Turnabout has served more than 3,500 formerly incarcerated
men and women. The program's seven staff members help 900 clients every
year.
Turnabout's first contact with inmates is made inside the jails, where
staff members teach job skills, such as how to create a resume and how
to find and interview for a job. Once outside, the former inmates
receive hands-on job training in such skills as forklift driving,
construction and commercial driving.
"They're not just shown the front door and (told), 'here's your $50 and
off you go,'" says Marty Sorenson, president of Turnabout's board of
directors. "We're there as sort of a big brother, big sister. You can't
reintegrate into society without having a partner."
This partner also helps with financial aid for education, pays for
needed equipment and, most importantly, helps clients find jobs.
Low rate of recidivism
In 18 months, just over 17 percent of 442 turnabout clients went back to jail. The average rate of recidivism is 36 percent.
Turnabout is unusual in that it focuses on training for jobs that are
available, pay a decent wage and are, in many cases, suited to the
solitary lifestyle many ex-convicts prefer.
The program works because of the staff's commitment, faith and spirituality, according to Sorenson.
"For me," he says, "it's right here, it's in my heart, and this is why I'll do it."
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A UMNS photo by Allysa Adams
Bill Abegg plays with his with son, Joshua, 1½. With Turnabout's help, Abegg is now a supervisor in a steel plant.
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| With
Turnabout's help, Bill Abegg - playing with his son, Joshua, 1½ - is
now a supervisor in a steel plant and working on a paralegal degree.
Turnabout is a program started by Trinity United Methodist Church in
Denver to help ex-convicts successfully transition back into society.
The program teaches job skills such as construction and forklift and
commercial driving, along with resume writing and interview techniques.
Since 1997, Turnabout has served more than 3,500 formerly incarcerated
men and women, helping 900 clients every year. A UMNS photo by Allysa
Adams. Photo #06-1399. Accompanies UMNS story #714. 12/12/06. |
Yankee attributes Turnabout's success to the staff's ability to connect
with the clients. She says the goal is "to accept them, to not judge
them — to not say, 'Gosh darn, you made that big mistake.'"
Bill Abegg knows Turnabout works. Abegg, a single father in his 50s, has
what he terms "an intense criminal background." He had been through
training programs before, only to re-offend and end up back in jail. But
with Turnabout's help, Abegg is now a supervisor in a steel plant and
working on a degree in paralegal work.
When he visits Turnabout offices, it's clear that he is more than a
client. The staff knows his two boys, 4-year-old Pete and 1½-year-old
Josh. Abegg talks easily with Yankee, who considers him a friend.
Abegg is clearly dedicated to his new life as a responsible role model
for his sons, and he has high hopes for them. "I want them both to be
scholars and running for president."
*Adams is a freelance writer and producer in Phoenix.
News media contact: Fran Coode Walsh, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5458 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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