By Tom Orr
The first thing that strikes a visitor to RecycleForce is the energy of the place. Everyone is bustling and purposeful, from the guys on the loading dock to the workers dismantling electronics and moving palettes of product on forklifts – steel, precious metals, plastic – to be shipped out for recycling.
It’s clear that RecycleForce, while offering job training for participants, is a business operation that pays real wages for actual work. The employees are primarily persons returning from jail or prison. RecycleForce calls it “transitional employment” – short-term paid work experience designed to prepare workers for more permanent job opportunities in the private sector while addressing many of the barriers which they encounter upon release from incarceration.
These barriers can’t be overstated. I attended an orientation for new employees where I heard some of their stories first-hand – challenges related to housing and transportation, addiction, and post-traumatic stress. It is difficult to imagine what a decade or more in prison does to the human psyche.
And then there are the requirements imposed by the oversight system (parole and probation). I was aware that the costs associated with post-release supervision can be steep but I was shocked at how much it does cost, for example, to wear an ankle bracelet in Indianapolis-Marion County. There is a setup fee of $50 plus up to $14/day ($70/week). That’s a chunk out of a weekly check that also needs to cover basic living expenses. There are fees for mandatory counseling and periodic drug screening. Many must also pay child support, which RecycleForce encourages as part of one’s parental obligation, negotiating with oversight to mitigate certain costs in order to prioritize child support.
The clear message during orientation for new employees is that this is a job. There’s a stack of paperwork relating to tax withholding, benefits, workplace safety, and discipline. For some who may have never worked a real job in their lives, this is eye-opening and also, if they are receptive to it, an opportunity to re-invent their lives. The staff at RecycleForce are compassionate and patient but also straightforward. They believe in second chances but they don’t tolerate nonsense.
As I thought about my visit, I reflected on some words by the founding Chairman of the Board of RecycleForce, Dr. David Weinschrott, from his seminal essay We Are All Felons Now:
“All of us are fallen and some are felons. Since Jesus extended grace to outcasts in his midst, it seems as we follow him – we must also extend grace to outcasts – even felons. There is no evidence that Jesus applied a ‘filter’ to the ‘deserved’ poor or outcast. We must contemplate: is there any end to exclusion, any covering from condemnation, any mantle of graced righteousness to felons in our midst? When the father embraced his estranged son with a ring and a robe and killed the fatted calf the son was restored to society. His older brother was not so happy with this treatment – perhaps even some neighbors wagged their heads and pulled at their beards. Who should we follow – the example of the brother and neighbors, or the example of the gracious father?”