BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – Fewer employers are hiring people who have been in the prison system, according to Aida Negron, the program manager for the Bexar County Reentry Center.
KSAT featured Negron in a KSAT Explains story on second-chance hiring in 2022.
Back then, when companies nationwide were dealing with labor shortages after the COVID pandemic, Negron told KSAT that she had never seen so many employers interested in hiring formerly incarcerated individuals.
Now, the number has declined as layoffs have increased the number of people seeking employment.
That’s why the center advises clients to take advantage of job certifications and training to help them stand out in a crowded labor market.
“Like a forklift, using forklifts, or OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) classes or OSHA certification and maybe manufacturing skills training,” said Negron.
The center also hosts job fairs and accelerated programs, such as the Pipeline to Success Program.
“How to create a resume. They learn about AI (artificial intelligence) technology,” said Brian Stevens, the technical education specialist at the center. “They also learn etiquette, interview etiquette.”
“I’m blessed to say all the ones that graduated from my class, they received jobs,” Stevens said.
The center is located a block from the Bexar County jail. Negron said that people often come to the center immediately after being released from prison.
The center helps people obtain an ID, a birth certificate, housing, clothing, and food. Their services are all free.
“We just want people to know that, not to give up, that people are here. We care about them,” Negron said. “We want them to succeed.”
James Lacy found assistance at the Bexar County Reentry Center. He became a free man in 2020 after spending 24 years in the prison system.
“It was scary,” he said. “I just came home from doing 24 years and a half. And I really didn’t know what was going to be next.”
Lacy had only the clothes on his back when he was released.
“The reentry center helped me get an ID, a birth certificate, training, and clothes,” he said. “I mean it really, if it wasn’t for them, I don’t know if I would’ve even made it.”
Lacy completed training through the center and has been employed ever since.
“Personally, to me, it means I’ve accomplished change,” said Lacy. “It’s more than just the money. It’s a sense of, it’s a good feeling to get up and go to work and say, this is what I did for the day.”
Negron has devoted her professional career to helping people get a second chance and succeed.
Her father, a chaplain at the Bexar County jail, would tell her stories as a child about ministering to inmates who chose to turn their lives around.
“I’ve seen it,” Negron said. “I’ve seen people change their lives in a way that is amazing.”
The Bexar County Reentry Center accepts walk-ins. They can also be contacted by phone at 210-335-8281.
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