New Jersey Reentry Corporation’s annual conference was a celebration of people who are now putting prison behind them. Former inmates like Ulysses McMillan, said having a job plays a big factor in straightening out his life. People spoke at length about the need for formerly incarcerated people to get a job even before they are released and hold on to it after they get out. Anthony DiFrisco was behind bars after a murder conviction in 1986, but then cooperated with prosecutors and was able to be released.
DiFrisco says getting a job after getting out was far from easy. “People don’t do background checks anymore – they just Google you. They don’t even tell you, so I have great interviews, and great this and that. And ‘we’re so happy to help you!’ And then they Google me and say ‘yes, we do hire ex-felons, just not all ex-felons,” he said.
New Jersey Reentry Corporation chairman Jim McGreevey said, “It has to start behind the wall. The reality is we have to start preparing men and women behind the wall for productive life, and we can’t waste years of wasted time, no access to computers, no access to services.” McGreevey, a former governor, welcomed a wide variety of speakers to Jersey City on Thursday. Pastors and politicians praised his efforts, and the program in general.
New Jersey Reentry Corporation offers job training across 16 different programs, including construction and green energy, giving those who served the tools to succeed.
