Gov. Dannel Malloy said facilities such as the Chrysallis Center in Hartford, where former inmates and reformed convicts receive job training, are critical to the Second Chance Society initiatives that lawmakers approved earlier this year.
He joined Department of Corrections Commissioner Scott Semple in touring the Chrysallis Center Tuesday and said the state needs more job opportunities in the private sector in order to become a real state of second chances.
"What we have to do is get more employers to be willing to give people that Second Chance after they’ve completed their sentence. If they’ve done time, they’ve done time," he said. "They’ve got their training. What we need is employers to step up and say hey, we’re going to give somebody a shot."
Staff at Chrysallis work directly with former inmates, teaching them to use computers, craft resumes and even develop technical skills like how to work in a kitchen.
Samantha Pacheco recently found employment in Glastonbury.
"Before the program I was lost," she said. "I’m going to be honest: I didn’t know what to do with myself."
Pacheco said she learned how to cook and work in a real kitchen and is now on a path she never could have imagined if it weren't for the opportunities afforded her.
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"The experience in the kitchen, it just brings me very prepared to be employed out in the community," she said.
Marcus Lopez, who works with program participants, said the goal is to get them into positions where they can be successful in all facets of life after leaving prison.
"We want to get these guys a foundation and make sure they get back into the community in order to get back into their homes," he said. "We want to get them working, not just a basic job, we want to set them off on a foundation of trying to get a career. You know, trying to get them off and working."
