A program that welcomes individuals home after time behind bars aims to help them move on from their past and focus on how to be successful in the future.
“Going Home to Stay,” is a crucial part of Lucas County’s strategy in welcoming previously incarcerated people back into the folds of their community. County offices, service providers, and local employers set up tables for two hours each month to help attendees reinstate their drivers licenses, network with employers, connect with local services, and help them hurdle financial barriers that could beset them.
Holly Matthews, who leads the county’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, said the event defies the stigmas that people with criminal backgrounds often feel when they return home.
“I think it shows individuals that are returning to our community that we care, and that people are willing to take time out of their day to show up and talk to individuals, and offer them help,” she said.
Ms. Matthews said the driver’s license reinstatement is the “cornerstone” of the event, and fulfills a major need for many who attend. Others, however, are also searching for a job, which can be made more difficult with a criminal record.
John Oliver said he came to learn about the companies hiring, and hopes to find a stable source of income.
“Today, I’m looking to get a nice little job, keep me out of trouble,” Mr. Oliver said. “I’ve been giving out my resume to see if they have a nice job that fits me.”
Greg Behe, a senior recruiter at Mars Inc., said the snack, nutrition and pet care company participated in the hope of tapping into new sources of talent.
Mr. Behe said Mars hires people with prior charges on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration the time since the conviction and its seriousness.
“We’re always trying to find new routes to get new people to apply,” Mr. Behe said. “We do try to look at whether people have done the rehabilitation and are taking the right steps so that they are moving forward and being a hard worker, too. We do want to see people grow, and people do make mistakes and we need to see them for their potential.”
Other providers connected attendees to higher education, certification, and trade programs to help them obtain high-paying jobs in growing fields.
Erica Cucunato, a specialist for TRIO Educational Opportunity Center, said the program focuses on giving people one-on-one attention and guidance to enter the workforce or make a career change.
“Some people are coming back to find something to make more money, and a lot of people are doing trades. So we help them navigate these spaces where there’s large job influxes ... and enhance their financial situation and lives,” she said. “We look at the whole of what the person is doing, and make sure that they have a successful start at their institution.”
Cherry Street Mission Ministries promoted its workforce development program, which aims to bridge skill gaps and prepare adults for employment.
Devon Fitzpatrick, who manages the Cherry Street program, said more than half its students have a high-level misdemeanor or a felony. Graduates of the program, which entails just a few months of skill-based training, have an employment rate of 80 percent and earn an average wage of $20 per hour.
“My personal mission is to make sure this program becomes common knowledge here for folks in northwest Ohio, so when they’re looking to get out of that work that leaves you paycheck-to-paycheck, they can find a career field that they find personally rewarding,” Mr. Fitzpatrick said.
Lucas County Commissioner Pete Gerken joined the event in honor of commissioners’ proclamation of April as Second Chance Month. He said the services offered at the Going Home to Stay event can help prevent people from reoffending.
“We know that people get incarcerated and leave our community, but we forget they’re coming back. And if we’re not prepared to receive them when they come back, it’s going to start a cycle,” Mr. Gerken said.
Ms. Matthews, from the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, said the resource program is the result of collaboration between many organizations, and its success has been noticed across the state. Nationally, a similar program was started in Milwaukee after she and Tom Luettke of CJCC shared it with their re-entry council.
“It’s a great event, and it’s actually a model that’s been lifted up throughout the state and at the national level,” Ms. Matthews said. “We’re very proud of it, and this work wouldn’t happen without the re-entry volunteers who dedicate their time, energy, and efforts to it.”
One of those volunteers is Willie Knighten, Jr., who was previously incarcerated himself.
Mr. Knighten said he was sentenced to life in prison for a crime he didn’t commit when he was 24. In 2009, after 13 years behind bars, he was granted clemency, and in 2022 was fully exonerated by Gov. Mike DeWine.
Mr. Knighten said he volunteers to help others because he feels that it is his calling, and understands how a felony conviction can affect the lives of people.
“A lot of barriers that we have is that a person, who at one time was considered a normal citizen, now lives with a felony conviction — and that is a stigma that may go with that person for the rest of their life,” Mr. Knighten said. “So we have all these agencies that volunteer to come here together, to make a collaborative effort to help somebody reacclimate into society without reoffending.”
First Published April 2, 2025, 8:59 p.m.
