Steve Temple

President

Here is Rob’s story:

Hi, my name is Rob and I’m an ex-offender.  I used drugs and alcohol for 22 years and committed many crimes against persons and property associated with that life style which resulted in 2 felonies. I began a steady transformation in 1994 that continues to this day. That transformation began at a Rescue Mission and 12-step meetings where I first began allow others to help me, began helping others and heard of other people’s lives being transformed. I heard how people were able to go back to school and I thought it might be possible for me too, even though I only had a 9^th grade education and a GED.

I started attending Community College in 1995 where I eventually received an AA degree which I paid for by myself with money I made working from an employer that gave me a chance. I next went on to Northern Arizona University where I received a BA degree with the help of financial Aid as University is much more expensive then Community College. They say lost dreams can awaken and new ones can form and so they did for me. I hoped to continue my education and get a MA in History degree and an M.Ed in Counseling Psychology and work part time as a Community College History Professor and a Substance Abuse counselor but it was not meant to be as I was rejected from the history program even though I had a 4.0 GPA. I cries and it seemed unfair but part of my dream was still attainable as I was accepted into the M.Ed program and received my M.Ed in 2001.

In 200I began to work in the field of behavioral health in earnest and it soon became apparent that I would need more then education to advance. I petitioned to have my civil rights restored and was successful and applied for a fingerprint clearance card for which I was denied.  I was crushed once more and thought my dream might be over but filled out the good cause exception form and mailed it in. I had a hearing before an administrative court and was granted a good cause exception and received my fingerprint clearance card. Next, came certification as a behavioral health professional and eventual licensure. I passed the test but when I started filling out the application there seemed to be a lot of questions about my criminal history and I started to get that pit in my stomach again and began to dread the outcome. To my surprise I was granted certification and licensure and have worked as a behavioral health professional ever since. I have had multiple management positions and have found people willing to take a chance on me over and over again. I am 9 credits short of my 2^nd Masters degree and am considering a Doctoral program.

Today I still face challenges and barriers such as when I moved to the Phoenix area 5 years ago I had so much difficulty finding housing due to being a felon that I had to use an apartment finder service to find housing for me. I found it disheartening after no convictions since 1991 that I was still felt by many landlords to be an un-necessary risk. I still have to explain my criminal background to new employers and agencies but have found time and time again that there are people willing to take a chance on me. Today I own my own home, have credit score of 800, am a productive member of society but unfortunately to some I’m still just a felon and am not worth the risk, fortunately I think the majority of folks look deeper then labels and see more to me.

I hope that one day the State of Arizona, all the United States of America and all world nations will see that people can change, recovery is possible and as there is a statute of limitations for prosecution, there should also be a statute of limitations for persecution as evidenced by fair housing and employment opportunities in all sectors. Let full citizenship be once again possible for those who have made mistakes but are transforming their lives. May the lie that once a felon always a felon fade from human consciousness!

It has been one of my great privileges in life to be a volunteer instructor for the SOAR™ Program, sponsored by Prison Fellowship . The Step Out Approved & Renewed™ Program is the creation of William Anderson, the Executive Director of Prison Fellowship Arizona. The program helps inmates build a solid faith foundation while developing critical skills and relationships needed to re-integrate into the community. The SOAR™ program uses small teams of volunteer Transition Coaches during the inmates’ pre-release phase and then matches them with Bridge Churches™ in their local release area, to assist and support them in their transition from prison into the community.

I have been presenting employment skills workshops based on the TEaMS (www.teamsaz.org)  ex-offender curriculum for the past three years.  We have presented workshops at Lewis, Perryville and Florence Prisons. My experience with the inmates has always been positive. It is great to see men and women trying to make good of a bad situation. 

I have on several occasions received phone calls and e-mails’ from SOAR™ participants who, upon release were ready to go to find employment. They are a special group and most of my employers have been thrilled with hiring them. I know it is easy to do nothing while in prison. The SOAR™ program participants chose to use their time while incarcerated to make improvements in their lives and become better people for it. 

The workshops have been large and small, but one recent workshop comes to mind that was held at the Florence West facility. The last group that I taught there was about 12 or so men. However, the group this month was closer to 35 men. The reason I was given was that the men had been encouraging others to come to the workshop so that they could get the skills they need to find work. The inmates recognize that employment is important upon release and are willing to learn what is needed to be good employees. This is not lost on the employers I work with. When an inmate is participating in a program like SOAR™ they know that the inmate is making an extraordinary attempt to do what is right and will make a good employee upon release.

I have told my clients for years that employers do not expect perfect and fault free employees. However, they do want employees who are accountable. Being able to see past wrongs and then make a decision to do something to change themselves is a factor that is important to employers. I understand this in my own agency. I do not have any perfect employees on my staff. They, like me, make bad judgment calls at times. What I do expect is for them to be accountable for their actions. That is, not to blame circumstances or others for their actions. I then expect a plan of improvement so that we can avoid doing the same thing again.

Employers, keep an eye out for these SOAR™ graduates, they are going to make great employees. They may not be perfect employees but if they are like the men and women I teach they will be accountable and loyal. That is a quality that all employers want and value.

Steve Temple GCDF

After the show, I was invited to set in on one of the many support groups offered by Loved Ones of the Incarcerated in that area. I was pleased and surprised by the message that was presented by Chris and others at the meeting. One message stood out in particular. Chris talked of those of us that are friends and family of the incarcerated  and are working to understand and define our roles to support and not enable their loved ones. She stated” We are sometimes haunted by the the idea that maybe if we had bought red tennis shoes instead of yellow tennis shoes for our loved ones when they were children they wouldn’t have grown up and committed crimes that led to their incarceration.” I and others in the group spoke about the need to allow the incarcerated person to do for themselves as much as they could despite the temptation to do for them. 

I was in total agreement! I have experienced thru my organization, Transitional Employment and Mentoring Services on many occasion well meaning family members e-mail requesting services when it would otherwise be possible for the ex-offender to seek help on their own. This well meaning act often ends up turning into a disaster.

I have learned from experience that if an ex-offender does not contact us directly it is a good indicator that there motivation for work is based more on their relatives’ drive than on their own. I have talked to many well meaning Mothers and Fathers who were desperate to help their loved one to get a job but did not realize that it is the responsibility of the ex-offender to make these connections. If any program is to work, the ex-offender has to be motivated not the parents or spouse.

I have found that the vast majority of clients who have had their significant others make the initial contact for employment services have not showed for workshops, appointments and have not actively taken a roll in their employment. These clients do not succeed in the long run and even if employed they tend not to stay on the job.

As a result of this situation my organization has changed its policy on initial contact and will not accept a client if a relative is making e-mail contact without a follow up e-mail by the client. We welcome questions about our program by relatives of incarcerated persons but want the ex-offender involved from the beginning. We believe that for an ex-offender to be successful in the job search they must have the desire to do the foot work. This can’t happen if other are doing all of the work for them.

 Loved ones please feel free to contact us for information, but let your ex-offender loved one do the work or you will be doing more harm than good. Remember that those who seek help for themselves are most likely to succeed.

Steve Temple GCDF

This does not mean that ex-offenders are not employable it means that you as an ex-offender must be skilled in your job search and self marketing. This is not a time for half measures. It is a time for concentrated effort and determination. It is the skilled job seeker who will win out in this market despite some negatives in their employment profile.

There are few if any employment candidates that don’t have some negative impact data in their employment profile. Many of these candidates thrive despite such negatives as; being fired from a job, weak employment history, lack of skills, etc. The skill that is common within this group is that they understand how to market their strengths and not accentuate their weaknesses. Even an ex-offender can market themselves in such a way as to bring the things an employer wants to the front.

Right now it is important to understand what most employers are looking for in a prime candidate. In a skill rich environment like we have now, marketing your skills is not enough to engage the interest of most employers. You may have the ability to do the job but you are one in a field of many. Your skills are not going to be enough.

Employers are looking for to basic things from any prospective employee. Skill to do the job is obvious to most of us and we do a lot to market those skills with resumes and cover letters that inform the employers of what we can do for them. However, there is one other aspect employers seek in a good employee. Most employers look at the character of the employee as a determining factor in the hiring factor. Character can be summed up as an evaluation of a particular individual’s moral qualities such as integrity, courage, fortitude, honesty, and loyalty, or of good behaviors or habits. Character cannot be tough it must be acquired.

This can be tuff for an ex-offender to market if they do not understand how to approach an employer. It is obvious that most people look at criminal behavior as an example of bad character. Many ex-offenders try to explain the circumstances of the crime to an employer in an attempt to justify or rationalize the situation. The ex-offender may see this as a way to help the employer understand why the crime was committed. Along with a great many platitudes insisting that the crime will never happen again and that the lesson has been learned many ex-offenders feel that the employer will be likely to forgive the crime and hire them.

This is far from the truth. Most employers will not make an employment decision based on the word of an ex-offender that they have changed their ways and are going to make a good employee alone. Many employers have been burned by giving an ex-offender a chance only to find that they have become the next victim in a long line of victims.

The challenge the ex-offenders faces in reaching these employers is how to convince them of a true and lasting character change. There are several ways to approach this dilemma.

 First of all time must pass from the time of the crime and the present. When you have committed a crime only a few months ago and now want to convince employers that you have changed it may be difficult for them to believe you. They have not seen you pass the test of time. The current time most employers accept is seven years from the crime. If you can remain crime free for a long period of time that is good evidence of change in your character. I am not saying that you have to wait seven years to get a job but it is a factor in getting better work. Don’t expect to get the best jobs after just being convicted of a crime.

Don’t give up hope yet, there are other things that you can do to show a character change. Remember just saying you have changed will not be enough for the employer, you must demonstrate change.  Time is just one aspect and there are a lot of things you can do in between.

The next most important thing that demonstrates a change in character is action. It is not what you say that counts it is what you do that counts. All of the positive things done while in prison or if you have remained crime free and completed your probation successfully. Completing education goals and involvement in community and faith life are also ways that reflect change in a person. The type of people you are involved with show how you have changed.

Most of all how you account for your actions will reflect your character. Taking accountability for your crime and actions is a key to how others think of you. It is easy to slip into our storyline and “explain” how it all happened. Unfortunately the more you try to “explain” the more you tend to “excuse” and most employers are turned off by this. Employers do not expect perfect employees but they do value employees who are accountable for their mistakes and actions. It is far easier to correct a person who takes accountability than to deal with someone who is always making excuses for their actions. Own your mistakes and demonstrate to the employer that you have changed this is far better than words can ever be.

If you are interested in learning about how to increase the skills needed to market your character please go to my website at www.teamsaz.org and sign up for our next Character Building Workshop.

Steve Temple

TEaMS is offering a special workshop for all clients of Arizona Behavioral Counseling. Check out our calander for date and location of the workshop. This is a free event to all ABC clients. You will need a receipt from an ABC class to attend.

If you are looking for housing please come to our next ex-offender housing intake. We have many program options for you. Come by and find out more by going to the TEaMS calendar and signing up for our next intake.

I am so excited about establishing a blog just for TEaMS. I have been blogging on Jobing.com for some time now and wanted to add an additional blog just for this organizations projects and agenda.

TEaMS was founded a year and a half ago with the goal of providing real help to ex-offenders. We started by offering a great employment program and soon added our Arizona Multihousing Association program. That program allowed ex-offenders to move into housing that was traditionally closed to them.

We are now offering a new housing program thru the Pinchot Towers Transitional Housing Program. This program will help ex-offenders coming out of prison to re-establish themselves in the community. The program offers a lot more than some so called “halfway Houses”.

 We start with 36 hours of substance abuse counseling with a licensed behavioral health provider. We recognize AA and NA as being a great support group, but without the proper tools, to start with true recovery can be difficult. During the 36 hours of counseling which takes approximately 90- days. AA and NA, groups will be assigned. A meeting with the client to help them gain a sponsor is also part of the program and is a requirement.

The first two weeks are dedicated to finding employment and start with an all day workshop designed for ex-offenders to help them in finding work. This workshop is followed by assistance by a TEaMS professional in finding employers who will hire ex-offenders.

Apartment style living at this time is offered with two clients occupying a spacious one bedroom living facility. There is a small dining area and living room as well as a kitchen for individual meals.

During the first 90 days, a financial competency course will be required. This is designed to help the ex-offender in dealing with money and bill matters. A Course in how to live in multi-housing is also required as part of the Pinchot program.

After 180 days the client will be re-evaluated and independent living will be offered if appropriate. They can choose to live on site in a one-bedroom apartment with some support.

After one year in our program, the AMA program will be automatically granted to qualified clients enabling them to move into competitive housing.

The Pinchot Towers program is not for everyone. Stringent guidelines are in place to ensure that this remains a programs for serious people who have regaining there dignity and sobriety a major goal.

Steve Temple GCDF