Articles & News

October 19, 2008

Newark eco-program aims to rebuild lives

 

Diego Cupolo/The Star-Ledger

 

When Joseph "Krakk" Smith finished his prison sentence, he was determined to get his life back on track.

The Newark man looked through the classifieds, sent out job applications and went to a number of interviews, but the result was always the same: Employers would see he had spent time in jail and turn him away.

"There's job openings out there, but as soon as they see you have a record, the position suddenly gets filled and they don't need you anymore," Smith said. "What's worse is that you're not the only one affected by it; you still got a family to feed."

Not knowing what to do, Smith turned to his old friend Marcellus "Bishop" Allen, a former member of the Bloods street gang who now serves as the president of Saving Our Selves, a community-based violence intervention group that recruits ex-offenders to provide mentoring services to the city's youth.

Believing in Allen's vision of a more peaceful Newark, Smith started volunteering for SOS in 2006, meeting with local high school students on a weekly basis to show them viable alternatives to drug-dealing and street gangs.

But he's still looking for a good-paying job.

So last weekend, he and other members of SOS took part in a rally with the Urban Environmental Institute to call attention to green construction - a growing field that employs environmentally friendly techniques and materials.

Advocates said the field could potentially employ ex-convicts in a variety of labor jobs, and they want Mayor Cory Booker's administration to steer some prisoner-re-entry funding to training people like Smith.

South Ward Councilman Oscar S. James II said skilled laborers will be needed to retrofit existing buildings, weatherize old windows and make Newark more energy efficient.

"We are trying to bring attention to the fact that these jobs exist," James said at the rally. "It is gang members, people who have been in prison, and displaced workers who can benefit most from this training in the green industry. This is the next big economy."

At-Large Councilman Donald Payne said green jobs are going to be crucial for reintegrating ex-convicts into the market.

"Everyone should have a second chance," Payne said. "Going to prison is not a life sentence. If it was, then they should have kept them behind bars. Ex-convicts should be allowed to be a part of society."

At the rally, SOS volunteers coated the roof of the Level One Bakery on Bergen Street with a white reflective sealant that will bounce the sun's rays away from the building, keeping the interior cool in summer months and reducing the need for energy-intensive air conditioning.

Leroy Wall, an Urban Environmental Institute member, came out for the rally and helped SOS members with the work on the bakery rooftop. He got involved with UEI after he did some work on the home of the organization's director, Kim Gaddy.

Though he has many years of construction experience, Wall has been having trouble finding a job since he got out of jail in 2006. In order to pay the bills, Wall began offering his labor to acquaintances, picking up small jobs where he could.

"I was overqualified for the jobs where I was applying at, and they didn't even want to give me entry-level positions because of my incarceration," Wall said. "I'm a lifelong resident of Newark, and now that we have construction projects going on all over this city, I still can't get a job."

Wall said the city needs to make sure people like him are can get the green jobs.

"I've got the skills already, and if this whole green movement can bring in more jobs, they better make sure that people like us can benefit from it," Wall said.

Gaddy said she believes the green-jobs movement can help ex-convicts in tough positions, like Wall and Smith. She organized the rally to show Newark is ready for skilled jobs that will not only benefit the environment but also get people off the streets and reduce crime.

According to Allen, the solution to street violence is more than job creation - people in poverty have to realize they have the choice to get out of bad situations.

SOS was established shortly after a cease-fire between rival Bloods and Crips gangs in Newark. On May 21, 2004, more than 550 gang members gathered at the Housing Authority Building to settle their differences and put a stop to what seemed like never-ending violence.

Allen, who spoke at the event, said he could not imagine an agreement between the rivals until he saw both sides come together on that spring day.

"A lot of people around here never been outside of Jersey, they just see the same things every day, not knowing what's really out there," Allen said. "They need to see how there are other ways to live and that they are not trapped."