When Cala began serving its now-acclaimed Mexican cuisine in San Francisco two years ago, most diners didn’t know that more than half the restaurant’s 50 employees had previously served time in prison.
“The truth is, it’s just smart business,” Cala’s general manager, Emma Rosenbush, recently told a private audience at Portland’s Laurelhurst Theater.
Cala was in a pinch because the cost of living in the Bay Area had become too expensive for many service industry workers, she explained – but jobseekers coming out of prison were readily available.
It’s a scenario that’s becoming a reality in Portland, too, as rents continue to outpace wages.
Rosenbush had been invited to speak to Portland-area restaurant industry managers and owners at a screening of “The Return” in September.
They had come to see the documentary about difficulties inmates face when they’re released from prison – and to learn more about how to hire them.
The screening sparked plans for a restaurant industry night and job fair inside Columbia River Correctional Institution, a minimum-security state prison in Northeast Portland.
Leading the effort locally is Andy Ricker’s Pok Pok Restaurants, which co-sponsored the movie screening and has already had success with two former inmates it hired at its Brooklyn, N.Y., location.
“They were both successful, exemplary employees,” said Lindsay Druhot, Ricker’s executive assistant and relations manager. “They were always on time; no problems.”
Pok Pok is partnering with local nonprofit A Social Ignition to host the job fair, and organizers are looking for other interested restaurant groups to join them.
They’re encouraging restaurateurs in Portland’s food scene with two or more establishments to attend the event, which is still in the planning stages and slated for January.
“What we are not looking for is McDonald’s, because the guys can walk in there and get a job pretty easily,” said Sonja Skvarla, founder of A Social Ignition. “We’re looking for more established, very ‘Portland’ restaurants.”
She expects that inmates who are within six months of release will make up the bulk of attendees at the job fair. Restaurant owners and managers who participate will be expected to present their business and be prepared to talk to inmates about how to get a job and be successful in the industry.
Men and women re-entering society after incarceration face many challenges, but if employers partner with a nonprofit that helps former inmates through the process, it can make all the difference, Rosenbush said. The nonprofit re-entry partner can help an employer navigate the challenges of working with formerly incarcerated workers and help them find the right fit for their business.
Cala had to make a few changes to make its environment more suitable for its staff, such as eliminating the free alcoholic beverage employees typically enjoy at the end of each shift at most restaurants. Because many people coming out of prison are in recovery, it made sense for Cala to prohibit employee drinking on site.
But the reward of being able to provide people with a second chance has outweighed any sacrifice, Rosenbush said.
The film’s co-writer and co-director, Kelly Duane de la Vega, told attendees that when she showed the film inside America’s prisons, what she heard repeatedly was that inmates needed help finding jobs after their release.
This inspired her to take one of the film’s main characters, Bilal Chatman, to movie screenings for business owners and managers across the country, with stops in New York City, Los Angeles, Seattle and Philadelphia.
After the screening in Portland, former inmate Chatman told Street Roots that when the film’s team visited inmates in Oregon’s prisons, they echoed what inmates all over the country were saying:
“They wanted more programs, they want more job opportunities when they get out, and they are concerned about rehabilitation and re-entry,” he said.
Oregon Sen. Michael Dembrow (D-Portland) also spoke at the screening. He said that while Oregon took positive steps forward last legislative session when it passed a number of bills aimed at helping former inmates re-enter society, re-entry still remains a “huge challenge.”
“There are many legal and statutory barriers that make everything much more difficult,” he said.
Duane de la Vega said the restaurant industry isn’t the only area of employment she’s been targeting during their tour. While in Portland, she held a second screening where representatives from the manufacturing, construction and tech trades were invited.
Skvarla said while restaurants and construction trades are some of the most accessible for inmates just coming out of prison, they aren’t necessarily the best fit for every inmate.
“There can be some sketchy stuff that happens,” she said, such as employers who fail to pay their workers in full or on time, or environments rife with alcohol and drug abuse. “That’s not necessarily the best place for somebody that’s trying to learn how to be professional and trying to learn how to be in a more stable environment.”
But, she said, the more professional the atmosphere is at the restaurant or jobsite, the better the outcome will be.
Skvarla, whose nonprofit connects business leaders in the community with inmates at Columbia River Correctional Institution, said Oregon needs to do more inside its prisons to prepare inmates for real careers once they’re released.
“As a society, we are not helping anybody gain the hands-on skills that they need to be in a new career,” she said. “There is a gap between what we expect from inmates re-entering society and what we prepare them for. A lot of the guys have really good people skills, but they don’t necessarily have the professional technical skills to back it up.”
FURTHER READING: Inside Oregon’s prison workforce: Exploitation or opportunity?
At Columbia River Correctional Institution, she said, there are 600 inmates but only about 10 computers.
“And that’s no fault of the department’s; that’s just been the way it is. As taxpayers, we are the ones who have to demand that that stuff changes,” she said.
She said any business leader, owner or manager who is interested in sharing their knowledge with inmates can do so with her program. All it takes is a three-hour time commitment to come in and give a presentation. But, she said, presenters typically choose to come back and do it again.
“Really, the point of that is for business executives to get in there and see that there are really smart people in prison,” she said. Often relationships will develop organically, giving the inmate professional connections upon their release who might be able to help them network or even offer them employment, she said.
Restaurant owners and managers who are interested in participating in the industry night job fair at Columbia River Correctional Institution in January, or business leaders and entrepreneurs in other industries who are interested in working with A Social Ignition’s other programs inside the prison, may contact Skvarla by email at sonja@asocialignition.com.