Community Outreach | Prison to Community Simulation
STI Fabrics has been an integral part of the Kings Mountain, NC, community for nearly 6 decades. As the business grows, our impact on the community grows with it, and we are determined to make that impact a positive one for generations to come. Our latest Community Outreach Initiative has been highlighted by our involvement with Gaston County Corrections and their Work Release Program.
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Since the start of the partnership in 2019, about 40 inmates have come to work at our plant, weaving and warping yarn, cleaning facilities, preparing the fabric, and performing other duties needed around the business. The program's success is due in large part to our existing workforce giving it a chance to grow.
At this time, offenders are only permitted by the prison to work the first shift. STI hopes they will be permitted back on third shift shortly. While here, the inmates have to follow strict rules set by Gaston Correctional Center to remain employed. A single infraction can take an inmate out of the program, and it can take years to get back in.
Work Release by the Numbers
Of the 30 inmates sent to work at STI in the last year, 12 are still employed through the Work Release Program, 18 have been released and returned to their homes, and 10 have come back to work full time at the plant. That means 56% of work-released inmates come back to work at STI. A recent study by Northwestern University found that employees with records had a 13% lower turnover rate, saving the company $1,000 per year for each hired inmate and increasing our overall retention rate. Because felons have such a difficult time finding jobs, when they do, they tend to keep them longer.
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Another reason our retention rate is so high with the Work Release offenders is that we start them at $15/hour. According to Zip Recruiter, North Carolina ranks lowest nationwide for felony job salaries with a state average of only $11.08/hour.
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By offering offenders a livable wage, we allow them to make (and save) enough money while incarcerated so that when they are finally released, they will have the ability to pay for basic things like transportation, food, and housing. Once they are released, they have other opportunities to increase their pay by working different shifts and applying for other positions in the company while also qualifying for healthcare and retirement benefits.
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Officer Jennell McCorkle, Recent Hire Nathan Hopper, HR Manager Sandra Jenkins
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Challenges Upon Re-entry
Kevin Young, one of the first inmates to work at STI in 2019, returned to the plant last year after leaving prison, in part due to the relationships he made with our HR team and his co-workers. Life in prison is extremely difficult but getting out also brings challenges. In 2020 the N.C. Department of Public Corrections nixed a program that allowed inmates to get an ID while in prison. This has left many offenders in a catch-22 when trying to find a place to live or a way to work.
“It’s been progressive. They have helped me advance, STI has. They’ve cross-trained me on just about every job in the weaving department. Sandra has tried to help me get a license and a place to live. Hotels are expensive,” said Young. “All of the people I work with are all reasonable about it. There are some that don’t want anything to do with (inmates), but you have that everywhere you go. But the rest of the people, they’ve all been helpful. They’ve helped me advance even when I was still incarcerated.”-Kevin Young
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For example, to get a driver’s license in North Carolina you need two verifiable forms of address. You have to show proof of residency in the form of a utility bill, so hotels do not count. The catch-22 is that you cannot get a lease to rent without a driver’s license.
*Update* Kevin has secured a license, a car, and permanent housing in Kings Mountain thanks to a relationship built between Sandra and a local property owner. This would not be successful without these types of community partners.
Since our involvement with the Work Release Program, STI has become hyperaware of these issues and has sponsored and supported causes related to solving the problems facing re-entry. One of those causes has been a newly added men’s shelter in Shelby, NC. We recently donated $1000 to Trailhead Men’s Shelter and equipped them with the furniture they need to house and help men in Cleveland County get back on their feet. Shelters like these become instrumental in providing a temporary place to live once released from incarceration.
Cleveland Community College has been instrumental in providing a facility to educate offenders.
Although several local correctional facilities do not offer a work-release program, they do offer educational programs through higher learning. Cleveland Community College has been instrumental in providing a facility to educate those offenders. They recently inherited a prison that closed in 2008 on adjacent property and repurposed it into an educational facility for offenders. Here they can learn trades that are in high demand such as Plumbing, Electrical, Carpentry, and Welding.
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More often than not, many offenders who have completed their courses have already acquired trade skills and the education needed to perform the jobs we are hiring for while in jail or prison. By establishing these relationships in the community, STI is seeking to create a pipeline of qualified individuals looking to begin a career in textile manufacturing upon their release. We understand the valuable skills that many of these folks possess and the confidence they gain in knowing they have an occupation after their release.
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Prison to Community Simulation
Last week, STI Fabrics sponsored an event dedicated to bringing awareness to the problems surrounding re-entry in Shelby, North Carolina. We teamed up with Officer Jennell McCorkle who runs a Prison 2 Community (P2C) Simulation titled, "In Their Shoes."
In Their Shoes is designed to show the general public exactly how difficult it is to navigate society upon release from jail or prison. In this simulation, you are assigned a new identity and given different paths to take upon your release from prison.
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For an in-depth recap of the event, visit EdNC's article by clicking here.
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The simulation is not only designed to bring attention to this issue, but also to provide the necessary resources offenders need after being released. The simulation provides an opportunity for community leaders to network and share their resources. In Their Shoes has garnered the attention of many high-ranking state officials including NC Governor Roy Cooper, House Speaker Tim Moore, along with community leaders on the local level.
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Dr. Jason Hurst, President of CCC
“The partnership between Cleveland Community College and STI has been developed over the past several years and has positively impacted both students and adults. I have always been impressed with the vision and leadership of STI in looking for opportunities to improve the awareness, training, and community impact of manufacturing in Cleveland County. STI continues to be innovative through apprenticeship and inmate re-entry programs that change the lives of people. STI has become a valuable business leader in our county whether it is with the K-12 school system, CCC, Economic Development, or the Chamber of Commerce. I can say that we are stronger as a community because of the partnership and leadership of STI.”
-Tony Fogleman, Vice President of Economic and Workforce Development for CCC
This initiative not only has a positive impact on STI by creating a pipeline of qualified job candidates but also has a profound impact on our surrounding communities by providing jobs to people who previously may not have been hired due to social stigmas. These jobs create an opportunity to pay taxes and child support while creating a residual economic impact on surrounding area businesses. STI Fabrics is proud of the work we’ve done and the work we continue to do to bring new opportunities to underrepresented people in our community.
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