Goodwill of North Georgia is using April, recognized as Second Chance Month by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance, to look back on the last four years of its workforce return programs in which nearly 5,000 people were assisted back on their feet across various industries.
Goodwill of North Georgia is the regional extension of the larger Goodwill organization and one of the largest retail and nonprofit organizations in the Southeast. Previously incarcerated people, veterans, and other individuals looking to find their footing in the workforce — Returning Citizens as Goodwill of North Georgia refers to them — turned towards Goodwill to assist their employment efforts through a variety of training programs and pathways and eventually be connected with an employer.
The organization says it has connected 4,823 Returning Citizens with meaningful employment at a number of different partner companies and organizations from 2019 through 2023, in industries like warehousing, retail, and food services.
The bulk of Returning Citizens from the four years are from the age brackets 25 to 34 (1,536) and 35 to 44 (1,247), with Black (3,210) and White (1,288) being the two largest race groups of Returning Citizens. “Warehousing and Storage” made up the largest industry in which Returning Citizens have found employment.
Keith Parker, CEO and President of Goodwill of North Georgia, acknowledged that the Goodwill brand is well-known and synonymous with thrift stores, but that this kind of work that the profits from those stores go towards in hopes of transforming lives.
Parker entered the space himself coming from a different background, most recently CEO of MARTA. The switch to this current role with Goodwill of North Georgia came at the right time, when he wanted to make an impact in a different way, he said.
“I knew I wanted to try something a little different. The number one most pernicious problem facing Atlanta and surrounding areas is that this is [one of] the most difficult places in the country if you are born poor, to get out of poverty,” Parker said. “If you’re born in [certain] zip codes, odds are you’ll be born in poverty, live your entire life in poverty, and die somewhere from 11 to 20 years sooner than people who live just a few miles away.”
This, mixed with the history of Atlanta and the fact that many of the aforementioned neighborhoods are neighborhoods of color, inspired Parker to pursue efforts with Goodwill of North Georgia — one of the best of all Goodwill regions at putting people to work, he said, speaking from a volume standpoint.
Putting people to meaningful work is the catalyst for changing a household, a neighborhood, and the trajectory of lives, and it’s done using what the organization calls the “ABC Approach” — A job, a Better job, and a Career.
Darnell Champion, a Returning Citizen, is living proof of the Returning Citizens programs from Goodwill of North Georgia.
After incarceration, Champion found himself at a halfway house to transition back into society. After a brief stint at another job, he was introduced to Goodwill, which changed his life for the better.
“Goodwill saved my life,” Champion said. “I used to go right back doing the same thing over and over again… and then I went to Goodwill. They made me feel important. It gave me something to do with my life, and I’ve been trying to share that with all my coworkers since I’ve been here.”
Unlike most Returning Citizens who go through Goodwill of North Georgia programs, Champion ended up finding employment with Goodwill in facility services instead of with a partner organization. Now a supervisor, Champion has been with Goodwill doing meaningful work for nearly 30 years, and has since started his own business with the support of Goodwill.
In those 30 years, Champion has seen countless people share a similar testimony to his of Goodwill changing their lives for the better. And like Champion, Parker said, many of the Returning Citizens have a fantastic work ethic, which can help fill in the gaps for industries needing more skilled individuals — especially as the clean energy transition continues to grow in Georgia.
Moreover, the retention of workers speaks volumes: workers are feeling gratified in their roles.
“What you generally find with custodial work is a turnover rate of 300 percent or more, where people are brought in, used up for a few months, and kicked out to bring in the next group,” Parker said. “What we try to create is somewhat of a family atmosphere, an ecosystem where folks feed off of one another and learn to care about each other… our turnover rate, if not the very best, is certainly up there with the very best in the industry. Our retention hovers around 85 to 90 percent in a field where normally people are just coming and going.”
Looking ahead, Parker said he hopes to continue helping people find their path.
As for Champion, he said he “feels like he has a pretty good life right now.” He shared this piece of advice for those struggling to take the next steps.
“Give yourself a chance. You have an opportunity to do anything you want to do… trust in yourself, and you can do it,” Champion said.
