Perspective: After 21 years in prison, an ex-offender has a job — and a better future
Sean Howard, left, and Dan Medlar prepare to replace an alternator. The Vehicles for Change program has been providing cars to low-income people for 20 years. It has also morphed into a training program for former offenders. By Courtland Milloy Courtland Milloy Local columnist Email Bio Follow Columnist March 19 at 8:26 PM Newly released after serving 21 years in Maryland prisons, Sean Howard may surprise some when they hear he believes his future looks bright.
After four months of training, which includes 90 minutes of classroom study each day, the men and women graduate and are placed in high-demand jobs with dealerships and other auto repair shops. The average pay after three years: $60,000 a year, according to VFC officials. More than 2.2 million people are incarcerated in the United States, and more than 620,000 are released from prison annually, the report said. “Among individuals released from prison, one third will return to prison at some point.”[Doing time far from home, D.C. prisoners face extra barriers to rehabilitation]“I think education is the gateway,” Howard, 37, told me during a recent break from working on cars at VFC.
Techs work on a vehicle’s rear brakes. To be accepted into the Vehicles for Change program, Howard had to pass what is known as the Nikki Test, an interview with Nikki Zaahir, who directs the VFC Automotive Reentry Internship Program. “I look for the three A’s,” Zaahir said. “Attitude, aptitude and attendance. I also want to see if they can articulate their dreams, have a vision of where they want to go. Or if they are just trying to get in to pass the time.
And yet, programs such as VFC have made a path that even the most troubled can follow. If they are willing to change.
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