San Quentin Hosts Green Jobs Fair

by Colin Asher · 2010-09-02 11:14:00 UTC
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Last week, San Quentin prison was host to what organizers are claiming to be the first ever Green Jobs Fair held inside a California prison.

The fair was organized by two organizations already involved with the prison (California Reentry and The Insight Garden), and was attended by about 60 employers, described as “green tech and sustainable agriculture arenas, local food, farming and gardening programs.” In media reports there was little detail provided about what jobs exactly were on offer, but comments made by inmate attendees were upbeat.

One inmate, Erick Copeland (incarcerated for possessing a shot gun), was quoted as saying, “I have been waiting for something like this. We get stuck in basic construction or food service. Those are pretty monotonous jobs. This opens things up for us. I want to farm when I get out.”

The fair was limited to inmates with fewer than 10 years remaining on their sentences (people who can see the other side) and was reportedly well attended. Prisoners were able to meet recruiters, pick up information about potential employment opportunities, and get experience meeting and speaking with employers.

Is an event like this paradigm shifting? No, not really. But it's a step in the right direction. As we've written about here at Change.org, Green Jobs initiatives are a growing trend in US prisons, and this is just one more step along that path. Hopefully a harbinger of more of the same.

I'm not one to think of Green Jobs as a panacea (Few leaving San Quentin this year or next are likely to become well-off, Green Job or no), but you can't knock the fact that employment opportunities in a relevant field are being presented to prisoners. All too often, the jobs offered to inmates and former inmates, and the job training programs they are offered in prison, are hopelessly dull and/or in archaic fields with dim future prospects.

One prisoner that attended the fair may even be working already. The co-owner of Turner Group Construction was quoted in the Oakland Tribune as saying, “We met a guy getting out Tuesday...and we're going to give him a job if he can do what he says he can do."

Let's hope that success will be just the first of many, and that the event is also a first and not a last.

Photo credit: CommandZed

Colin Asher is a former social worker and award-winning freelance writer whose work has appeared in the Boston Globe and the San Francisco Chronicle Magazine, among many others.
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