With fair chance hiring receiving a greater focus across the country, Chrysalis is proud to connect clients previously impacted by the justice system to employers like Thermal-Vac Technology. We want to see the pool of available jobs continue to grow as more employers are willing to interview justice-involved applicants. In a recent Los Angeles Times article, Don Lee interviewed Thermal-Vac CEO Heather Falcone and Melvin Price, a Chrysalis client and former Roads supervisor who found he faced many barriers to employment after his release:
Melvin Price Jr., 41, of Long Beach was paroled last September after serving 16 years in federal prison. As part of his release, he said, he couldn’t work or “congregate” within 300 feet of a dispensary because of a prior criminal offense. And he has a 10 p.m. curfew, which meant he couldn’t apply for late-night or graveyard jobs at warehouses and other places that were hiring.
In November, Price found work at Chrysalis, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that helps the homeless and entrenched unemployed. And last week, through Chrysalis, Price landed a job doing landscape work for Caltrans. He’ll make about $3,000 a month.
“I promised that if I ever got another chance, I’d make the most of it,” said Price, whose life as a youth spiraled downward after his mother was murdered in 1992.
While Chrysalis has seen a near-tripling of inquiries from employers this year, there’s no sugarcoating the challenges.