Participants get ‘second chance’ training in county jobs

Key Takeaways

Jayden Wheeler, determined to keep incarceration in his past, wasn’t sure what his future would, or could, look like. He was 25, in an in-patient rehab program and his most recent job was sorting through donations at a Goodwill thrift store.

“I really didn’t know what I wanted to do, or where I wanted to be,” Wheeler said. “I didn’t have a lot of valuable work experience … I was definitely in need of a second chance.”

As a resident of Bernalillo County, N.M.’s CARE Campus — which provides substance use and mental health services including crisis intervention and medication support — Wheeler was offered access to a Bernalillo County employability training workshop, which consists of 20 hours of “basic soft skills for keeping a job,” such as resume writing and interviewing practice,  according to Cindy WeaselBear, Bernalillo County’s talent manager.

Completing the employability training made Wheeler eligible to apply for the county’s Foundational Learning Alliance for Maintaining Employment (FLAME) program, which places people in need of a “second chance,” including homeless and justice-involved individuals, into job positions in four county departments over the course of a year. FLAME trainees receive a salary and benefits, including healthcare, through the county. 

To be eligible for the FLAME program, an applicant must have a high school diploma, or equivalent, and have either interned for the county, completed the county’s employability workshop or been honorably discharged from the military, according to WeaselBear. 

The employability workshop, which Wheeler attended through CARE, will also soon be offered at the county jail, in an effort to support the county’s justice-involved population upon release and reduce recidivism. 

“I’ve talked to people who are living on the streets, I’ve talked to employers, and there’s such a gap there that doesn’t need to be there, so it’s really about bringing people together for me,” WeaselBear said, of FLAME. 

“We’re all one major catastrophe away from needing a second chance — have a major car accident, have a medical issue come up, that could put you out on the street too, so it’s just about being human and recognizing that people have hardships.”

WeaselBear said she herself was in need of a second chance, which has contributed to her passion in leading the FLAME program. At 15, she found herself out on her own, without a home or support system.

“I lost family, I lost friends, I lost everything,” WeaselBear said. “You had to figure it out, you had to find your way and find the resources. And it wasn’t easy. I had to find ways that I could manage. And it was rough, but I made it. And I’m in a really good position here now where I can pay that back and help others get back on their feet.”

Each trainee is assigned a job coach, who supports them through their rotations. 

The job placements are determined through both what openings the county has, as well as what the trainee’s interests are or what they intend to pursue after “graduating” the program, so that they’re able to demonstrate some experience in the field to future employers, according to WeaselBear. 

“Through that process, we have different things that we use to try to get an idea of what they would like to do, what they wouldn’t like to do,” WeaselBear said. “So, that way we can try to place them in a position that suits them and that’s kind of up their alley.”

Many FLAME trainees are people who are formerly incarcerated, homeless or veterans, so it’s important to not place them in a situation that may be particularly triggering for them, WeaselBear said. For example, if somebody was traumatized in the past by public interaction, the county wouldn’t place them on a front desk, she added. Beyond that, it can vary widely where a trainee is placed.

“In one rotation, they might be doing marketing for animal care, and in another they might be working down at our fleet shop and helping with the mechanics,” WeaselBear said. 

“In another case, they might be in our media center or accounting, or they might be in probate, or even here in human resources.”

Wheeler spent the past three months in the county’s fleet and facilities accounting department, where he learned skills including data analysis and reconciling credit card transactions, and recently started his second rotation in human resources, where he’s helping out with event planning.

His next two rotations will be in the county’s budgeting department and animal welfare marketing department.

“It’s really opened my mind,” Wheeler said. “Before going into accounting, I never thought that that would ever even be an option for me. I never thought that I’d have the opportunity, let alone the qualifications, to do anything like that.”

Wheeler has ambitions of working in business management one day, and he’s excited that his rotations are getting him a step closer, he said.

Biweekly, FLAME trainees go through four hours of professional development training, where they’re taught skills such as public speaking, conflict resolution and project management, according to WeaselBear. 

At the end of the year-long program, the FLAME trainees will have a “capstone project,” that acts as a “reverse job fair” of sorts, where each trainee will have a table or booth where they share information about themselves to local employers, such as what knowledge and skills they have and what their goals are, with the aim of getting hired.

“Prior to working here, I had very little opportunity to really get involved in a workforce that I could excel in,” Wheeler said. “Being here, I feel like I have a job where I serve a purpose, and I feel like they’re giving me the opportunity to do things that I would have never had the opportunity to do before, whether it’s due to my background or due to my qualifications. 

“It’s given me the opportunity of just that – of a second chance, a chance to really be something.”