Goodwill Industries looks to provide second chances in Corbin

Jun. 16—While most are familiar with Goodwill for the second-hand stores scattered across the commonwealth where anyone can buy used items and clothing for a cheap price, the company looks to do much more than that across Kentucky.

Through Goodwill Industries, the company hopes to provide opportunities to achieve and maintain employment to disabled and disadvantaged people. It uses the slogan "Hand up — not a handout" to describe its methods to allow for the people helped by the program to experience the dignity and independence that comes with earning a paycheck and achieving self-sufficiency.

Speaking at the Southern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce member meeting on Tuesday, Senior Director of Reentry and Young Adult Services for Goodwill Industries Dennis Ritchie offered his own story that led him down the path to where he is now, having previously been a partner of his own law firm after graduating from Bradley University and the University of Kentucky College of Law.

Ritchie opened up about a car accident that led him down a road of addiction to painkillers that only worsened during his divorce, ultimately losing his ability to practice law and garnering a criminal record.

He was lucky enough to have his record expunged, and he hopes through Goodwill Industries to provide that same opportunity to contribute to the community and find a place in the world to struggling young adults who may be plagued by mistakes from their past.

"I quickly realized how hard it is for people who need a second chance to get a job," Ritchie said. "It's difficult. Even with my education, I struggled. I found Goodwill by chance, and I was working part-time getting donations out of the back of a car for retail stores for $8.25 an hour. You have to humble yourself and rebuild yourself and retrain your brain."

He continued by touching on Goodwill's own expungement program that works to get rid of criminal records for young adults who are attempting to turn things around and get back on track in life.

"I was lucky, I got rid of my [mistake]," Ritchie said to the audience. "Think about if you had to wear [your biggest mistake] around your neck every single day and that one mistake that you made defined who you are and was all anybody saw. That's not what America is about, the land of second chances. We believe in second chances here, sometimes even a third and fourth chance if someone is deserving, and that's what Goodwill is all about. You shouldn't have to keep that sign around your neck for your whole life, you should be able to get an opportunity just like anybody else."

Ritchie mentioned that the program originally started focusing on adults, but has since focused on the young adult category, looking at people ages 18-24, who need a second chance citing that, "the earlier you can help somebody, the better off they're going to be".

The age group focus wasn't the only chance Goodwill has made to its mission and program, also altering how thorough the opportunities it provides as well as not just leaving people out to dry once they've found a job with Ritchie saying:

"I started and we were replacing 4-5 thousand people a year, and that's great to tell people and put on a piece of paper, but then we looked at it and thought, 'Is this really what we want to do?'. I can get somebody a job, but that first job isn't going to get them out of poverty. It's putting them on a career path and having them move up in that job that is going to get them out of poverty."

Also joining Ritchie in the presentation of what Goodwill Industries hopes to accomplish in Kentucky, Regional Director of Career Services Becky Wilson and Kentucky Ignite Program Manager Rosell Hamilton also spoke about not just what they do, but a more thorough look at what Goodwill hopes to provide to Corbin.

Wilson in particular spoke about Goodwill's self-sufficiency matrix, which looks at what might be holding people back in life and what can be done to help them overcome those disadvantages.

"If your basic needs are not being met, it's hard," she said. "We focus on 10 things: housing, financial situation, food dependent care, education, health care, transportation and health, safety, substance abuse and legal issues. When you're lacking in one of those areas, sometimes life can be difficult. When you're lacking in multiple of those areas, it's almost impossible."

She continued by talking about "soft skills" that Goodwill hopes to instill within people to help them be better suited to get out of poverty and overcome what is holding them back.

"We have a soft skills academy that anybody who works with us is required to go through where they work on what employers tell us are some of the most basic deficits that they're seeing in most employees. That's self-presentation, attitude, dependability, conflict resolution and team building, and we also do a bit of basic safety."

Wilson also touched on Goodwill's RISE program, which is an acronym for Reintegrating Individuals Successfully Every Day, that teaches different subjects such as financial literacy, digital literacy, communication skills, health and nutrition and behavioral health skills.

Through the RISE program, participants are eligible to earn their own Chromebook, a stipend, access to individual financial counseling, legal assistance and even a gym membership or fitness equipment, with all being aimed at providing people the tools they will need to properly lift themselves from poverty.

Hamilton continued the discussion of Goodwill's programs, focusing on one particular program called The Spot.

The Spot has what it calls a "Roadmap to Success" that helps participants learn necessary skills while also earning a little bit of money in the process.

With the total payout for participants being $300, it is not given all at once, but rather in increasing increments after each successful stop on the roadmap to success.

"We don't give them the $300 as they walk through the door, they earn a little bit as they go through their journey," Hamilton said. "The foundation we've been able to use is called the 'opportunity accelerator'. The participants are able to discover their abilities and their interests and needs. We want to make sure that at the end of the day the students get to find out what best suits their career plan. It's one thing to say, 'you're going to be a cook, you're going to go work at McDonald's', but this way they're taking ownership and they're getting to figure out what sparks their interest."

Taking the stage to close the presentation, Ritchie offered some closing sentiments that connected to, not just what Goodwill hopes to accomplish, but his own personal journey as well:

"Employers in the room, justice-involved individuals and people who come out of recovery can be some of the best employees you'll have, you just have to give them a chance. Sometimes that's hard to navigate and decide how to get into this, and if you need help with that, that's what we're here for and that's what we want to do. Let us provide a career coach for those individuals and let us partner with you to see what your needs are and how you can work with that population. Everybody is always here and everybody always works."