Working with a record: Interview

When most inmates are released from prison, they are given the clothes they were wearing on the day of incarceration, their parole officer’s phone number, and $100.

Thornton Holland knows about this all too well 

Thornton Holland, better known as Terry, grew up in Washington D.C., in the worst part of town. He attended Bell Vocational High School and majored in high-voltage electricity. After high school, he joined a gang and started getting in trouble. At 19 years old he went to jail for the first time, where he spent a few years. His cellmate was religious, and Terry found Jesus while incarcerated. When he got out of jail, he started going to church. The church referred him to Jubilee Jobs an agency that helps people find work. 

He got a job at night working for a grocery store, while he went to school during the day studying to become an auto mechanic. After intense studying, he earned his mechanic certification. He now earns $15 an hour at Safeway with full benefits, and his dream is to become a Metro bus mechanic. Terry says that what keeps him going are his responsibilities. “I’ve got to pay the bills by myself! That’s all the motivation I need. If I don’t work, I don’t eat. Also, my mom used to tell me that hard work never hurt anybody. All it can do is help. I remember that.” 

He has advice for other ex-cons, “Be real patient! Don’t move ahead of yourself. Do things the way God wants you to. I almost made the mistake of trying to move ahead before my time and I got real frustrated. Go at a steady pace, one day at a time.”