Man Helps Former Inmates Struggling To Find Employment By Creating A Cleaning Business
Anyone that’s dealt with being judged by a stigma before knows how difficult it can be. Overcoming that stigma to do something positive with your life can be truly difficult, but also rewarding.
Former inmates fully understand being judged by a stigma, and not only do they have to overcome that but they also need to reintegrate into the “real” world. No doubt the longer the sentence, the harder it can be to rejoin society in a normal capacity.
Some selfless people in the world have taken it upon themselves to help these former inmates overcome the hurdles of reintegration by any means necessary. One woman even recently started teaching yoga classes in prisons to help ease the inmates pain of past traumas.
Will Avila is one of those people that’s taken on the task of helping former inmates restart their lives, and in order to do so he took a leap of faith and started Clean Decisions.
Clean Decisions is a cleaning business based in Washington, D.C. They specialize in cleaning food trucks and commercial kitchens. The most unique feature of the business is that every employee shares something in common: they’re all former inmates.
What made Avila start this business and attempt to make a difference in former inmates lives? He’s a former inmate himself. Avila has been through the system, and he knows how difficult it can be to endure through a sentence and then struggle to find employment once that sentence has been completed.
“Onlookers commonly fail to see that we’re willing to do absolutely anything to succeed in our lives, especially dealing with the predicament that we’re in, that of being a felon,” says Avila. “My plan was to only employ returning citizens and give them the opportunity to work as well as achieve success in life.”
Not only is Avila able to aid former inmates that could use a helping hand, but he also is able to run a profitable business. This proves that selfless acts of kindness can be rewarding in many different ways.
Supplying hope to men greatly in need of it is a noble goal, and it’s something that Avila’s employees greatly appreciate. Their comments illuminate the fact that they admire Avila for what he’s done, and they definitely don’t take it for granted.
“I love heading to work every day because I’m with other people who’ve been through the same challenges that I’ve experienced,” says one worker. “I really love being around other people that are also trying to make a good step in their life, and that are willing to help each other through life.”
If you’re a fan of this story and what Clean Decisions is doing for numerous former inmates, please share this story! The world can use inspiration like this to help others who need it, and hopefully others will take up the mantle and aid Avila in his battle against stigmas.
Check out the video below for an in depth look at Clean Decisions.
