Employers Thrilled!

Human Resources told Dwight Edwards not to hire his latest applicant because he is a convicted felon. But Edwards called them back and said, "It's okay - he's from Better People."

Just a few months later, Edwards - the shop superintendant at Oregon Iron Works - says he's going to sponsor the latest hire in the union's apprenticeship program. The former felon is now on his way to becoming a journeyman iron worker.

"I couldn't have gotten a better person," Edwards says. "The guy's here every day, he's on time, he works hard, he doesn't screw around, and he asks questions."

His name is John, and he's the latest success story to emerge from Better People, a privately-funded, nonprofit offender program whose mission is to dramatically reduce the rate at which offenders return to crime in Multnomah County. John started Better People's 12-Step Moral Reconation Therapy program and soon became one of more than 30 former offenders placed in full-time jobs paying at least $8 per hour with health benefits. Better People even stays in the picture after hiring.

From Edwards' perspective - and that of many others hiring in the industrial sector - just finding somebody who will pass a drug test and stick around after the the first paycheck is a challenge. But now people with criminal records are becoming, literally, Better People. They're not committing any more crimes, and Portland-area employers have a new source of dependable workers.

Whether you're an employer frustrated in your search for dependable workers, or you're being held back in your job search by your criminal record, you should contact Better People by phone at 281-2663 or by email and find out how Better People can work for you.