By Peter Cameron
The Times-Tribune
SCRANTON — When Calvin Moore first arrives amid the racks of clothing, the 42-year-old Scranton man doesn’t make much eye contact. Dressed in a T-shirt and cargo shorts, he speaks quietly, and only when spoken to.
Less than two months out of state prison for a drug charge, Mr. Moore is trying to get his life burning cleanly again. That’s why he’s come to Clothes Line for Men, a donation-fueled nonprofit that provides free clothing to low-income men looking for or trying to maintain work.
Started in fall 2013 by the Friends of the Poor mission in Scranton, Clothes Line is part of a regional effort to help ex-cons find essentials like employment, housing and support, and keep them from ending up back behind bars.
Recidivism is a serious — and expensive — problem here. An internal review of the Lackawanna County Prison found that more than half its inmates returned within three years. That’s significant not just for the strain it puts on the offenders’ families and the criminal justice system, but also the taxpayer. It costs the county more than $55 per day, and about $20,000 a year, to house an inmate.
Looking good is a big part of helping people get jobs and avoid backsliding.
“A lot of these guys come out of the county jail with nothing,” said Scott Long, a former probation officer who now works at the prison helping ex-cons transition back to society. A professional-looking wardrobe “builds up their self-esteem and gives them some confidence to go to an interview, so it’s very helpful for the whole reentry process.”
Fran Cavezza, 56, of Scranton, knows firsthand how hard it is to get hired without looking the part, especially with a criminal record.
“People make a first impression in 20 seconds, and what you wear has a lot to do with that first impression,” she said.
After serving time for a few drug felonies, Ms. Cavezza got her first-ever business suit from Dress for Success, another clothing nonprofit, which serves low-income women in Scranton.
“My self esteem went through the roof,” she said. She now works there, helping other newly released prisoners choose outfits.
Dress for Success, a global initiative, came to Scranton in 2009 and “suits up” about 350 women per year, said Executive Director Mary Ann Iezzi.
To fill the same niche for men, Clothes Line began less than two years ago and has served more than 500 men in that time, said Bonnie Haluska, the organization’s volunteer coordinator.
To prevent fraud and ensure the new threads go to people who really need them, both organizations require potential clothes-seekers to first get referred from outside agencies such as Friends of the Poor or the Employment Opportunity & Training Center of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
While smartly dressed mannequins stand guard in Dress for Success’ graceful headquarters in the EOTC building on Main Avenue, Clothes Line must make do with less at the moment. A basement in a University of Scranton building is its home until renovations on another donated space in a university-owned house are completed in the fall.
Ms. Haluska recalls one man who came in looking “downright scary” in tatters and tattoos, but left looking “so elegant” in his first suit that it prompted another first in his life — a woman approached him on the sidewalk seeking directions. The request brought tears to his eyes, Ms. Haluska said.
“When you suit them up and they stand in front of the mirror, it’s beautiful to see the transformation,” she said. “You can see their lives changing because they feel better about themselves.”
When Mr. Moore returns from the changing room, he’s wearing a new, nicely fitting Ralph Lauren suit. He initially balked at taking the formalwear, noting he works in a warehouse and won’t need a suit when he completes his commercial driver’s license training. Ms. Halsuka was persistent, mentioning church, weddings and funerals. He laughs while she coos, compliments and fusses over him with a lint brush like a mother sending her oldest to his first day of school. Mr. Moore sneaks a peek in the mirror.
“She made me get it, but I’m glad she did,” he says with a smile.