By James Mayse
Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.
OWENSBORO, Ky. — Zachary Eastwood-Barnes , an inmate at the Daviess County Detention Center, was one of seven inmates who received certificates of completion Tuesday from the jail’s reentry success program.
The program teaches career skills to selected inmates with the goal of helping them secure stable employment after their release.
Representatives from CRS OneSource attended Tuesday’s graduation ceremony and encouraged participants to apply for jobs once they leave the detention center.
Eastwood-Barnes, who has a background in real estate, said he enrolled in the program because he wanted to learn more about manufacturing.
“I just wanted to expand my horizons and my education of the workforce,” Eastwood-Barnes said. “I never worked in a factory.”
He said the program is especially beneficial for people who have not previously received that type of workforce education.
“I do see it to be a good program, especially if you never experienced this kind of education,” he said.
The program is supported by the city of Owensboro , Daviess Fiscal Court and organizations including the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corp.
Participants do not receive sentence reductions for completing the course, but they are connected with employment opportunities and other resources to help them transition back into the community.
Those services range from assistance renewing driver’s licenses and obtaining Social Security cards to help finding housing and transportation.
Claude Bacon , president and CEO of the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corp. , told graduates that employers are looking for workers like them.
“You are wanted and needed in the workforce,” Bacon said. “That’s why this program is so important.”
While acknowledging the support participants received throughout the program, Bacon said the graduates were ultimately responsible for their success.
“You are the ones that got across the finish line,” he said.
Bacon also encouraged the graduates to remember they have people supporting them.
“You’ve got people cheering for you all the time,” he said.
Owensboro City Commissioner Curtis Maglinger said many people believe the graduates can succeed.
“Now it’s time for you to believe in yourself,” Maglinger said. “Your past does not define you.”
Byron Gaither Sr ., who was once incarcerated at the detention center, now owns several businesses and works as a line contractor for Spectrum.
“Three years ago, I didn’t know what I was going to do,” Gaither told the graduates. “Now I have major corporations calling me and asking my availability.”
“It works if you work,” he said.
Gaither urged the graduates to “keep betting on yourself” and “keep doing the next right thing.”
People who have been incarcerated still have valuable skills to offer employers, he said.
“I met some of the most talented people sitting right where you are,” Gaither said.
Daviess County Judge-Executive Charlie Castlen congratulated the graduates and encouraged them to continue setting a positive example.
“Everyone in here is a hero in somebody’s eyes,” Castlen said. “You may not think that of yourself, but you are.”
Daviess County Jailer Art Maglinger told the graduates he was proud of their accomplishments.
“I’m here to honor you guys,” Maglinger said.
He encouraged them to “do your level best here ... and make a positive impact.”
Sarah McLaughlin , western Kentucky’s reentry and employment services navigator for the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet, said she also has experienced incarceration but did not allow it to define her future.
“There was a time when I thought, ‘This is my life. This is my destiny.’ And it doesn’t have to be,” McLaughlin said.
“Don’t put yourselves in a box,” she said.
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