Workers building on a second chance

Not long ago when Mark Davis found a hole in a wall while painting he grabbed the duct tape and, ever-so-carefully, taped over the opening and then continued painting. He knows not to do that anymore.
Davis learned how to properly patch a hole with plaster thanks to Amos House Builds, the contracting wing of the Amos House, a social-services organization in Providence. Started 14 months ago, Amos House Builds aims to provide people recently incarcerated basic contracting skills to put them on a path to employment or owning their own business.
“This organization has given me a chance, whereas other organizations didn’t,” said Davis, who served time for assault.
In June, Davis was busy preparing the former offices of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island on Westminster Street for city officials slated to move in this month. Readying the four-story edifice is the program’s most high-profile job yet, said Amos House President and CEO Eileen Hayes.
“It’s opened up a lot of doors to us,” she said, sitting in the lobby recently painted by Davis.
The landlord – former Providence Mayor Joseph Paolino Jr. – owns many properties and has become a self-described “very big fan.” Paolino hired Amos House after seeing the crew’s work at a former Boy Scout property he owns in Providence.
“I think everybody deserves a second chance and sometimes when you’re behind the eight ball, or if you’ve had a couple of hiccups in life, you wonder if anybody will knock on your door,” he said. “I’m happy to reach out to them using some social conscience and some business sense.”
Amos House Builds started as an offshoot of the Amos Carpentry Training program, or ACT for short. ACT started in 2007, training recently released inmates in basic carpentry and contracting skills. Classes built a gazebo and a shed at Amos House and renovated a property the organization converted to affordable housing.
Hayes said she wanted to take the program a step farther and provide paid jobs and real-life experience to those the program served. Amos House had already built a catering business that draws graduates from its culinary program and Hayes thought the organization could do the same with contracting. “I just knew that I wanted to be able to create a business to put people to work,” she said.
It was slow going at first. Initially Amos put a graduate of the program in charge who struggled to navigate the complex world of soliciting, bidding and overseeing projects. So in May 2010 Hayes hired Dean Martineau, an independent contractor with more than 20 years in the business, as general manager.
Martineau said his crew gains more than just painting and carpentry skills. He teaches them basic work ethics such as the importance of showing up on time, calling ahead to let the boss know about a doctor’s appointment and treating each other with respect.
The vast majority of his workers, Martineau said, step up to the plate and deliver projects on par with experienced contracting firms.
“They’re very motivated and they have a lot of pride because somebody’s giving them a chance,” he said.
The crew of about a dozen has steadily been building a portfolio of work and tackling increasingly complex projects. Hayes expects the program – with about 22 projects already under its belt – to generate about $250,000 this fiscal year and eventually find economic self-sustainability.
Amos House Builds also aims to put its workers on a path to economic security. Hayes said the program – where pay starts at $8 an hour – is not designed to provide long-term employment but rather the training necessary to move on. One former worker started a successful landscaping business Amos House Builds now employs as a subcontractor. Others have moved on to higher-paying jobs at established companies.
Davis said opening those doors is huge. Davis said that after prison, finding work proved extremely difficult when potential employers learned of his past. After he completed a temporary position renovating a local affordable house, he had few options.
He now splits his time between Amos House Builds and working in the organization’s office. And he holds dreams of someday opening his own custom-furniture business.
“I was ready to just start giving up,” he said, Amos House “has given me hope.” &#8226