Ex-prisoners getting a second chance at life

Saturday, 7 October 2017

Fabian Flavell did all kinds of odd-jobs before securing full-time employment through the employment service.

Fabian Flavell was 17 years old and on the cusp of a promising rugby league career, when it all fell apart.

He was selected for the New Zealand Māori under-18s team, had completed intensive training in Taupo, and was set to go to Melbourne to pursue a career in the NRL when he returned home to Whangarei and his life changed forever.

Fabian Flavell started his own business in June this year, after receiving help from the Salvation Army to find work.

Flavell started using drugs and ended up in jail, charged with violent assault. He never made that flight to Melbourne.

Flavell, now 25, has struggled to find full-time employment ever since he left prison in 2012, but the birth of his daughter five years ago made him determined to turn his life around.

Don Robertson national manager of the Salvation Army's education and employment corrections program.

Fabian Flavell in one of the miniature homes he is building at his new company Flavell Construction.

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'She pretty much changed my life.'

After working odd jobs, including 'cleaning s*** off eggs' at a chicken farm, Flavell connected with the Salvation Army's Whangarei employment service in December last year.

A career advisor suggested he should take up work as a cabin maker, and he proved so successful at it that in June this year he registered his own building company. He now has six employees.

Since it began as a trial in Whangarei in 2014, the Salvation Army's education and employment support service, run in partnership with the Department of Corrections, has expanded to 18 different centres across the country.

They work with ex-offenders, like Flavell, to help find employment that matches their skills. They also work with employers who are willing to take them on.

Wellington's new service opened in August, but 'really kicked into gear' last month, employment navigator Pamela Clements said.

She is one of two dedicated full-time staff based in Petone who cover the Hutt, Porirua, Kāpiti Coast and Wellington.

Since they started, they've had 18 ex-offenders referred to them, placed five people into full-time employment and have partnered with at least 20 employers across the region from supermarket chains to retail outlets and construction companies.

Clements said businesses she approached were enthusiastic about the program. Employers were looking for the same thing regardless of who they were hiring, she said.

'Pretty well wherever you go … employers want people who are going to be reliable.'

The service gives employers a broad overview of the offending and encourages clients to be open and honest about their convictions.

Some offenders aren't eligible for certain jobs based on their conviction, or they may have restrictions of movement, due to monitoring or home detention.

'One thing I say to the employer – and the client – their criminal convictions don't define them.'

Many ex-offenders get blocked out of jobs early on because they tick a box saying they have criminal convictions, Clements said. Through the Salvation Army's service, the ex-offenders get a chance to speak to employers face-to-face.

'It makes a big difference if they can talk to the offender.'

Research routinely shows a strong link between employment and decreased reoffending.

A 2016 Salvation Army study into New Zealand's recidivism found reoffending rates had increased over a decade since 2006 in all categories except 24-month reimprisonment.

In 2015 more than a third – 36.5 per cent – of ex-prisoners were re-imprisoned and more than half – 57 per cent – were re-convicted within two years of release.

A new job on the outside helps tether ex-convicts to a new life upon release, Don Robertson the Salvation Army's national manager of the program said.

'We see it transforming people's lives. It helps them make a break from their old life and old connections and builds up their confidence and self-esteem.'

The service has set a target of 300 referrals per year nationwide and 210 placements.