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Case Studies and Testimonials
Wesley Thompson: From Shock Parole to Success
After completing the Shock Parole program*, Thompson was set on getting his life together, but had no place to start. "When I first got out, I had no home. I considered going to a shelter" says Thompson. Thompson's situation is a typical one for most formerly incarcerated individuals coming home from prison.
Through CEO's transitional work program, Wesley was able to put some money in his pocket to help him travel and get situated to look for work.
"Every cent I earned, I saved. I didn't need to commit crime to get by" Thompson says.
Soon after completing CEO's Lifeskills classes and transitional work program, Thompson was hired at Coldstone Creamery. After a little over a month of solid performance on the job, his Retention Specialist Metha Brown began what would be a year long process of exploring educational programs throughout the City University of New York (CUNY) schools.
"Wesley was so ambitious, much of the early counseling focused on capitalizing on his current job to rebuild longevity on his resume" says Brown. Eventually, after shadowing Brown's former employer which specializes in online marketing, Thompson landed an internship there and was offered to become a freelance production assistant for events and trends research.
All the juggling between a full-time job and internship paid off. At Coldstone Creamery, Thompson was promoted to Store Manager and now supervises many of the new placements who are CEO participants like him. Thompson says "The staff at CEO helped me be motivated and see the big picture. I am now focused on going back to school, moving forward in my career, and getting my life back together."
EMPLOYER TESTIMONIALS
Robert Esposito, Senior Vice President of Operations, The Times Square Alliance
The Times Square Alliance was founded in 1992 and works to improve and promote Times Square and to provide sanitation, public safety and supplemental services to the area which covers most of the territory from 40th Street to 53rd Street between 6th and 8th Avenues, as well as Restaurant Row (46th Street between 8th and 9th Avenue).
“Since July 2008, I have hired 23 people from CEO as sanitation workers, working part-time, three days a week. Their responsibilities include: emptying litter baskets, graffiti removal, painting light poles, fire hydrants and newsstands, vacuuming, scrubbing, washing and disinfecting sidewalks, and collecting and removing garbage bags. And when a full-time position opens up, we select from among the part-timers who already know how to do the job the way we do it here, so it’s a ‘win-win.’”
“There is no question that the key to the success of our partnership with CEO is the rapport I feel with CEO job developers who understand the kind of people we need and who have taken the time to understand our operation. The part-time to full-time arrangement enables me to uncover “diamonds-in-the rough,” to find and to keep qualified people part-time until full-time positions become available, and in that way, I remain ahead of the game.”
See past Employer Testimonials:
Props for Today, Spring 2009
C.S. Brown, Winter 2009
CitiStorage, Fall 2008
After completing the Shock Parole program*, Thompson was set on getting his life together, but had no place to start. "When I first got out, I had no home. I considered going to a shelter" says Thompson. Thompson's situation is a typical one for most formerly incarcerated individuals coming home from prison.
Through CEO's transitional work program, Wesley was able to put some money in his pocket to help him travel and get situated to look for work.
"Every cent I earned, I saved. I didn't need to commit crime to get by" Thompson says.
Soon after completing CEO's Lifeskills classes and transitional work program, Thompson was hired at Coldstone Creamery. After a little over a month of solid performance on the job, his Retention Specialist Metha Brown began what would be a year long process of exploring educational programs throughout the City University of New York (CUNY) schools.
"Wesley was so ambitious, much of the early counseling focused on capitalizing on his current job to rebuild longevity on his resume" says Brown. Eventually, after shadowing Brown's former employer which specializes in online marketing, Thompson landed an internship there and was offered to become a freelance production assistant for events and trends research.
All the juggling between a full-time job and internship paid off. At Coldstone Creamery, Thompson was promoted to Store Manager and now supervises many of the new placements who are CEO participants like him. Thompson says "The staff at CEO helped me be motivated and see the big picture. I am now focused on going back to school, moving forward in my career, and getting my life back together."
EMPLOYER TESTIMONIALS
Robert Esposito, Senior Vice President of Operations, The Times Square Alliance
The Times Square Alliance was founded in 1992 and works to improve and promote Times Square and to provide sanitation, public safety and supplemental services to the area which covers most of the territory from 40th Street to 53rd Street between 6th and 8th Avenues, as well as Restaurant Row (46th Street between 8th and 9th Avenue).
“Since July 2008, I have hired 23 people from CEO as sanitation workers, working part-time, three days a week. Their responsibilities include: emptying litter baskets, graffiti removal, painting light poles, fire hydrants and newsstands, vacuuming, scrubbing, washing and disinfecting sidewalks, and collecting and removing garbage bags. And when a full-time position opens up, we select from among the part-timers who already know how to do the job the way we do it here, so it’s a ‘win-win.’”
“There is no question that the key to the success of our partnership with CEO is the rapport I feel with CEO job developers who understand the kind of people we need and who have taken the time to understand our operation. The part-time to full-time arrangement enables me to uncover “diamonds-in-the rough,” to find and to keep qualified people part-time until full-time positions become available, and in that way, I remain ahead of the game.”
See past Employer Testimonials:
Props for Today, Spring 2009
C.S. Brown, Winter 2009
CitiStorage, Fall 2008
*In this program, incarcerated individuals who successfully complete a six-month boot camp are released from custody earlier than they would have been if they had not participated in the program.