As a young man growing up in New Orleans’ Third Ward, George says his favorite job was construction work
“I always liked building stuff,” George said.
“I liked working on cranes, scaffolding, building plumbing, repairing heating and electric utilities, all of it. And I liked the money that came with it.”
Today, living in a new apartment and working multiple part-time jobs, he is finally able pursue the career he gave up years ago and begin studying to become a certified member of his local carpenters' union. The union specializes in diverse construction projects, including commercial construction, scaffolding, pile driving, and historic renovations throughout Louisiana. Working for them will provide the kind of job security George says he has always wanted and needed.
“When I was younger, I was always working these odd construction jobs through people I knew, never in a union, never consistently, so the money would always stop coming in, and I’d have to go back to the kind of hustle that got me locked up,” George said.
“But now, when I’m finally with the carpenter’s union, as long as I always meet their organization’s standards, I will always have a job.”
It’s a point in his life that he has been working towards since he was released from prison in 2020. After serving five and a half years for a nonviolent offense, he made the decision that he was never going back.
“I came out with a new spiritual outlook that gave me the faith I needed to stay focused and keep pushing even when things might seem unbearable,” George said.
“Now, I'm always just looking forward.”
When he first got out, George moved in with his family, who supported him while he searched for employment. He started therapy and attended Narcotics Anonymous meetings, joined a religious support group of fellow formerly-incarcerated individuals, got on Social Security Disability Insurance for a previous back injury, and began reconnecting with his son, whom George lost touch with shortly after he was born when he was just a teenager.
“I never really knew my dad, so I really wanted to rebuild my relationship with my own son and make him an important part of my new life,” he said.
While he repaired his personal life, George found work through a temp agency in New Orleans, which connected him with part-time employment as event staff at college campuses and sports venues around the city, and started working twice a month as a paid volunteer handling intake at a local hospital. Later, he secured full-time employment as a server at a restaurant and started studying for his union certification. However, his new path was not without its adversities.
In 2025, he suddenly lost his service job. Then, when he connected with and secured transitional employment beautifying highways with the Center of Employment Opportunities, he lost that job after they unexpectedly lost their contract with their employer partner. But when other people in the same circumstances might have despaired, he says he persisted.
“Whatever I need to do, I do,” George said.
“I stay focused, and never even think about saying the words ‘I'm not gonna find a job’ or ‘I’m not gonna be successful.’”
George reached out to his former temp agency, returned to part-time event staff work, and continued working at the hospital. Thanks to his tenacity, he has regained the stability he needs to continue studying for his union certification, a process which now also includes paid on-the-job experience and training. With the combined income from three part-time jobs and his Social Security benefits, he plans to purchase a car to help him get to and from work and classes without relying on unreliable public transportation. Most importantly, he says, he’ll be union-certified within the next two to three months.
“I’m working, I’m studying every day, and I'm looking forward to the challenge and benefits of a new career that guarantees a decent and steady pay rate,” George said.
After that, his plans are simple: own his own house, grow ever closer to his son, spend time with the family who has always stuck by him, and start planning for a comfortable, deserved retirement.
“Things are finally coming together because of my determination to keep moving forward, no matter the obstacle,” George said.
“My experience is proof that, no matter what you’ve done in the past, your life can change and you can turn over a new leaf. You just have to put your heart into it and stay consistent.”
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