Quinsigamond Community College Helps Ex-Convicts Realize Dreams
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
The partnership – funded by grant money - allowed the thirteen men to take culinary classes through the college’s Hospitality and Restaurant Management Program which is housed off campus at the Worcester Senior Center.
“This program gave these men a huge sense of accomplishment and we see them taking a lot of pride in their abilities,” said Deborah L Gonzalez, the Director of Community Bridges at Quinsigamond Community College. “We hope that this is a program that we can replicate in the future to give more opportunities to people in our community.”
The program ends on Wednesday night with a big dinner at the Senior Center, giving the thirteen men a chance to show off their skills to some influential members of the Worcester community. In addition, the Hector Reyes House and Health Alliance purchased a restaurant on Shrewsbury Street where the men will be given the opportunity to transition into a career in the restaurant industry.
The Tools of the Trade
The program set forth by Quinsigamond was designed to give these thirteen men 100 hours of training. In the past month they have been meeting for almost eight hours a day, four days a week. The goal of the program is to get the participants certified in food handling, a test that they will have to take in the near future.
While each of the thirteen may have been nervous about taking tests and being in a classroom setting again – Pam Hutchinson a professor who helps run the program – says that she has seen a wealth of improvement in all of the participants.
Whether they use their skills to get an entry-level job in the restaurant business – which most if not all have a desire to do – Hutchinson praises their work ethic and hopes that they can use the culinary skills that they learned in their day-to-day lives.
Giving Back to the Community
As a member of Quinsigamond Community College and the Hector Reyes House – where she serves on the Board of Directors – Gonzalez is invested in both sides of the program. Gonzalez heavily invested herself as a way to give back to the local community so that she could serve people who have problems with drug abuse.
Having two members of her family die of drug overdoses, Gonzalez wants to evolve programs like this in the Worcester area to impact more people who are struggling with addiction. Giving someone proper skills and a reason to do something important with their life, Gonzalez says, is the best way to help someone kick the habit of drug addiction.
“We want to give young males in the area proper training so that they can go out there and get a good job,” said Gonzalez. “I had a few family members die because of drug addiction; it’s a vicious cycle. The goal of a program like this is to break the cycle and give young males in the community some skills that they can be proud of.”
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