Goodwill reentry program helps former inmates find work, rebuild lives

Goodwill’s reentry work has become a workforce story in Guilford County, not just a social service. Careers On The Outside says more than 300 participants have completed the program and landed jobs paying more than $15 an hour, while its recidivism rate is less than 1%. For local employers still looking for dependable workers, that means a pipeline of people who are not only employed, but staying employed.

Nathan Wren’s path shows how the program works after prison. A friend pointed him to Careers On The Outside when he got out, and he said the help he received included resume building and other practical steps that can be hard to manage after years away from ordinary routines. Kelly Childress, the program manager, said the biggest barriers are often digital ones, including learning how to use a computer, set up email and adapt to a workplace that may look very different from the one someone left behind.

The training is aimed at jobs with real demand. Participants can get help preparing for electrical work, construction work and, in some cases, a commercial driver’s license. That matters in the Triad, where trades, transportation and construction remain central to the regional economy in Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem.

The program is getting support from a $10,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro. The foundation says its grantmaking focuses on health and wellness, economic mobility and cultural vibrancy, and it recently announced $212,500 in nonprofit grants, including $164,500 through its Community Grants Program and $48,000 through the Tri-County Health Fund. In a later grants announcement, the foundation also listed Goodwill Industries of Central North Carolina as receiving Economic Mobility funding for Careers on the Outside, reinforcing that the effort fits a broader push to connect residents to work and stability.

Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina says it has served the local community since 1926, and its employment and training programs are funded through the sale of donated goods. In Guilford County, that means one retail model is supporting another public goal: reducing repeat incarceration costs while helping employers fill jobs. A 2021 FOX8 WGHP report said the Guilford County Reentry Council had already been operating for 20 years at that point through a partnership with the Piedmont Triad Regional Council and Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina, showing this is part of a long-running regional system, not a one-off experiment.