Friday, May 29, 2015

How Can I Help My Son Who Was Just Released from Prison?

May 29, 2015

Dear Cathy:

My son was just released from prison for a non-violent crime after 10 years and he can’t find a job and in some cases can’t get a business license for some businesses.  What kind of business do you recommend for him?  Helping Son Move Forward, Alabama

Dear Helping Son Move Forward:

The system is not set up to really help anyone when they get out of jail.  There are several non-profits out there that say they help prisoners get acquainted with society again but they are overwhelmed and unorganized and many don’t follow their own mission statements.

The only way for many of these prisoners to move forward after prison is to start businesses with or work for a relative so former prisoners will have to be progressive in pursuing potential job and business opportunities. 

The minute former prisoners put down on a job application that they are a felon, many companies will not hire them.  With all these odds against them, many former prisoners commit crimes just to go back to prison because they don’t have anywhere to go, no jobs or no food to eat, so your son is lucky to have you.

Some prisons, not all of them, allow books to be sent into prisons, so you should have been sending your son books on business so he could have been learning how business works while he was in prison. 

It’s extremely important for prisoners to start conducting research while they are still incarcerated.  They need to take a look at their own skills and background and even some of the skills that they learned in prison.

Two business books recommended are "The New CEO: 185 Easy-To-Set Up Businesses for Youth and Adult Entrepreneurs" and "How To Take Control of Your Own Life: A Self-Help Guide To Starting Your Own Business" -- both available as an e-book or paperback and can be read by 12 year olds and above.


No comments:

Post a Comment