After jail or prison, ex-inmates get help finding jobs, paths to positive change

When he first entered prison at age 19 to begin a 16-year sentence, Justin Knapp said he was angry, felt alienated and spent his time “dwelling on the mistake.”

He often got in fights with other inmates stewing in the same unhealthy frame of mind, which he said landed him in segregation for five years.

“I was a teenager and I had to do so much time,” the former Crystal Lake resident said of his thoughts walking into prison after being convicted of attempted first-degree murder. “I felt I lost my youth. I was not in a good state, not in a healthy state of mind.”

Knapp said he stayed “focused on my own unhappiness.” He gave no thought to the pain he’d caused his mother or how he was failing his younger brothers. He certainly was not thinking about the day he would leave prison and have to adjust to the outside world. That changed when he was about 25, during one of his mother’s faithful monthly visits.

He recalled seeing her on the other side of the glass, the single mother who raised him because his father also was incarcerated. She had tears in her eyes as she looked at him shackled to a chair.

“I looked at myself through the eyes of my mother. This is not the person she raised,” he said. “I am not the representation of the good things my mother taught me. This is not who I want to be.”

So he decided to start changing.

Over the next several years, Knapp gravitated toward a different group inside the prison walls. Mostly through word of mouth, he said he found his way to classes and self-improvement courses. He made the choice to prepare for the day he would walk out of prison, because he knew he did not want to return.

That choice resulted in Knapp leaving prison just six credits short of an associate’s degree – which he has since completed – and self-betterment certificates.

He focused on reading, dove into books about philosophy and earned certificates for courses in anger management, conflict resolution, mindfulness and meditation. He did yoga. Knapp even took a fathering course, although he did not have children, because he knew one day he would. He spent time “engulfed” in his artwork, turned to it as “a therapeutic outlet.”

Now 35 and living in Marengo, Knapp has been out of prison about two years. Because he prepared for life outside of prison, he now has a job helping others as a certified workforce development career planner for McHenry County Workforce Development.

Rather than hide from the mistakes of his youth, Knapp said he’s “owned it as part of my professional career.” He uses his story to help other formerly incarcerated people turn that corner as well.

Thomas Faber said his focus over the past 14 years has been to help people like Knapp. In his former role as business service representative at McHenry County Workforce Development in Woodstock, Faber assisted “justice impacted” people find work and re-acclimate into life in the free world.

Faber’s work included identifying their strengths and skills, creating resumes, helping them prepare for job interviews and offering support. He worked with those who have been held in the county jail, as well as the Illinois Department of Corrections. He recently took on a new role title, with a similar mission, as employment specialist for McHenry County’s problem-solving courts.

Faber also has helped those who have been sentenced to probation, or whose cases are accepted into the McHenry County drug and mental health courts, and those on pretrial release. Many find Faber through word of mouth or probation and parole officers. But often people have to find Faber on their own, the same as finding the opportunities while in prison.

Knapp said he did not get any help from prison staff finding schooling and self-help programs while in prison. He had to ask around and figure it out. He began gravitating toward older inmates and those who appeared to be on a more positive track, despite their circumstances.

When he did get released, Knapp admitted it was a bit easier finding his way to Faber, because his mother, Cheryl Niemo of Woodstock, founded Jail Brakers. The support group she established in 2010 helps McHenry County residents who have a loved one who has been sentenced to jail or prison, and she knew Faber.

Faber leads workshops called STEP Forward, which help people identify their skills, identify life goals and learn how to overcome a felony to get and keep a job. Volunteers who participate include business owners, professionals from nonprofits and judges.

Faber said the focus of his work shifted after the country emerged from the recession of 2008 when “there was a high demand for workers.”

“That put me in a position where businesses said, ‘We need more people than are available,’ ” Faber said. “Then I thought, ‘What about people not being considered like [those who are] justice-impacted?’”

Faber said at first he was nervous that he couldn’t help. He recalled the first person who walked into his office in 2010, who was depressed and feared he could not find a job with his criminal background.

“I was new and didn’t know what to do either,” Faber said. “I was afraid that I could not help someone with a criminal background. After some work, I discovered it was a marijuana misdemeanor from 20 years prior as a teenager. Long story short, he got a job as a security guard, and I was on my way.”

Faber also has gone into prisons to provide workshops. On May 31, he went to Vandalia Correctional Center in Vandalia. He spent three days working on life skills and work readiness with men preparing to be released. He also listened as they opened up about emotions and fears, something rarely done inside a prison.

Although he does not keep track, Faber said he has helped hundreds of “justice impacted” people move on with their lives.

Those success stories include Knapp as well as a woman with theft and drug convictions now working full time as an administrative assistant and able to care for her children and a man convicted of murder in his teens working at a local bakery.

Faber and others who help those in and recently released from prison make a life in the free world, such as Nathan Norman, reentry director for the Illinois Department of Human Services, say the work is “crucial.”

“Preparing individuals for their release while in custody is crucial for several reasons,” Norman said. “The transition from a carceral facility to the complexities of daily life in society can be overwhelming. With adequate preparation and information, returning residents have a solid chance to find employment, secure housing and reintegrate into their communities.

Most incarcerated people will be freed one day. Not preparing them for a future is a disservice to them and the communities they will return to, and it often leads to recidivism, Faber said.

Norman said directing individuals to supportive resources, such as Workforce, post-release is as important as preparing them prereleasee

“Upon release, individuals often face significant barriers, including stigma, limited social networks and the challenge of adapting to an unstructured environment,” Norman said. “By connecting returning residents with community organizations, such as the McHenry County Workforce, returning residents can receive the ongoing support needed to overcome these barriers.”

Agencies such as the Workforce “play a pivotal role in helping individuals acclimate to freedom,” Norman said.

“Employment is a critical factor in reducing recidivism, as it provides financial stability, a sense of purpose and an opportunity for positive social engagement – all critical factors that contribute to successful reentry,” he said.

Knapp said he feels good about the work he does and sharing his story. “Definitely this field of work will be my life’s work,” he said. He also said his future includes bodybuilding and using his art skills to work as a tattoo artist with a special niche in removing gang- and prison-related tattoos.

What it does not include? Returning to prison.