Dave’s Killer/ FEATURE Bread staff ast August, Ronnie Elrod was featured on the official Instagram feed of The White House. He’s pictured leaning over a counter, Dave’s Killer Bread had signed former sporting rectangular President Barack Obama’s Fair Chance glasses, springy silver hair and a collared Business Pledge – aimed at removing Ronnie Elrod Lwork shirt with his company logo – hiring barriers for individuals with Dave’s Killer Bread – stitched over his criminal records. “In 1986, one of those heart. In seven years, Ronnie has climbed choices put me in prison. When I got out the ranks from an ovens operator to the director of manufacturing at the bakery’s HQ 15 kilometres south Wen I got out that frst time, of Portland, Oregon. The ‘BreadQuarters’ currently I tried to keep a JOB, but employs more than 300 people and eventually found myself out of punches out more than 600,000 loaves of bread each week, including WORK and doing what a lot the top-selling organic bread in the nation: Dave’s Killer Bread 21 of EX-CONS do, which was BAKING Whole Grains and Seeds. returning to a LIFE of crime. In that White House photo, a half- smile peeks out between Ronnie’s salt-and-pepper moustache that first time, I tried to keep a job, but This is the cycle of crime that Dave’s and goatee. You’d never guess that eventually found myself out of work and Killer Bread and many other businesses before getting hired at the bakery, he doing what a lot of ex-cons do, which across the country – particularly spent 15 years in prison for dealing was returning to a life of crime.” bakeries – are trying to break. “You drugs and being in possession of weapons. This story is surprising when you meet can’t change the justice system,” “I made a lot of poor choices early on Ronnie, but not when you consider the Ronnie tells me, seated in his Oregon A FRESH in life,” reads the Instagram post, which sheer proportion of Americans with office surrounded by audiobooks and used Ronnie’s story to announce that criminal backgrounds. According to leadership manuals by inspirational a poll jointly conducted by The New speaker and author John Maxwell. York Times, CBS News and the Kaiser “The one thing you can change is what Family Foundation, men with criminal happens when people come home.” records account for 34 per cent of all Ronnie considers himself “one of non-working men between the age of 25 the lucky ones” for landing a job at and 54. In fact, the US jails more of its the bakery less than a month after START citizens – more than 2.3 million inmates leaving prison. Now with a position in – than any other country in the world. management, he shares his story to help Former inmates face a host of re-entry shift the stigmas around people with Many Americans with a CRIMINAL RECORD challenges, from obtaining a driver’s criminal backgrounds, and mentor others are more likely to go BACK TO JAIL than land a license and public housing to, yes, with similar pasts. “Through people finding employers who will provide turning their lives around and creating GOOD JOB, but BAKERIES across the country are a decent-paying job. With such bleak lasting change, that skeleton in the prospects, it’s no wonder more than closet becomes something to talk about, ofering a NEW RECIPE: a SECOND CHANCE. 75 per cent of ex-convicts get arrested because there are other people out there again within five years of release. facing the same struggles.” > WORDS SERENA RENNER COLLECTIVE HUB 109 Greyston staff Dion (L) / FEATURE and Shay Dave Dahl was welcomed back to the a wait list – no questions asked. From family bakery by his brother, Glenn. The ex-convicts to those with a history of pair transformed the family business into substance abuse, Greyston has taken what it is today. Dave left the bakery thousands of people off the streets in 2013 after a reported mental health while also providing community services “Now we’re able to say, ‘Hey, look, episode that almost put him back in jail, including childcare, healthcare and line. She now has medical benefits, there’s life after prison. There’s life after but the Dave’s Killer Bread Foundation culinary arts training to further fight social media and marketing skills and addiction.’ We can help you create your is keeping the mission of redemption local poverty. But the main event around is training to be a supervisor. She says own success story by just giving you alive. Its annual Second Chance Summit here is brownies. Greyston bakes nearly she feels empowered by the way the an opportunity.” brings nonprofits, government agencies 16,000 kilos of them each day for Greyston team believes in her, and she’s Dave’s Killer Bread currently employs and corporations such as Google and Whole Foods Market and Ben & Jerry’s tried to jump on every opportunity that more than 100 food services ice-cream flavours such as Chocolate has come her way. “I wake up every individuals company Aramark Fudge Brownie and Empower Mint. day looking forward to coming here with criminal If you take a look at together to expand Greyston General Manager Rich and doing my job,” says Shay. “I feel records, the national Jamesley says baking is a good starter comfortable talking to [co-workers] paying rates these folks coming out, conversation industry for ex-criminals and other about what I’m going through, and they that exceed they want to TURN around criminal hard-to-employ demographics because feel the same towards me. It’s been very the minimum justice reform it doesn’t require much in the way of therapeutic. Of course, the smell is great wage, with their lives around. Tey and re-entry, and formal education or high-level benefits for all have the PASSION. encourage other skills, and it offers a variety of full-time staff. businesses to give roles centred on approachable BAKING is something that people The US Tey just need to be second-chance products. “Everybody knows government employment feel comfortable [with], but the given that SECOND a little bit about baking, right?” offers tax a shot. says Rich. “Once they see sugar same premise of open HIRING and breaks of up CHANCE. “If you take a and cocoa and eggs… I think it’s to US$2400 look at these folks not intimidating and it seems fun. providing job SKILLS could be done per employee coming out, they Baking is something that people each year to businesses who hire ex- want to turn their lives around,” says feel comfortable [with], but the in many DIFFERENT AVENUES. felons, and that’s not the only value Marty. “They have the passion. They just same premise of open hiring and these hires bring with them. Recent need to be given that second chance.” providing job skills could be done research suggests that people with On the other side of the country in many different avenues.” around here, too… I don’t even want criminal backgrounds may actually in Yonkers, just north of New York A year and a half after her release to go home sometimes.” outperform their non-offending City, Greyston Bakery takes second from jail, Yonkers native Shay, 34, finally Graduates of Together We Bake, an counterparts – and this finding doesn’t chances to a whole other level. Since it got called in for an apprenticeship at eight-week personal development and surprise Ronnie in the slightest: “We was founded by aeronautical engineer- Greyston. Before her incarceration, food services training program for all know that opportunities for folks like turned-Zen-master Bernie Glassman she worked as a home health aide, but a women in Alexandria, Virginia, on the us don’t come along very frequently,” he in 1982, Greyston has pioneered the felony charge changed all that. “I’m still outskirts of Washington, DC, echo says. “So when one does, you better take practice of ‘open hiring’. Jobs are ashamed,” says Shay of the incident that Shay’s sentiments. The apprentices – it and run with it.” offered, beginning as an apprenticeship, put her behind bars. “[When I was in who come from backgrounds ranging But the key motivation behind this to anyone who puts his or her name on jail] I was like, ‘I can’t believe I’m here.’ from homelessness and drug addiction unconventional hiring policy is helping But I needed that. It was either that or to incarceration and sexual abuse – are people get back on their feet, says I could have been dead. I think that God united by a love of granola and cookies, company president Marty Nash. This gave me a second chance to get my life as well as their common stories. > mirrors the experience of the ‘real Dave’ together, and I got my life together.” – the co-founder of the company that Shay’s two-year tenure at Greyston bears his name. Following an on-and-off began with inspecting brownies before relationship with prison over 15 years, progressing to work on the Whole Foods 110 COLLECTIVEHUB.COM @COLLECTIVEHUB her mother’s living room and has a felony charge for a crime she says she didn’t commit, which required a hefty “Something we learnt is that they fine but no time in jail. In addition to really need an opportunity to start offering her a job, Together We Bake healing,” says Stephanie Wright, a trained provided a supportive space where she social worker who co-founded the could talk about past trauma including MORE AMERICAN Together We Bake program in 2012.