{"id":36563,"date":"2016-03-09T15:46:05","date_gmt":"2016-03-09T21:46:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=36563"},"modified":"2016-03-09T15:46:05","modified_gmt":"2016-03-09T21:46:05","slug":"growing-opportunities-for-ex-convicts-in-urban-agriculture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/growing-opportunities-for-ex-convicts-in-urban-agriculture\/","title":{"rendered":"Growing Opportunities for Ex-Convicts in Urban Agriculture"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Anna Boisseau<\/strong><\/p>\n

Antonio Henry only recently learned he likes lunchbox peppers. \u201cThey\u2019re so sweet, you can just eat them straight,\u201d he said of the multi-colored vegetables that he learned to grow last summer at a local urban farm.<\/p>\n

Henry is a former member of Windy City Harvest Corps, a 14-week program through the Chicago Botanic Garden that provides job training in urban agriculture for ex-convicts.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first I just thought it was a paycheck,\u201d said Henry, who came into the program apathetic about urban farming. But after weeks of hands-on learning in the fields, he learned he has an affinity for growing peppers.<\/p>\n

According to Paul Krysik, Henry\u2019s crew leader last summer, most Corps-members start the program knowing nothing about farming and often grow to love it after \u201cliterally seeing the fruits of their labor.\u201d Some participants actually begin to feel ownership over specific crops after cultivating them on the farms. \u201cHe would be like \u2018these are my peppers,\u2019\u201d he said of Henry\u2019s newfound love for the plant.
\n<\/p>\n

\"Windy
Apprentices Antonio Henry and Tony Davis (left to right) show off the garden beds outside of the Arturo Velasquez Institute in Little Village.(Anna Boisseau\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Harvest Corps accepts referrals of non-violent offenders from partner organizations like Safer Foundation and Salvation Army. After a hiring process that includes an interview, a volunteer evaluation day to shadow the program, and a trial first week, participants begin learning the fundamentals of urban farming. For ex-offenders who face a difficult job market, the program provides more than just agricultural training.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are transferrable skills,\u201d said Joan Hopkins, Harvest Corps coordinator. \u201cOur goal is to support them in gaining full time employment.\u201d She said the standards of Harvest Corps, like being on time for work and having a positive attitude, help prepare Corps-members for jobs after the program.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome people don\u2019t want to do farming,\u201d Hopkins said. \u201cSome people just want to move through the program and use us as a reference, and that\u2019s okay.\u201d<\/p>\n

The participants spend Monday through Thursday working on farms, and Fridays learning about the importance of urban agriculture. They are also given time to work on job applications and help building their resumes.<\/p>\n

\"Chicago
Apprentices have prepared for the spring season by getting kale seedlings ready to plant. (Anna Boisseau\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe are their support system to help them refine job search skills,\u201d said Krysik.<\/p>\n

Participant Tony Davis said he believes the standards of Harvest Corps would help him in any job after the program. However, Davis is one of the former Corps-participants like Henry who have chosen to continue on to Chicago Botanic Garden\u2019s apprenticeship program.<\/p>\n

Over nine months, apprentices study for a community college certificate in sustainable agriculture. Though the program is open to other participants, if they come from the Harvest Corps, the $2500 tuition for the program is paid by Chicago Botanic Garden.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing better I could be doing with my time, with the adversities I face as an ex-felon,\u201d Davis said. \u201cIt made me know that I still had a shot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Windy
\u201cI don\u2019t even remember hearing the word compost,\u201d said apprentice Antonio Henry of his lack of knowledge about urban farming before joining the Harvest Corps program. (Anna Boisseau\/MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Christopher Epps agreed. At 34, he said he was one of the oldest participants in his Corps program. \u201cWhen I found out the average farmer was 54 years old, it shed new light, gave me hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

Apprentice Michael Smith never thought he would enjoy farming. After spending the day on work shadow, watching someone pull carrots, he said \u201cI was like, I can\u2019t do this.\u2019\u201d However, after showing up to work angry a few times, he realized that working on farms was soothing to him. \u201cYou can leave everything at the door,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The apprenticeship doesn\u2019t start until February, and Corps participants either finish in June or September, so they spend the months in between programs participating in a paid work-study. By the time they start their apprenticeships, former Corps-members have had almost a full year of work in urban farming.<\/p>\n

According to Hopkins, apprentices who come from the Corps program are often surprised to see how knowledgeable they have become about farming. Henry said since the apprenticeship started, non-Corps participants have been asking him questions in class. \u201cI didn\u2019t think people [would] be coming up to me asking things,\u201d he said. \u201cNow I have the answers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hopkins said that she does sometimes hear of former participants who end up back in jail. But she added that she thinks that Corps-members always feel comfortable returning to the program. \u201cI think that\u2019s probably why I enjoy my job\u2026because we\u2019re giving them a fair shot,\u201d said Hopkins.<\/p>\n

Lettuce greens grow in a greenhouse outside of the Arturo Velasquez Institute in Little Village.(Anna Boisseau\/MEDILL)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Anna Boisseau Antonio Henry only recently learned he likes lunchbox peppers. \u201cThey\u2019re so sweet, you can just eat them straight,\u201d he said of the multi-colored vegetables that he learned to grow last summer at a local urban farm. Henry is a former member of Windy City Harvest Corps, a 14-week program through the Chicago […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":252,"featured_media":36587,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,30,675,585],"tags":[1119,1592,310,1118,1826,625,2230,836],"class_list":["post-36563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-interest","category-public-affairs","category-social-justice","category-winter-2016","tag-chicago-botanic-garden","tag-criminal-justice","tag-criminal-justice-reform","tag-gardening","tag-green","tag-social-justice","tag-sustainability","tag-urban-farming"],"yoast_head":"\nGrowing Opportunities for Ex-Convicts in Urban Agriculture - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/growing-opportunities-for-ex-convicts-in-urban-agriculture\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Growing Opportunities for Ex-Convicts in Urban Agriculture - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Anna Boisseau Antonio Henry only recently learned he likes lunchbox peppers. \u201cThey\u2019re so sweet, you can just eat them straight,\u201d he said of the multi-colored vegetables that he learned to grow last summer at a local urban farm. 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