Read Bill's Amazing Story:

Mission Moment

Bill’s friends were experimenting with drugs and alcohol. Consequently, so was Bill – at age 11. This choice led Bill into trouble with the law a few years later. For the next 25 years, Bill was in and out of jail, racking up many convictions – some of them serious charges.

At age 40, Bill decided he had had enough. He knew he wanted to turn his life around. He also knew that his first step needed to be getting a job.

Bill quickly found that finding employment was going to be difficult. He was honest on his applications about his background. He knew that employers could access public records and would know about his history of arrests and incarceration. He was hoping that his application would get him in the door for an interview and his explanation about how his mindset had changed would lead to a job offer. However, there were no interviews. Bill says, “No one would give me a second look.”

He began taking day labor jobs, making minimum wage. He knew that $8/hour was not going to be enough to live on. He also knew it was backbreaking work and he could not continue to do day labor for the rest of his life. He worried about his future. Was it too late to turn his life around? Bill was not ready to give up, so he kept searching.

He decided to ask for assistance with his job search through local community resources. Bill tried the unemployment office. He learned that he would not be able to meet face-to-face with a live person due to COVID-19. After years of incarceration, Bill did not have any technology skills or tools. He soon learned that without those skills, the unemployment office could not help.

Bill’s job search dragged on for months. He was just about to give up when an acquaintance told him about the Goodwill Job Connection. Bill called and, to his surprise, a friendly voice on the other end helped him to schedule an appointment for a face-to-face meeting, which would take place the next day. For the first time in a long time Bill felt a glimmer of hope.

When he met with Morgan, the career development facilitator, the next day Bill explained that he had very limited knowledge of computers and he urgently needed a job now. His day labor job gave him an unpredictable schedule and low wages. He had applied all over town but he knew that his past made employers look at him differently than they looked at other job seekers.

Morgan asked a lot of questions. He told Bill that he would be a great fit at Goodwill. Goodwill was a second-chance employer and, yes, there was an online application—but Morgan could help with that. With Morgan’s help, Bill completed the application, got an interview, and then got a job offer.

Today, Bill has a job that gives him a predictable 40-hour work week and pays much more than minimum wage. He may be a “second-chance job seeker” but he is not looked at as a second-class worker. He feels like he is a valued member of the team. His supervisor treats him with respect and expresses her appreciation for the enthusiasm he brings to the work he does. Bill loves his new job and it shows. His manager says she is so happy with Bill that she “would like four more just like him.” She reports that Bill always exceeds expectations and he is always ready to jump in and get the job done.

Bill says he does not know where he would be without Goodwill—but he is very sure he would not be employed or on the path to a better future. He is glad Goodwill was there when he had almost given up hope.  




Changing lives through the power of work!