By Connie Leyden
Through February 2024, over three hundred people have participated in WorkWell’s job-training program and 181 have seen it through to completion. Our participants are uniformly enthusiastic about the curriculum, as well as the social services they are set up with and the job opportunities that arise after—often prior to—graduation. On March 13, 2025, three program graduates—Krystal, Jada and Alex—shared their stories on a panel at Light of the World Family Worship Church in Hamilton Township. The panelists come from widely different backgrounds and each faces a unique set of challenges. What they have in common are a deep appreciation for the individual guidance provided by WorkWell, extraordinary courage in telling their personal stories, and the determination to pay it forward by shining a light on their WorkWell experience.
Take Krystal, for example. She doesn’t fit the stereotyped image of someone who’s been entangled in the justice system. Poised and well spoken, a woman who held good jobs with the State into her thirties, she spoke with chagrin about the one mistake that landed her in trouble. After her release, it dawned on her that she couldn’t return to life as usual. Society “doesn’t look favorably on someone with a conviction,” she said. It is through “sheer perseverance” that Krystal is getting her life back on track—through her own grit, and a lot of moral support from WorkWell. Soon after graduating from the program, Krystal found employment at a grocery store, which she views as an opening rung on the ladder back to success.
Alex has had a much tougher life than Krystal. Dropped off at his grandparents’ doorstop in infancy, by the time he was twelve he was running in the streets and soon found himself in the justice pipeline. By a stroke of luck, he found out about WorkWell and thrived from the job-skills training and follow-up attention he received. “I used to think only about myself,” Alex said. Now he is committed to the idea of community and is working at a convenience store while looking for a better job.
The last panelist, 24-year-old Jada, is full of charisma, befitting someone who goes by the nickname Vibes. Incarcerated in her teens, Jada rues the fact that she missed college. Before joining WorkWell she was beset by anger and could barely communicate. “I felt like my life was over,” she confessed. Once she was in the program, her bad attitude melted away. “Other programs don’t care. WorkWell does—they go above and beyond.” Convinced that she could finally turn her life around, Jada discovered a talent for motivational speaking and turned it into a source of inspiration for the older trainees. Jada has her electrician’s license and plans to acquire additional certifications as she pursues gainful employment. Meanwhile she is working as a DJ, with the goal of making that her full-time business.
Asked during the panel discussion what society should do to better integrate returning citizens into the workforce, all three panelists were adamant: criminal backgrounds should be expunged once one’s sentence has been served, they said, because the formerly incarcerated have paid their debt to society and deserve a fresh start in the job market. Don’t judge us, was the consensus—just give us a chance.
Our panelists were well received by the attendees, who appreciated their courage and determination. 14th District Assemblywoman Tennille McCoy gave opening remarks on the need for changes to the way society treats returning citizens. Among those present were Taylor Pickett-Stokes, Mercer County Correction Center’s re-entry coordinator, and Bordentown Township Mayor Eric Holliday. The panel was co-moderated by WorkWell’s Career Navigator Paulash Bannerjee and Executive Board member Chaz Freeman. Reverend Leo Sherard, pastor of Light of the World Church (2400 S. Broad Stret in Hamilton), was thanked for opening the church’s doors for this event; as were the many WorkWell board members, staff, and volunteers who helped make the evening a success.
Shown in the photo: Paulash Bannerjee, Alex, Krtystal, Jada, and Chaz Freeman.
Connie Leyden is a member of The WorkWell Partnership’s Advisory Board.
