SECOND CHANCES
Trenton officially launches Office of Returning Citizens to help people leaving prison get on the right track
TRENTON» Life’s a lot slower for the man once addicted to fast money.
But it’s a good pace, says Dontae Thomas, 38, a former drug dealer turned fitness guru.
He’ll now leads fitness programs for the city of Trenton’s recreation department, as part of a secondchance initiative formed by Mayor Reed Gusciora’s administration.
“The light bulb moment was seeing my kids come through that door and gotta be patted down,” said Thomas, who did nearly a decade in federal prison for peddling crack cocaine. “I gotta change. I gotta do something different. I wanted better.”
Social justice advocates were on hand Wednesday for the unveiling of the newly formed Office of Returning Citizens, whichwill help ex-convicts land jobs and get training and housing they desperately need upon re-entering society after serving their bids.
The office will be housed on the first floor of City Hall and led by Leigh Gordon, a prison minister who volunteered to run the program.
Perry Shaw of A Better Way New Jersey, an advocacy group for veterans, exoffenders and at-risk youth, called it a step in the right direction.
“This is social justice,” he said. “Employment is social justice. Housing for incarcerated individuals is social justice.”
This the latest effort by the Gusciora administration to make amends to Trentonians who have been disenfranchised by antiquated city policies.
Last year, Gusciora lifted a seven-year prohibition that opened the door for non-violent ex-offenders to get city jobs. They were previously required to wait until seven years after their bids ended to be considered for employment.
A re-entry committee of more than a dozen people from churches, advocacy groups and nonprofits looked to expand the second-chance initiative as many cities address historical inequalities for people of color following the death of George Floyd, the Black man who was killed by police in Minneapolis.
Themayor said the vision for the program came during a campaign-trail meeting with Tracey Syphax, the owner of Phax Group Construction who was granted clemency in 2017 by former Gov. Chris Christie over his drug and weapons convictions.
“It’s a great day in the city of Trenton, ain’t it?” said Syphax, who worked himself up from a roofer into a millionaire businessman. “When they come home, that door is shut in their face. Then when they go back to a life of crime, we ask, ‘Why?’”
A former assemblyman and municipal prosecutor, Gusciora echoed how many people with rap sheets are shunned by society when they appear hard up to rise from the streets to better themselves.
While teaching to highschoolers during law school, Gusciora found themost attentive students were often from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Suburban students took his law lectures as an opportunity to get “caught up on their sleep” while those at Jamesburg were attentive.
“It was much more rewarding working with the juveniles who were in the detention center than the suburban students who had it all,” Gusciora said.
Six people who served time already found city jobs through the program while another 35 are being considered, officials said.
No one is automatically disqualified from the re-entry program, officials said.
The review committee, which includes city law director John Morelli and personnel director Steven Ponella, considers applicants case-by-case.
Officials weigh individuals’ past, circumstances that led them to commit crimes, rehabilitation efforts and aggravating or mitigating factors.
The city partnered with Mercer County One-Stop Career Center, Trenton Public Library’s Fresh Start program, the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice and the state Parole Board, among others.
“Public safety practices and positive reentry programs can occur when real change is effected in the lives of those being supervised rather than through the revocation of their parole,” said Samuel Plumeri, chairman of the Parole Board.
Trenton has agreements with the Home Rubber Company, Jingoli Construction Company and Solterra Recycling to hire people when the city doesn’t have openings.
“People need many chances,” Pastor John Taylor said. “Your future is greater than your past. I came to the pulpits of the corner not from the choir. You can make it. Don’t let NOBODY what you can’t do and who you can’t be.”
Jason Rogers, a reformed offender who now supervises security at City Hall, thanked city leaders for making the program a reality.
He still remembers his inmate number — 283074 — and credited incarceration for helping him realize what was important.
“I’ll never forget. The reason I will never forget it is because, if I didn’t go through that, I wouldn’t be here. ... When you sent them to us, encourage them.”
Thomas, the owner of Team Chizel Fitness, agreed community support is key in helping offenders stay on the right path.
Calling himself a “work in progress,” the Trenton Central High School graduate reminds himself daily of the struggle he endured in prison — making $40 a month working recreation — whenever money is slow.
“I got addicted to the fast money. Doing anything I wanted any given second ... and not have to wait for a paycheck,” he said of his time dealing drugs. “Why can’t I come out here and sacrifice to make whatever money I make and that money to hold me off until I get there? I know it takes time. I was patient for 10 ½ years.”
“You always have that second chance with yourself,” he said.