April is “second chance” month, a national initiative to raise awareness around challenges that incarcerated individuals face after they are released. There are several programs inside Virginia prisons to teach inmates skills, including a welding course at a prison in Bland County.
Inside the Bland Correctional Center, four inmates weld metal above their heads. Sparks fly around their helmets as their teacher watches them work.
Clint Hull steps outside to cool a piece of metal in a bucket of water. He takes the metal to his teacher to look over his progress.
“I’m a more hands-on learner,” Hull said. “And he’s a great teacher like that. You stand beside him. And he shows you how to do it.”
The class is taught inside a renovated barn—part of this prison is a working farm. Today, the students are practicing welding a vertical sheet of metal above their heads, moving from the bottom to the top. It’s a difficult skill because the heat has to be applied a specific way.
There is a waitlist at this prison for the welding class. Hull was relieved to learn he got in.
“It’s kind of nerve-wracking, when you’re in here, prices go up on everything out there, and you’re like, man, what am I gonna do?” Hull said. “And then this at least makes you feel like you have a chance to get going once you get out there. You have a skill now, which is great.”
When he finishes this 80-hour program, Hull will have learned four welding techniques, said Ashby Perkins, coordinator for higher education in prison programs at Wytheville Community College.
“So once they’re released from prison, if they’re wanting to go into a welding career, they’ll have their certificate in time and be able to go out into the workforce,” Perkins said.
The class is taught at the Bland prison through a collaboration with the college. This is the second year they’ve offered the course. Students receive financial aid through Virginia’s G3 and Fast Forward programs, which provide assistance for students to learn skills for high demand careers.
Devin Allison teaches the welding class, and he said the students inside the prison are some of the most focused and engaged he’s ever taught.
“You know I have some in the community college, in my classes, you know,” Allison said. “They like it, but they’re not totally invested in it, you know? So they might end up doing something else. These guys, this is all they’re working towards at the moment.”
Another student, Jerimy Dennis, took the class last year, and he enrolled a second time to practice the skills. Because of his experience, he also mentors the other students.
“If you can take something like metal and weld it and make it into something else, it’s just, it’s kind of like an art, really,” Dennis said.
He returns to his workstation, putting on his mask, and an orange glow lights up his face as he focuses on smoothing the metal.
Nearby, student Samuel Gibson has completed his project, and he brings the metal outside to cool. He signed up for this class because he heard there are good job opportunities in welding.
“Trying to better my life and better myself and my current situation,” Gibson said. “And welding is something you can use in multiple different places for multiple different things. So, it’s a handy trade to have. You could make car frames, you can do tractor trailers. I mean, there’s unlimited places you can weld.”
Gibson said he’s hopeful he can find an employer in Virginia who is willing to hire him after he’s released, despite his criminal record. He’s getting help from Wytheville Community College to research which employers are hiring, and whether they’re willing to hire workers who were incarcerated.
There are financial incentives for what are sometimes referred to as “second chance” companies, said Kyle Gibson, chief communications officer for the Virginia Department of Corrections.
“People who are able to successfully transition into the community, that helps us to keep Virginia safe as well,” Gibson said.
The students are expected to graduate from this welding class by the end of spring.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
