On June 10, 2015, David Harrison wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal explaining that there were currently 5.4 million job openings in this country according to statistics gathered by the Labor Department’s latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Study. In prison, a lot of guys complain about not being able to find occupation upon there release; however, they do not invest the time into assertively pursuing the vocational certifications that are available within the institutions that they are housed in.
U.S. builders can’t find enough carpenters, electricians, plumbers and other craftsmen for a growing pipeline of work according to an article wrote by Jeffrey Sparshott in the Wall Street Journal(Skills Gap Hammers Builders, Jeffrey Sparshott, Wall Street Journal, 6-10-15). Oftentimes I encounter guys in prison that are naturally gifted with their hands with fixing and building things. Nonetheless, most prisoners are more concerned with learning about stocks, bonds, and real estate, even though the majority of them do not have enough cash or financial education to invest into those areas.
We have to do a better job of informing prisoners about the “realistic” opportunities that are awaiting them in the vocational fields of employment. Becoming an independent stock broker or real estate baron is possible but you have to work, earn, and save up the money to be able to invest anything.
Citizens in society must also become more active in assuring that prisoners are more aware of the reality of the labor market and assisting inmates with accessing effective re-entry resources before and after their release. If our citizenry continues to neglect this issue, it will perpetuate the current mass incarceration cycle which is not only a waste of human capital for our nation but also a public safety factor when you consider the higher probability for an ex-felon to victimize someone through committing a violent or financial crime to survive in society.
Together, we can make our criminal justice system more humane, more effective with rehabilitating those in its custody, and more fair to where equity is administered without any racial biased implementation of laws and policies. Our President has taken the first step to become the first sitting Commander-In-Chief to visit a federal prison. Now we must all do our part to correct a pandemic in our culture where we only represent 5% of the world population but we account for over 25% of the global prison populace.
Halim Flowers
DOB- 09-01-80
Washington, D.C.
30 years to life
Contact Information-
Halim Flowers
#11967-007
Federal Correctional Institution Gilmer
P.O. Box 6000
Glennville, West Virginia 26351
My name is Halim Flowers and I am an author, poet, blogger(CriminalU.co), and at-risk youth advocate. I have been incarcerated for 18 years, since I was 16 years of age for aiding and abetting a felony murder in a case where I was not the shooter and the person charged as the gunman had his case dismissed and was never tried for this offense. I know it sounds crazy but it is my destiny for now and I embrace. My passion in life is learning and helping to enlighten and inspire others, especially helping to develop the character and lives of young men. I was featured in an Emmy award winning documentary about my experiences as a child at the adult D.C. Jail titled "Thug Life In DC"(See Thug Life In DC at YouTube) and I have authored nine books in the genres of self-help, prisoner reform, juvenile justice, memoir, and poetry(See Halim Flowers at Amazon.com). I very contrite for my past criminal offenses and seriously committed to helping our youth to understand "Victim's Impact" and breaking the "school-to-prison pipeline".