Vehicles for Change Introduces Prison Reentry Program for Automotive Services; To Host Grand Opening Event on June 17

Baltimore-area nonprofit Vehicles for Change, Inc. (VFC) recently launched Maryland’s first-ever sector-specific prison reentry program to provide automotive training to previously incarcerated individuals with the goal of transitioning them to unsubsidized employment.

Full Circle Service Center is the second phase of VFC’s Center for Automotive Careers (CAC) which launched an automotive detail training program in 2013. The goal of CAC is to train unemployed and underemployed individuals for jobs in automotive services. With grants provided by Weinberg Foundation, Abell Foundation, France-Merrick Foundation, Warnock Foundation, and the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, VFC will open Full Circle Service Center to the public on June 17—a repair shop open to the public and serviced by program trainees under the supervision of on-staff Master Mechanics.

Grand Opening Event Details

When: June 17, 2015 - 8:30 to 10:30 a.m.

Where: 4111 Washington Blvd., Halethorpe, Maryland 21227

Staff Director of Public and Government Relations for AAA Mid-Atlantic, Lon Anderson will give a keynote address. A program participant will also share his personal story. The event will conclude with tours of the repair shop facility.

“VFC’s automotive training initiative reflects the Weinberg Foundation’s primary goal for grants made within the Foundation’s Workforce Development portfolio,” said Ellen M. Heller, Weinberg Foundation Board Chair. “This program will equip individuals with career track training to life themselves from unemployment or underemployment into solid self-support.”

VFC will work with a team of employer partners to help interns secure employment for future success. Full Circle Service Center participants will work 40 hours per week as paid interns, and VFC will help interns set aside a portion of their wages to cover personal tool expenses upon program graduation. In order to earn a spot in the program, interns must have completed DLLR automotive training while incarcerated, hold or be eligible to apply for an Automotive Service Excellence certification, and have a sponsor agency to provide case management throughout the program.

“Prior to Auto Technicians for Change, there were no transitional employment programs for automotive technicians in Maryland, even though approximately 140 trained men and women are released from prison each year,” said VFC President Marty Schwartz. “As the first sector-specific prison reentry program in the state of Maryland, we hope to be a model for future programs.”

According to Schwartz, choosing to have your vehicle serviced at VFC’s repair shop allows members of the community to directly support VFC programs and will contribute to the full circle experience that the automotive interns receive in this prison reentry program. Open six days a week, recipients of VFC’s car award program, vehicle donors, and the greater community can bring their vehicles to VFC’s garage for light maintenance and repairs.

“Too many men and women are released from prison each year with the desire to be self-supporting but without the skills and connection necessary to achieve that goal,” said Abell Foundation President Robert C. Embry, Jr. “VFC’s innovative program will make that transition possible for dozens of individuals and, we hope, provide a model for other industries.”

For more information about VFC’s programs or to schedule an appointment with the repair shop, visit www.vehiclesforchange.org or call 410-242-9674. Please direct all media inquiries and requests to Josie Hankey at 410-420-2001 or by email at Josie.Hankey@FallstonGroup.com.