For Vernon Brown, teaching his students how to fix cars is only a part of his job. As an auto repair instructor at the National Center on Institutions and Alternatives (NCIA) in Baltimore, Maryland, he is also a mentor to the young adults in the program, many of whom are returning to their communities after involvement with the criminal justice system.
“Their self-esteem is low, so that’s part of my job — lifting their self-esteem up, and then they’ll start realizing they do have this talent,” says Brown.
NCIA is one of 11 organizations supported through the Compass Rose Collaborative, funded by the Department of Labor and implemented by FHI 360’s National Institute for Work and Learning. It aims to improve education and employment outcomes for young adults ages 18 through 24 who have had contact with the justice system.
FHI 360 supports a local approach to reentry work; organizations and partners rooted in communities lead the work. Since 2017, the collaborative has helped more than 1,500 young adults across the United States. The impact is promising: More than 70 percent of program participants are placed in long-term education programs, apprenticeships or employment opportunities. The national recidivism rate is about 46 percent, according to U.S. Department of Justice statistics, while the recidivism rate for participants in the program is below 2 percent.
“If a young person is incarcerated during that period of 18 to 24, they’re missing a lot of developmental opportunities,” says Heidi Cooper, a technical officer with FHI 360’s justice programs. “They don’t have those opportunities for that first job or that training or that mentorship. And so reentry programs have to give that back.”
Building a mentorship relationship starts with building trust.
“We really focus on building rapport with our students,” says Ken Jackson, a former case manager and now workforce development leader at NCIA. “If we don’t have the rapport, then it’s a lot easier for us to lose students, whether that be attendance or whether that be motivation or whether they just don’t want to give it a try.”
Brown builds trust by creating a safe, positive environment, an alternative to how many of the students were treated in jails or halfway homes. He is available to students inside and outside of the classroom. He gives them his phone number on the first day of class, invites them to join him at the gym and opens NCIA’s garage after hours for them to develop their technical skills.
“I’m very relatable. So I am the student that we serve,” says Jackson. “I’m born here in Baltimore. I came up in a marginalized community, and I’m just familiar with all of the things that my students face day-to-day. Some of those things I face myself.”
For the students, this experience provides a sense of understanding.
“I don’t really like to open up to nobody, but I can open to Rob [the HVAC instructor], I can open to Ken, I can open up to Vernon,” says Kani Jones, a student who went on to complete the HVAC program. “I’m the type of person, I really don’t like letting people know what’s going on in my situation, but they make me feel comfortable. They break that ice, ’cause they’ve been through what I’ve been through, but they made it.” Today, Jones works as a maintenance superintendent at an apartment complex.
Brown has more than 20 years of experience as an auto mechanic. Before joining NCIA, he spent his time outside of work volunteering with youth basketball. As an instructor at NCIA, he saw an opportunity to combine his knack for mentoring youth with his passion for fixing cars. Sharing the technical skills of the trade — and the passion for the job — helps motivate the students, too.
“I think highly of mechanics, of being a mechanic,” says Brown. “It’s a lot of work. It’s dedication. A lot of studying, a lot of reading, you know? It’s a competitive sport for me.”
The courses offered at NCIA last 14 to 16 weeks. In addition to auto mechanics, students can learn HVAC repair, culinary arts, commercial driving, and drone pilot certification. In a few months, students gain the technical skill sets required for high-demand jobs, giving them employment options and, ultimately, an income and stability.
“I tell the students that you’re obligated to the car, you know? I respect that car. That car feeds me. Every car you have, remember, that one feeds your family,” says Brown. “You’re gonna always have money in your pocket. Why? Because somebody always need their car fixed.”
“Reentry works best when it’s small and local, when it’s driven by somebody with a passion for it — maybe somebody even with a personal stake in making that sure the young people in their community have the opportunity to achieve what they want to achieve,” says Cooper.
Learn more about collaborative approaches to equitable justice programs.
All photos are credited to Kyle Pompey for FHI 360.
The Compass Rose Collaborative (Young Adult Reentry Partnership) is 100 percent funded by the U.S. Department of Labor in the amount of $4,298,500. No other sources of funding support this program.
Baltimore, MD, USA
