At 48, Skipp Townsend — a former gang member featured in the documentary Made In America — is president of 2nd Call. The non-profit company helps ex-convicts find and retain blue-collar jobs. Townsend organizes biweekly meetings with labor union representatives, including some who have spent time in prison, to help teach former inmates proper behavior in and out of the workplace. Neon Tommy talked with Townsend to learn more about the non-profit.

NT: What is the purpose of your company?

To reduce violence. A lot of companies deal with at-risk youth. We deal with individuals who have been incarcerated or who have been on parole … And we help them become productive members of society through anger management, domestic violence and skills training classes … We help violent offenders become nonviolent.

NT: What inspired you to start 2nd Call?

It was a guy named Darren Bo Taylor, who started (an organization called) Unity One … He didn’t have funding, a curriculum or leadership. He simply put a bunch of Crips (gang members) in a van and took them to a Bloods neighborhood and let them build relationships.

NT: What do you think causes gangs and violence in the first place?

I don’t think it is a problem of gangs. Gangs account for a small number of violent acts in the United States. (Violence) is the way most people deal with their frustration.

NT: Why do you think some people struggle with violence more than others?

I think it is a learned behavior. I think it is like, 'I haven’t been taught to deal with my anger, so I will deal with it aggressively because that is where I’ve seen the best results.' A lot of times, individuals like me can’t deal with (emotions). I couldn’t show sadness because people would think I was a punk. I couldn’t show I was too happy because people would think I was a homosexual. I had to show I was part of the environment.

NT: So you were in a gang?

For 27 years, I was labelled a gang member of the Bloods.

NT: How would you compare your company with similar ones? Is it unique?

A lot of people have 10-week courses to graduate individuals, but they don’t get them careers. We give them careers. We have the curriculum, but we also have employers at the table. And that’s just the beginning of the journey. We try to ensure they retain the job by continuing to come to meetings. It’s like church for us. There is only so much you can do through the Bible.

NT: What is a meeting like?

The carpenters, ironworkers and electrical unions sit at the table each Tuesday and Thursday to talk about how they deal with anger and emotions. An individual who has never had a job before may say, “I normally beat up everyone I’m mad at.” So, the employer says, “Well that’s fine, but at the workplace, you can’t do that.”

NT: How do you get labor union representatives to come to the meetings?

We forge relationships with them. Sometimes, they just come because they want to help.

NT: So, once these former convicts attend enough of these meetings, then employers might be willing to hire them?

No, they must meet certain criteria. An electrician will need an electrical test ... So, if he is interested, we will get him a study-pack to get him ready for that. A facilitator (a union representative) might see someone who is committed and tap him on the shoulder and say, 'You ready? You want to work?' (So far, 2nd Call is responsible for the hiring of) 200 workers, about a hundred electricians, about four ironworkers, a couple of steamfitters and some sheet-metal workers.

NT: Have you found that former convicts are able to get over their anger or their emotional confusion after coming to the meetings?

I don’t think we get over it. It is more about coping with it. It gives us the opportunity to discuss issues we have bottled up. It is a journey, not a destination. So we encourage people to take these classes even when they are working. One individual became an electrician apprentice, but he split his girlfriend’s head, which lead to 34 years to life in prison. He had a temporary emotion and made a permanent decision.
 

Reach Contributor Aaron Hagstrom here.