Producing Sweetness: How a beehive was created and maintained (Part 2)
Nearly 20 years ago, Brenda Palms Barber, the executive director of the North Lawndale Employment Network (NLEN), knew that in order to create a successful business focusing on employing previously incarcerated men and women she had to create a company that would match their skill set.
“We know that we're working with a population that hasn't necessarily experienced a lot of success academically. We also understood that there are people who have been disconnected from the labor market for a long time and needed to sort of dust off and get reacclimated again. So we knew that we had to come up with a business that would somehow allow folks to feel successful to be successful without some of the traditional barriers that get in the way of them being able to work, ” she said.
After exploring countless ideas for a year and a half that ultimately did not work, Barber considered walking away from creating a business venture until one of her NLEN board members suggested that she should create a beekeeping business. The board member had done beekeeping in the past. She explained to Barber that she could connect NLEN with professional beekeepers that could better explain the profession. Later, after their conversation with those beekeepers, Barber gained a new understanding of beekeeping.
“So we met with these beekeepers and it was in that conversation that I learned that beekeeping is something that's passed on through storytelling. And that's when I sort of got chills,” she explained.
Barber knew that storytelling was an artform that everyone could connect with; consequently, it could be easy to teach future employees. Another moment that confirmed for Barber that she should continue with the beekeepers concept was during a conversation that led to the business' name. One morning Barber decided to have breakfast with a friend who was involved within the criminal justice system. Barber told her about the beekeeping idea for NLEN’s LLC. Barber was prepared to hear criticism from her friend; however, she did not hear that. Instead Barber heard what would later become the name of The North Lawndale Employment Network’s limited liability company.
Barber shared, “After I shared this with her, I was prepared for her to say this is just a ridiculous idea, blah, blah, blah. But instead she paused. And she said, ‘What a sweet beginning for these men and women.’”
That comment from her friend led Barber to the name Sweet Beginnings, and for the last 20 years, Sweet Beginnings has employed more than 400 people. Barber, the executive director of Sweet Beginnings, believes this is an opportunity to change how previously incarcerated individuals view themselves.
“We believe that people are somebody, and that if you're poor, or if you have an X on your back, or if you're undocumented, you could feel like you're nobody. So we're not just in the business of workforce development. It's a means by which to help people restore their sense of self worth,” Barber said.
The recidivism rate for former Sweet Beginning employees is below eight percent, which is 47 percent less than the Illinois rate. Before being hired at the program, potential candidates must complete The North Lawndale Employment Network U-Turn program, which is NLEN’s “four-week job readiness training program for men and women who have a felony background.”
Meghan Harte, the executive director of Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Chicago, who has worked closely with NLEN said that the success of Sweet Beginnings over these last two decades is due to their creative beekeeping concept and their ability to meet the community where it is at.
“Innovation, creativity, commitment, are the top three things that come to mind about why Sweet Beginnings has been so successful. And I think from the beginning, they met people where they were, and they created a business model that supported people getting from where they were to on the road for economic opportunity, and when you build around those core things, you're going to be successful,” she said.
Barber realizes that hiring previously incarcerated men and women is not an easy decision. Her biggest advice for employers that are hesitant to employ those with criminal backgrounds is to really try to understand what life has been like for those individuals. She also suggests that employers give them a job that has no correlation to the crime from their past to help further their success in the position.
She said, “When you have fewer choices or options, then sometimes you will make poor decisions. Because you have poor options. Not because you're a bad person, not all of us will make those decisions, right. But there are those who do, out of survival, [in] many cases. So we have to realize that all of us have made mistakes.”
Barber has been able to practice the advice that she would give others. She recalled that one of her former employees at Sweet Beginnings went back to prison after he violated his parole, during an encounter he had with a police officer after failing to complete a full stop at a stop sign. After he was released, Barber not only decided to give him another chance, but she gave his father, who had also been released from prison, an opportunity to work as well.
After his second chance, Barber shared he was able to use all the lessons, discipline, and management skills he learned from NLEN to secure a position at Ford Motor Company. He has worked at Ford Motor Company for about five years successfully supporting his wife and daughter. Barber shared that her time with him really highlighted the problems that those with a criminal background face.
She reflected, “I learned so much about his journey, and sort of the policies and barriers that prevent individuals who have served their time from really breaking out of this system that sort of...this permanent caste system of individuals who just can't seem to break the barriers.”
“You have this pressure constantly, you know, to live within these terms of parole, and that's fine. And there should be rules. I'm not saying there shouldn't...In most cases, I can see why employers just wouldn't [hire them] because you seem like, oh well, you made another mistake, and I've got to let you go. But in our case, we hired him...And then he worked even harder, and grew even more,” she continued.
According to Harte, Barber’s commitment to really helping others change their lives is what makes her and other organization leaders that Harte has worked with so effective in their communities.
“And there's no day that folks like Brenda [Barber] don't get up with the most difficult job to do and continue to do it every day. And without them, we wouldn't have the successes that we do in communities,” she said.
Although there is a lot that goes into this job, in the end, Barber realizes that the success of NLEN and its company is a reflection of the North Lawndale community.
She said, “I mean, a very important part of this work has also been to rewrite the narrative about how people view the North Lawndale community. And I will say over and over again, there is sweet and good that is happening in this community.”