WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2010 They should be black or brown,
he tells himself. They should have laces. At 32, just months out of pris-
on,Moore has never held a legiti- mate job, never earned a pay- check, never opened a bank ac- count – never needed profession- al clothes. But he’s about to graduate
fromProject Empowerment, and he has been chosen to be one of the commencement speakers. For the first time in his adult life, he needs nice footwear. He admires a pair of Stacy
Adams shoes, but they don’t have his size. A Calvin Klein pair looks good, but the price tag says $79. I don’t got it like that.He tries on a $49 pair with thick soles, similar to the boots he wore for about 16 years in prison. They feel com- fortable. They feel right. “Whatcha think,Mom?” “I like them on you,” says
Joanne Williams, who last shopped for dress clothes with her son when he was an eighth- grade honor student. “They you, that’s for sure.” When he dropped out of Ban-
neker, a selective high school in the District, Moore was a ninth- grader whose favorite TV show was “A Different World” because it was set in college, where he desperately wanted to go. “Three words: girls; girls; girls,” he writes in an essay about why he quit school. “Iwanted their atten- tion and adulation. Where I am from, the onlyway to get girlswas to be the baddest at everything. . . . After a certain age, intelli- gence is viewed as threatening as opposed to comforting.” Within a year, he was selling
drugs. By 16, he was in jail, convicted of second-degree mur- der.He and three other teenagers beat and robbed a pizza delivery- man, who later died at the hospi- tal. “I feel bad on a level I can’t
even explain,”Moore says. “When it happened, I didn’t know this guy was a father, that he had children.” A deep, triangular cal- lus has formed on his forehead, marking the spot that touches the ground when he kneels to pray five times a
day.Moore became a Muslim in prison, where he served 15 years and sevenmonths before being released in January. Hebelieves thebestway to repent is to help others; his ultimate hope is to find a job that will allow himto do that. When job assignments are handed out, Moore is directed to
interview with a woman who is starting aGEDclass inAnacostia. He gets the job, but rejects the assignment because it lacks the structure he grew used to in prison. He instead finds a posi- tion with an organization filled with people like him — people who messed up and now hope to help steer the next generation toward a better life. “You are one of the best stu-
dents I have ever seen,” Brown tellsMoore just before the gradu- ation ceremony. Project Empow- erment tests eachstudent inliter- acy and math and several fell below the goal of eighth-grade
level.Moore’s scores were best in both categories, 12th-grade level. By the timeMoore reaches the
gymwhere the ceremony is being held, his classmates have filed into rows of folding chairs. Sprin- kled across the bleachers are their relatives, a few carrying Mylar balloons. Moore’s mother is among them. After her son went to prison, she was so devas- tated that she couldn’t read the letters he sent home. She’d hand them to his brothers and say, “Don’t tell me what they say, just tellme if he needs anything.” This is a first for her as well:
She never got to see her son graduate from high school or walk across the stage at college. She watches, determined not to cry as he makes his way to the lectern in his new thick-soled shoes and reads a poemhewrote, titled “American Dream:” My American Dream can be
seen through the wondrous eyes of a child. A child who looks all around
him and is fascinated by what is and what can be. After pictures have been
snapped and balloons handed off, Moore heads to Red Lobster with his mother. She will remain his steady support as he faces a task almost as intimidating as going to prison: navigating free- dom. PatriceTaylor,wearing a pencil
skirt that will come in handy for the office job she will soon begin, heads home to her children, wanting more for them than she knew to want just a few weeks earlier. And Johnny Perkins, an- kle throbbing, goes to the hospi- tal, where he will remain for weeks as his classmates begin their next, totally unscripted, chapter: a job. Tomorrow: The crucible of
work.
vargast@washpost.com 1
KLMNO
EZ SU
From Page One
A7
Learning how to keep a job
Project Empowerment’s success at transforming the hard-core unemployed into workers earning a steady paycheck has attracted thousands — more than 7,000 are on a waiting list. Last spring, 25 graduated from the three-week class. Ten they spent six months in a city-subsidized job, hoping to prove themselves and win outside employment.
22 17 13 6 2 Found outside job 7 8 3 Still in job program 14 9 4 23 18 19 21 20 15 10 11 5 Leſt job program 16 12 24 25
PARTICIPANT 1. Valencia Riley
JOB STATUS
EMPLOYER Subsidized St. Timothy’s nursery school
2. Carlos McCrea Subsidized D.C. Child & Family Services 3. Ronald Rajah Unsubsidized Department of Public Works 4. Antoine Moore Subsidized
Alliance of Concerned Men
5. Robert Smith Unsubsidized Martin’s View apartments 6. Larry Futrell
ABE*
7. Donald Conerly Unsubsidized Deanwood Wellness Center 8. John McRae 9. Barry Bell
Subsidized
10. Priscilla Sampson Unsubsidized Wendy’s 11. DonJuan Beasley Leſt program 12. Angela Knox 13. Todd Cox
14. Michael Moore PDW** 15. Che Ceasar 16. April Porter
ABE*
Unsubsidized United Medical Center Subsidized New Course Catering
Professional Development Workshop
Subsidized D.C. Department of Corrections Leſt program
17. Lamont Burno ABE* 18. Richard Haskell Unsubsidized Garden Village 19. Gary Price
20. Rodney Brown 21. Patrice Taylor
*Adult basic education class (ABE) **Professional development workshops (PDW) teach participants basic computer, networking and job-search skills. NOTE: Johnny Perkins is not pictured. SOURCE: Project Empowerment
Instructor Subsidized
22. Michael Terrell Leſt program 23. Orlando Phillips Subsidized 24. Remi Tolson
Job search 25. Edward Taylor-Bay Job search Office of attorney general
Office of property management Independent job search Independent job search
PHOTO BY NIKKI KAHN — THE WASHINGTON POST; GRAPHIC BY PATTERSON CLARK AND BILL WEBSTER — THE WASHINGTON POST Pleasant Homes apartments Subsidized D.C. Child & Family Services
CAN YOUR MEDICARE PLAN DO MORE?
JOIN US at one of our seminars and learnwhy Kaiser Permanente Medicare Plus (Cost) plans could be right for you.
Kaiser Permanente 2011 Medicareplans give you much morethan Original Medicare. Learn why our plans stand apart, from choosing your own doctor to getting easy access to specialists. Plus, our added benefits and services help you live life to the fullest.
ARRIVE. LISTEN. THRIVE.
December 13 at 10 a.m. Tysons Corner Marriott 8028 Leesburg Pike Vienna, VA
December 15 at 10 a.m. Residence Inn Springfield Old Keene Mill 6412 Backlick Road Springfield, VA
December 16 at 10 a.m. Courtyard by Marriott Rockville 2500 Research Boulevard Rockville, MD
December 20 at 10 a.m. Greenbelt Marriott 6400 Ivy Lane Greenbelt, MD
December 27 at 10 a.m. Tysons Corner Marriott 8028 Leesburg Pike Vienna, VA
December 30 at 10 a.m. Kaiser Permanente Regional Headquarters 2101 East Jefferson Street Rockville, MD
Reserve your space today!
Call toll free 1-877-852-4030 (TTY 1-888-758-6054), seven days a week, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
If none of theseseminars fit your schedule, give us a call or visit
kp.org/medicare to find a seminar that’s more convenient for you.
Can’tmake it to the meeting? We’ll come to you, whether it’s to your home or the corner coffee shop. Call the number above to schedule a one-on-one visit, with no cost or obligation.
You must reside in the Kaiser Permanente Medicare Plus service area in which you enroll. Kaiser Permanente is a health plan with a Medicare contract. A sales person will be present with information and applications. For accommodations of persons with special needs at sales events, call toll free 1-877-852-4030 (TTY 1-888-758-6054 for the hearing/speech impaired), seven days aweek, 8a.m. to 8 p.m. You must receive all routine care from plan providers. The Medicare Annual Election Period begins November 15, 2010 and ends December 31, 2010.
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States, Inc. 2101 E. Jefferson Street Rockville, MD 20852
Y0043_N003351_FinalMAS02 CMS Approved (09/14/2010) MOM 60050908 MAS SKU 10781_08AEPSeminar_P_ad
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64