Jailhouse Cafe gives employment to those recently incarcerated
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI) – A program ran through Community Partnership of Southeast Missouri is helping individuals with challenged backgrounds.
Typically, a felony is a deal breaker for many areas of employment but at Jailhouse Cafe a felony is a requirement.
A Cafe in Cape Girardeau is brewing up more than just coffee, they’re handing out second chances.
Jailhouse Cafe is a reentry program. It equals out to 140 hours of pre-employment training and employment readiness.
Jailhouse Cafe is exactly what it sounds like, a cafe located inside the old Cape Girardeau jail. Right now, the cafe is used for training purposes for recently incarcerated individuals with challenged backgrounds including felonies.
The cafe is designed to be a steppingstone to employment.
Offering barista training, catering and more. Those in the program are paid minimum wage. Reginald Ricks is the Jailhouse Cafe Coordinator. He says his role at jailhouse households big meaning to him as he himself had to work through the challenges of finding employment with a felony record.
“Me myself I’ve been through hell and highwater, I’ve suffered and overcame addiction, I’ve been incarcerated a few times and finally everything really just smacked me in the face where I was just like this is it. This is the turning point. So instead of me continuing to be part of the problem I’ve chose a career to be part of the solution” says Ricks.
Jailhouse Cafe is currently only used for training purposes and as a catering business. But Ricks says they recently got their license to sell food and beverages to the public and will soon be opening up a cafe to the public.
Currently the cafe offers a variety of catered food options. Anyone interested in catering through Jailhouse Cafe can contact Ricks.
“Coming back into society is a task in itself and even more so if you’re not coming back out here to do what you were incarcerated for in the first place. That being said when you’re trying to do the right thing you need the right people. You have to change people, places and things. Thats not cliche, you hear that in treatment centers but really that’s what’s needed” says Ricks.
Ricks shares that anyone struggling to find work because of recent incarceration, can reach out to him.
Men and women are both excepted and urged to reach out for help.
“Never lose hope, never lose hope. Everything won’t always be peaches and cream, everything won’t always be as easy as 1,2,3 but as long as you have the mindset and the determination to do what needs to be done and the availability to resources which will be jailhouse cafe says Ricks,” I say anyone who’s watching this come in. We can figure out what needs to be done.”
Jailhouse Cafe offers certification, mentoring, employment and hope!
If you’re interested in catering or joining the program you contact Ricks.
Reginald Ricks email: Reggie@CPSEMO.ORG
CELL: 573-233-2113
STEP, SkillUP, LEAP, & Jailhouse Cafe — Community Partnership
