Due to the difficulty of finding employment, housing, and shelter as a convicted felon, thousands of men and women find themselves back in prison every year. A very courageous and creative woman received the Fox 2 Pay It Forward award this week for her efforts in reducing the barriers faced by these returning citizens. In 2015, Kalen McAllister decided to take it upon herself to fix this devastating problem and help ease the stress of rejoining society for inmates. She was a Buddhist priest who worked as a chaplain at the correctional facility in Farmington, Missouri and recognized the struggles experienced by those released who could not find jobs to support themselves and their families. When she retired, she founded a very special place that filled newly released prisoners with hope for a future.
The Laughing Bear Bakery is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to helping recently released prisoners have a fresh start on their lives by providing them with safe and reliable employment. The Laughing Bear Bakery is exceptionally interesting because it exclusively hires ex-felons. By only hiring felons, the environment at the workplace is very comfortable and safe – allowing those who work there to feel less alienated while they pursue their employment goals. Kalen has made it a habit to never ask one of her bakers what they did to be sent to prison. She doesn’t care what they did, for her it’s from this moment to the next moment that matters.
While working at the bakery, former inmates acquire valuable work experience for their future while also taught how to bake a multitude of goods. The bakery has had 20 people successfully work through it before moving on to other jobs, one is even managing their own restaurant.
Gaining employment is often a crucial turning point for former felons. A steady job is necessary to sustain housing and basic human needs. Many of those returning from incarceration struggle to find gainful employment due to their criminal history, so having a promising job opportunity provided for them is crucial to successful re-entry.