Patrick Medina works for the city of Pearl as a mechanic, where he was recently recognized as employee of the month. He has even started his own side business, where he works on small engines and lawnmowers. Medina’s path to success was not simple, though. In fact, it was rife with obstacles — the main one being spending 20 years of his life in prison.
Medina started experimenting with meth at age 13 and later found himself in and out of jail on nonviolent drug charges, depending on family members to provide for him while he was locked up.
Angry and hopeless, Medina was seemingly caught in an endless cycle of getting arrested, going to jail, returning home, and repeating the process, over and over again. And after a third offense, he found himself having to serve a mandatory eight-year sentence, despite being arrested for possessing a small amount of drugs.
The cycle was disrupted with just a couple of years left on Medina’s sentence when he was paid a visit by Karen King, the director of work release at Magnolia Correctional Industries, or MAGCOR. King offered him an opportunity to work a conventional job that afforded him the privileges of one who is not incarcerated, like wearing pedestrian clothing and making his own money.
Beyond the opportunity was compassion provided by King, who Medina admitted refused to let him fail. Her persistence in keeping in him in check instilled a mindset change in Medina, one that made him realize that he could live a prosperous life outside of prison. And more importantly, he was convinced that he would never end up back behind bars.
“Mrs. Karen really helped me a lot. She was a godsend. She was always there. In the [Mississippi Department of Corrections] system, it’s hard to find someone who cares. Mrs. Karen just believed in me. She didn’t let me fail,” Medina said. “If I started to slide or something, she got onto me and made sure I got back on the right track.”
After interviewing for the MAGCOR work release program, Medina started off working for the city of Flowood, where he performed lawn care duties for six months. He said 75% of the money he earned went into a savings account, while 10% went to a debit card that he could use to purchase hygiene products and ancillary supplies, and a small percentage went to the prison facilitating him for housing expenses.
“That meant a lot because I didn’t have to ask my family anymore, ‘Hey, I need toothpaste. I need a toothbrush,’ and that meant more to me than the money in the savings account. I’d have to ask my family for no more money while I was incarcerated,” Medina said. “It hurts a family to have to provide for an adult who’s locked up because they don’t have any way of supplying for themselves.”
Medina’s half-year stint in Flowood ended when he was offered an opportunity in his hometown of Pearl. Though he was brought on to cut grass, weed eat, and complete similar tasks to the ones he was assigned in Flowood, Medina was able to explain to his boss that he was skilled as a mechanic. His remarks did not fall on deaf ears, and before he knew it, Medina was servicing heavy equipment, lawn mowers, chainsaws, and other devices.
Once his prison sentence had concluded, the city of Pearl asked Medina to work there full-time, where he was given his own service truck. Making matters better, he entered the workforce not needing to live paycheck to paycheck as he accrued $24,000 in his savings account while working as an inmate.
“I didn’t believe that was even true. I was like, ‘There’s no way that’s my money,'” Medina said. “My family didn’t have to worry about me coming home as a burden, and that’s what a lot of people do when coming home from prison, because their family’s looking at them like, ‘There’s another adult coming home, who’s going to have a hard time finding a job, who doesn’t have any food, and is going to need a place to live.'”
Instead of being a burden, Medina was able to be a blessing to his family. He said that, with the money he saved up along with having a stable income, he has been able to provide for his children and even spoil his grandchildren with shopping adventures from time to time. That opportunity, however, would not have been possible without MAGCOR, King’s persistence, and a changed perspective for Medina.
Now, Medina takes time to mentor those who are in a position that he used to be in, telling his story to incarcerated individuals involved in MAGCOR’s programs. A changed man, the former inmate is now living with a positive outlook on life, recognizing how his path was drastically altered because of an opportunity offered by someone who treated him with dignity and care.
What is MAGCOR?
MAGCOR is a Mississippi-based non-profit organization that provides vocational training, job opportunities, and reentry services to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals. It operates manufacturing facilities in correctional institutions to teach skills like welding, manufacturing, and logistics, aiming to keep released inmates from returning to prison.
MAGCOR officials pride themselves on doing this work with care. MAGCOR chief reentry officer Martha Claire Bullen pointed to the old adage, “Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care,” as a motto that has helped her personally, along with others at the organization, look an inmate in the eyes and offer a helpful service.
“We can give training all day long to somebody, but if we’re not supporting them as humans, they’re not going to go home and be successful,” Bullen said. “I don’t want to be judged for the rest of my life for my worst day or my worst mistake. We try to spend a lot of time sitting with people and hearing what they want to do with their future.”
What services does MAGCOR offer?
MAGCOR has many “tentacles,” as described by Bullen, with inmates being offered a bevvy of services, including:
- Work release program
- Workplace readiness program
- Anger management program
- Financial planning program
- Industry-specific certification program
- Reentry readiness program
Bullen added that, behind each program, are dedicated individuals rooting for each inmate to succeed. These individuals work tirelessly to ensure that inmates have workplace-appropriate clothing, food, interview skills, and experience with fair chance employers, or those open to hiring formerly incarcerated individuals, before they are released from prison.
Beyond that, MAGCOR exists to help in the long-term, with Bullen saying she’s available whenever someone she’s mentored ever needs her.
“I want them to feel comfortable picking up the phone and calling any of us at MAGCOR if they lost their job and they need to find employment elsewhere to ask us, ‘What do you know? What’s out there? Who’s hiring?’ We want those kinds of long-term relationships,” Bullen said.
How has MAGCOR impacted Mississippi?
A recent study showed that a majority of Mississippi businesses of all sizes said they are willing to consider applicants with criminal records, often citing a belief that people deserve a second chance, while those who have previously hired people with criminal records often reported strong results. Of the businesses surveyed, 90% reported positive or at least somewhat positive outcomes from hiring people with a criminal record.
MAGCOR directly contributes to the labor force with proven employees, as evidenced by Medina’s testimony and his recognition as an exemplary worker in Pearl.
MAGCOR CEO Garrett McInnis fervently believes reintroducing inmates to the workforce creates benefits on multiple fronts. One, it lowers the prison population and reduces recidivism. Two, it fills job openings with appreciative individuals who are eager to work.
“We know that employment is oftentimes the No. 1 factor that’s going to determine whether someone succeeds or not when they get out,” McInnis said. “They yearn for that dignity, and when someone builds that really meaningful relationship of employer to employee that’s healthy and constructive, you get loyalty, reliability, and high-quality work.”