SAN QUENTIN STATE PRISON -- People leaving prison face daunting employment prospects, but a new kind of job fair may have boosted some prisoners' chances at a sustainable future.
San Quentin State Prison played host Saturday to about 60 'green' employers, advocate groups and job-training centers, many of them from Alameda County. The idea, organizers said, was to build relationships between employers in need of affordable, enthusiastic labor and those leaving prisons, a group that has been hit particularly hard during the recession.
'We kind of based this on the Van Jones ethic,' said organizer Beth Waitkus, who runs the prison's Insight Garden Program. 'Everybody should have a chance to succeed in the new green economy.' Jones is a former green jobs adviser to President Barack Obama."
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