Jessie King

To have respect for the situation someone is in, you have to have been through it yourself. I was homeless before with my wife and my kids. There were nights that we didn’t have a hotel or a room. We slept in our car. We stuck it out, going to work every day. The goal was never give up. And we didn’t. 

I was the first guy to go through the Emancipators program. I had barriers to employment due to having drug addiction. Roots gave me a chance. They gave me a chance to get back at work, to be a positive role model for my kids—and that was the most important thing to me.

Turning Point is a work-ready program. We will find a job for you. You can come here and actually turn your life around. We’ve helped numerous folks find housing, employment, just so they could have their families back.

Clean360 is a soap factory. It’s a good training program. We hire the formerly incarcerated, and it helps them get back into the groove of working. The program lasts from eight to 16 weeks, but if you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing it could be longer. It’s funny, my boss told me, he said, “Man, if you can clean dope, you can make soap.” But it’s a beautiful feeling, making soap.

Roots is making a difference in the community because we put our feet to the concrete and we go out there and we pull these people in. People like me.

Now I’m serving the community that I once poisoned. It feels good to do some good in the community. The people around here love me. I love Roots. This is my family. If I could keep the job that I have I’m not going to ever retire.