GUEST CONTRIBUTOR: Rosemary Harris Lytle, President, NAACP Rocky Mountain Area Conference (CO-MT-WY)
On October 27 and 28, Positive Impact Colorado, NAACP Rocky Mountain Area Conference, and GRID Alternatives Colorado, took a significant step toward building a middle class reality that is green and inclusive when 4 participants of Positive Impact Colorado, the program of reentry services and opportunities for people on parole or previously incarcerated, engaged with partners Grid Alternatives, Vote Solar and others in our first Power Up training.
The Power Up Employment Project, conceived by the Environmental & Climate Justice and Criminal Justice Departments of the National NAACP, is designed to bring clean energy to poorly resourced neighborhoods that are often disproportionately impacted by environmental injustice, police attention and incarceration, and match that resource with job training in solar installation and other solar jobs to build employment strength, economic opportunity and keep people from returning to prison once they have been released.
The training, spread over 2 days, gave participants a chance to see the "movers and shakers" of the community solar movement and how they have brought energy justice to residents of the Denver Housing Authority. In addition, we were schooled on how solar access can lead to affordable living -- and advancement for families, especially those living in resource poor, climate impacted communities where human resources have been depleted because of incarceration and criminal injustice.
In a hands-on training with Allison Moe of Grid Alternatives, participants were students in a class that was part science, part solar and part employment outlook and workforce development. On Day 2, participants returned to the "solar farm" in Watkins, CO to see the job of solar installation first hand as it was happening. Participants walked away with real knowledge, real experience, and hungry for more, including jobs that will better their communities, their families and themselves.
On Sunday, at our office in Colorado Springs, participants, who all completed this training experience successfully, provided feedback, asked questions about next steps and received the $75 participation stipends provided by Positive Impact Colorado. Participants also reflected on being part of a professional team, receiving high quality training from Allison Moe, meeting those who have helped along the way like Jessica Scott of Vote Solar -- and staying overnight in Denver in nice hotel rooms near the training site, a perk provided Positive Impact Colorado supporters Linda and Robert Dyer of Colorado Springs and an anonymous donor.
Participants completing the 2 day training included one woman who recently completed parole, a man who was recently released from incarceration and seeks to end repeat recidivism through employment, another young man who is currently on parole, and a man who has never been incarcerated but faces employment barriers related to long term addiction. Two other persons on parole participated in the pre-training orientation, on environmental and criminal justice realities, offered Oct 23 at Positive Impact Colorado, but because of unforeseen circumstances could not travel to Watkins.
- "It was all new to me, I didn't know what to expect -- and at first I felt like a fish outta water," said one participant who is serving his final few months of a parole sentence in Colorado Springs and grew up downtown near the infamous Drake Power Plant. "But now I see this as a chance for a good future and I'm eager to see what will happen next that can help me and help my people, too."
As a next step, participants and staff at Positive Impact Colorado, under the advisement of NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program Director Jacqui Patterson, NAACP Criminal Justice Program Director Ngozi Ndulue, and others, will pitch an event, "Solar Jobs and Second Chances," to happen in the late winter/early Spring so that we can share the power of Power Up with government, employers, educators, nonprofits, faith leaders, civil rights, ally groups and others in our city and counties. The plan is to launch an effort of awareness, information, collaboration and greater success for our communities in El Paso and Teller.
The Power Up Team at Positive Impact Colorado is a program of the NAACP CO MT WY State Conference and Christ Temple Community Church, Colorado Springs, CO