Building a life after prison is no easy task. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, formerly incarcerated people are almost ten times more likely to end up homeless, and they face an unemployment rate five times higher than the national average.
FareStart is a Seattle organization looking to put a dent in those numbers locally. Its adult culinary training program, geared toward people living below the poverty line, boasts a 90 percent job placement rate.
Ken Lacey is a recent graduate of the program. He exited prison back in March after nearly 11 years, and he’s managed to secure a place to rent and find a full-time job. The process wasn’t easy, and Ken told us he’s not used to seeing things fall into place the way they did.