OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — Winnebago County Jail officials say rehabilitation is a priority, and one food service training program is helping incarcerated individuals build job-ready skills and access financial resources before returning to their communities.
The program is called IN2WORK, and it is run by Aramark, a food services and facilities management company. Participants learn food service skills while working in the facility kitchen.
James Naughton, an IN2WORK graduate, said the program helped change his life.
"Basically, it was a great opportunity for myself to do something different with my life," Naughton said. "I'm trying to kind of go outside the realm of things and the institution really provides a lot of those opportunities and it worked. It really worked and it taught me a lot about myself."
Naughton said IN2WORK also encouraged teamwork, allowing him to build real friendships with other program participants.
"The Aramark program, it's setting me up for to be able to transition more effectively in the community, something I did struggle with," Naughton said.
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IN2WORK graduates and their dependents are eligible for a $2,500 scholarship, which can be applied over 4 years — totaling $10,000. Aramark Food Service Director Antoinia Lyons-Russel said the company believes the scholarships help create generational change.
"The IN2WORK program's goal is to help them jump over those obstacles, to give them the resources that they need, to give them the scholarships so that we're helping them get the financial assistance that they need," Lyons-Russel said.
In the last 5 years, Aramark has given $280,000 for the scholarship and has not yet declined an application.
Naughton also credits other resources available at Winnebago County Jail with helping him turn his life around, including the STAR Program — Sobriety Treatment Assisted Recovery — and Solutions Recovery, an addiction treatment center.
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