人物景深｜Prison Entrepreneurship Program

「當你一出獄，好不容易要找工作，雇主卻因為你誠實揭露自己待過監獄，而將你的履歷丟到一邊，不管先前有過多好的資歷，只要你進過監獄，就得做一些更辛苦的工作，誰會不難過呢？」Prison Entrepreneurship Program (Official Page)（以下簡稱PEP）負責基金會與企業合作的Jason Wright，同時也是今天我們主要訪談的對象，如是說。

在對話過程中，我們和Jason分享到台灣目前的監所情況，多是提供低技術勞力課程給獄友們去上，卻也很難保證這些課程有助於獄友賦歸社會後能夠找到工作，而他也同意這點，並回應美國德州監獄同樣沒有提供很多好的課程給獄友，僅有一些高中程度課程，但對於部分已經是大學學歷，甚至有很多技能的人來說，這些課程毫無意義；當然也會有做一些手工課，但實際上大家只是邊發呆邊做。

「大家就是一直在『等』，等下一個人告訴你要做什麼，然後他們會盤點你們，1、2、3、4、5⋯⋯一切都是這麼無聊，無聊到讓人心痛。」

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▪︎ PEP是什麼？▪︎

因為意識到「受刑人/更生人出獄後難找工作」這個問題，遂有了PEP的發生，其課程設計分為兩部分，第一部分如標題所述，旨在探討如何成為更好的人，課程會著重在個人，例如培養正面心態、心靈的富強，若是有孩子的人，mentor會告訴他們說：「等你回家之後，小孩可能不會待你如父親，對你沒有尊重，這時候只能靠自己的堅強，如果你總是負面、沮喪，這個情緒將會一直困住你。」獄友們可能面臨的共同處境皆化為訓練心智的案例練習。

而第二部分，才會真正進入到瞭解商業的階段；PEP媒合參與者和社區/社會中成功的商業人士，假設參與者以成立餐廳為目標，那他們就會接洽可以教導獄友金融概念或是開一家店所需的知識的領域專家，教各種資訊、擔任其正能量典範，更重要的是有人陪伴他去達成目標。

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▪︎ PEP帶來的影響是？▪︎

「參與過PEP課程的人，就算他們沒有馬上要創辦一間公司，他們可能在餐廳先洗碗，但他們也會成為碗洗得最好的人；他們可能是在幫忙廚房、丟垃圾之類的各種小事，但他們的心智已被訓練成要當最好的人，最好的員工、最好的叔叔、最好的公民⋯⋯」

團隊好奇如何測量其「想要更好」的心？Jason說這個計畫會對獄友們發出申請表，當然也會問許多問題，最重要的是那些非常、非常、非常想要改變的人，總是可以讓他們感受得到，而這就是他們想要找的人。

看到這裡，你是否也想過要成為一個更好的人，又是否已經走在那條路上了呢？

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Interview with #PrisonEntrepreneurshipProgram｜Becoming a better person

▪︎ The situation of American prisons ▪︎

“When you got out of prison, it was hard to find a job, but your employer left your resume aside because you honestly revealed that you had been in prison. No matter how good your previous positions are, as long as you have been in prison, you have to do something even harder, who would not be sad?” Jason Wright, who is in charge of the cooperation of the partnerships in the “Prison Entrepreneurship Program” (hereinafter referred to as PEP), is also our interviewee, as said.

During the dialogue, we shared with Jason about the current prison situation in Taiwan. Most of them provide low-tech labor courses for inmates to do, but it is difficult to guarantee that these courses will help inmates once they get back to society. He also agreed with this point and responded that the Texas prison did not provide many good courses for inmates. There are only some high school educations, but for some people who already have college degrees and even have many skills, these courses are meaningless; of course, there will be some manual lessons, but in fact, everyone is just doing it in a daze.

“And then you just wait, people tell you what to do, they will ask you to stand up then count you. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5… Everything is so boring, it hurts, makes you feel crazy.”

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▪︎ What is PEP? ▪︎

The PEP occurred because of the realization of the above problems. The course designed by PEP is divided into two parts. The first part, as mentioned in the title, aims to explore how to become a better person. The course will focus on the individual, such as cultivating a positive attitude and spiritual prosperity. The mentor will tell prisoners: “After you go home, the child may not treat you like a father and has no respect for you. At this time, you can only rely on your own strength. If you are always negative and depressed, this emotion will always trap you.” The common situations that inmates may face are all turned into mental exercises.

Afterward, the second part will be understanding business. PEP matches participants and successful business people in the community. Assuming that the participants aim to establish a restaurant, they will contact domain experts who can teach inmates financial concepts or the knowledge needed to open a store and teach various information, and most important is that someone will stay company with them to achieve their goals.

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▪︎ What is the impact of PEP? ▪︎

“What happens is when the people in our program come out the prison, even if they don’t start a business right away, even they work in a restaurant, in the lowest person of the restaurant, maybe they just pick up the dishes, the plates, they will be the best person who washes plates, they will sweep the floor, help the cook, they will throw away the trash, everything….because they’re trained in their mind, to be the best they can be.”

We are curious how to measure “want to be better”? Jason said that this project will send out applications to inmates and of course, ask many questions. The most important thing is that those who want to change very, very much can always be felt by them, and this is what they want. The person they are looking for.

At last, have you thought about becoming a better person? Or have you already been on that path?