Larry Keast says he learned a lesson a few years ago that has helped a lot of people, not to mention helping his business.
Now he wants to share it with anyone who’s willing to check out a new Web site — and take a chance on a class of workers whom many employers typically avoid.
Keast, who founded a Houston manufacturing company 25 years ago, has become a vocal supporter of hiring former convicts and substance abusers. While some companies shy away from them, he says his experience shows they can be some of the best workers available.
Now he’s promoting that practice through a new Internet-based program called America in Recovery.
Keast’s Web site, at www.americainrecovery.org, is designed to get potential employers around the nation in touch with the people he calls “America’s unemployables.”
Keast, founder and chief executive officer of Venturetech, says he discovered the advantages of second-chance employment practices five years ago after meeting John Jordan.
Jordan is a drug counselor who is a recovering alcoholic and drug addict with some jail time in his past.
They became friends and Keast hired Jordan as operations manager at his company, which makes oil-field equipment and has about 25 employees.
They soon began hiring other recovering substance abusers, some with criminal records, and found that all of the employees — including those with clean records — were getting along better and taking an interest in each other, Keast says.
That meant fewer personnel problems, more productivity and a better bottom line.
So Keast decided to spread the word among small-business owners and try to help other “unemployables” find work.
He says he has invested $30,000 to $40,000 in developing the Web site, but that expense was more than offset by his lower employee turnover and training costs since he adjusted hiring practices.
If companies will give these workers a chance, Keast says, they’ll find that they’re among the most stable and industrious employees they have.
Mark Langford, 37, a recovering drug abuser who is executive director of America in Recovery, says the program is drawing interest from drug courts and after-prison programs.
Langford, Keast’s executive assistant at Venturetech, says the Web site is designed to operate without a staff. That means there’s no charge to job seekers or employers using the service.
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As a nonprofit corporation, America in Recovery can operate tax-free. Although it could receive tax-free donations, Keast says, he plans to continue funding the site with his own money so long as it doesn’t need its own staff.
“If we need money in the future, we will raise it from small business,” he says.
The site is easy to use, Keast says.
“People who need a job just enter their resume information directly into the Web site. Employers may enter their information or not,” he said. “Then, each side communicates with the other directly and we have no need for a costly staff or time-consuming processing.”
Among the Venturetech employees Keast points to as success stories is Richard Pitts, 24, who grew up in Houston’s Acres Homes community.
He said he was arrested for dealing drugs at age 18 and spent 3 1/2 years in prison.
He got a job at Venturetech a couple of years ago as a shop hand, “sweeping floors, washing dishes, cutting grass.” Then he began to learn about making the equipment.
“These guys are teaching me to do something I never thought I could accomplish,” he said.