Goodwill store inside South Bay jail helps inmates gain skills before re-entering society
Goodwill of Silicon Valley launched its groundbreaking retail store at Elmwood Correctional Campus in Milpitas last week.
Female inmates will volunteer their time twice a week to not only gain real-world retail experience, but also help women feel confident when they reenter society.
"We never know if we're going to have clothes when we get out of here," Jessica, an inmate at Elmwood Correctional Campus, told CBS News Bay Area.
She is a part of the "Justice-involved Women" program, where inmates take these classes and apply them as a volunteer at the Goodwill store.
"Calvin Klein, you can't beat that. And then Aeropostale, that's a good brand," Jessica said, showing some of the donations at the store.
"Me and the other ladies actually got to help pick what their style was and stuff like that, and they were so excited about it and it touched my heart," she added.
Through this program, soon-to-be-released female inmates receive two sets of free clothing.
"A peer came to me and said Elmwood would like us to donate clothing to the women that are being released. And we got together, put our heads together and said let's do one better. Jessica Castello, VP of Retail and E-Commerce of Goodwill of Silicon Valley, told CBS News Bay Area. "Let's train them on how to reenter society with some skills so they can come to Goodwill, and can get a job when they're released and give them those clothes so that they are ready to go to an interview, and ready to walk out with their heads held high."
"We have a set of women that helped build this store, and are going to train other individuals on how to continue its success," she added.
As for Jessica, who has been an inmate for 11 months, she said volunteering not only helps the Elmwood community but also inspires her to find her passions.
"I was going through a little bit of anxiety when I first got here and depression, and when I first came into these walls of Elmwood, my first experience, so I actually told myself that I had to get up and motivate myself," Jessica said.
Goodwill of Silicon Valley is planning to expand this program into the male facilities at Elmwood as well. Castello also added that she is working with other Goodwill of Silicon Valley locations across California to see if they can expand this program into other correctional facilities as well.