Goodwill of Silicon Valley launched its groundbreaking store last week at Elmwood Correctional Campus in Milpitas.
Female inmates will volunteer twice a week to not only gain real-world shopping experience, but also to help women feel confident as they re-enter society.
“We never know if we’re going to have clothes when we get out of here,” Jessica, an inmate at the Elmwood Correctional Campus, told CBS News Bay Area.
She is part of the “Justice-involved Women” program, where inmates take these lessons and apply them as volunteers at the Goodwill store.
‘Calvin Klein, you can’t beat that. And then Aeropostale, that’s a good brand,” Jessica said, showing off some of the donations in the store.
“Me and the other ladies got to help choose their style 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 prisoners receive two sets of free clothing.
“A colleague came to me and said Elmwood would like us to donate clothes to the women being released. And we got together, put our heads together and said, let’s do better.” Jessica Castello, VP of Retail and E-Commerce for Goodwill of Silicon Valley, told CBS News Bay Area, “Let’s teach them how to re-enter society with certain skills so that they can come to Goodwill and get a job when they are released, and can give them clothes so that they are ready. to go to a job interview, and be ready to walk out with your head held high.”
“We have a group of women who helped build this store, and we’re going to train other people on how to continue the 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 had a little bit of anxiety when I first came here and depression, and when I first walked into these walls of Elmwood, my first experience, so I told myself to get up and motivate myself,” Jessica said.
Goodwill of Silicon Valley plans to expand this program to the male facilities in Elmwood as well. Castello also added that she is working with other Goodwill of Silicon Valley locations in California to see if they can expand this program to other correctional facilities.
