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A Goodwill store in the San Francisco Bay area is exclusively serving and employing women in a county jail. Member station KQED's Brian Krans reports from Milpitas, California.
BRIAN KRANS, BYLINE: On a recent Thursday, Blanca Hernandez helped Jessica Lemos pick out an outfit for a special occasion - her release from jail. They're both incarcerated at the Elmwood Correctional Facility in Santa Clara County, just north of San Jose.
JESSICA LEMOS: Too tomboyish.
BLANCA HERNANDEZ: Yeah.
LEMOS: Give me something a little more girly. Oh, this is cute.
KRANS: Lemos isn't scheduled to be released from jail until May, but when she is, she'll leave with two outfits of her choosing, plus three packs of brand new underwear and socks.
LEMOS: This is a great opportunity because it's one less worry that I don't have to worry about. Like, what am I going to wear when I leave here?
KRANS: The Elmwood Goodwill store opened this past fall. A Goodwill spokesperson says it's the only Goodwill store in a correctional facility, and women on their way out of jail can shop there. The employees are all incarcerated, so for them, working at the store provides job training opportunities. The program is a partnership with Goodwill of Silicon Valley and the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office. Jennie Brook is a rehabilitation officer with Santa Clara County.
JENNIE BROOK: It's an opportunity for them to get job skills and hands-on experience that is exactly going to be useful in the same stores in the community. So yeah, we call this a training store, really.
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KRANS: The store is housed in a nondescript white cinderblock room on the jail's 62-acre campus. Each week, employees sort through a mountain of merchandise, inspecting hems, seams, zippers and buttons, to make sure everything is up to standard before making it onto the store's two clothing racks. Zaira is one of the store's employees. She asked that we only use her first name due to concerns about being identified, given her criminal history. She goes through some of the brand-name shoes available.
ZAIRA: We have some Filas, Crocs, Converse. We do have some Jordans, some Vans. We got some Aldo. We got some Gucci, and we got some Versace (laughter).
KRANS: Upon her release, Zaira hopes to take her retail experience and work for Goodwill's NOW program, which employs the recently incarcerated, thanks to funding from the county and state.
ZAIRA: We're actually, like, recommended to work there and get the experience that we're needing, since it is kind of difficult to get back in the workforce after being released out of jail for being - having a record. So it's pretty nice.
KRANS: On average, women spend about six months at this jail. They often leave in the same clothes they came in wearing. Sometimes they're arrested in the summer, but they're released in the dead of winter, or their clothes just don't fit by the time they get out.
MONICA: It's called the walk of shame. We have to walk all the way to the light rail from here in our clothes that are either too small or too big.
KRANS: That's Monica, who also asked to be identified by her first name only for the same reason as Zaira. She says Elmwood's Goodwill program offers her and other women a chance to walk out with some self-respect.
MONICA: So I'll be able to not only get out and walk with my dignity, I'll be able to get dressed the next day with something else and go and take care of business like I'm supposed to, you know?
KRANS: Women in the jail say the clothes they came in with are often dirty, and the reminder of a life they also may want to leave behind. Captain Rita Roland helped bring the Goodwill program to Elmwood.
RITA ROLAND: Being able to leave with a fresh start, it makes a difference. When they say clothing matters, it matters. It can have an impact on how you feel about yourself and your outlook, even on life.
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LEMOS: I really appreciate you guys.
HERNANDEZ: Aw, thank you. Appreciate you, too.
LEMOS: Thank you for your help.
KRANS: Jessica, the shopper from earlier, brought her haul to the front of the store, where Blanca rang her up - fuzzy cuffed boots, a black backpack, leggings and a cardigan. But no money was exchanged, as everything is free, just as Jessica plans to be in a few short months. For NPR News, I'm Brian Krans in Milpitas, California.
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