This interview between Jim Murphy, President and Chairman of Grow Forward, and Frank Holmes, Warehouse Manager at Local Foods in Chicago, is an inspiring story of how one man succeeded in turning his life around – against the brutal odds of gang influences, the lure of illegal drugs and fast money, and repeated incarceration. With the help of life-changing opportunities, he avoided becoming a career criminal and became a man with a career.
Video Segments
Staying on the Right Path
“It’s never too late to get your life together”
In this segment, Frank continues his interview with Jim Murphy recounting his turning point toward building a new life for himself after his final release from prison, joining Growing Home to help learn new skills and improve on old ones, and rebuilding his life one step at a time with the help of his wife and her mother.
Getting Caught Selling Drugs
Frank speaks about his past life selling drugs and the negative influences that led him into selling illegal drugs. From growing up in a fatherless home raised by a single mother, dropping out of school, and falling into the drug scene after seeing the kind of money drug dealing brought in, Frank talks about his journey in and out of prison, and his successes and failures at trying to turn his life around.
Getting Help from the Growing Home
Frank Holmes, who works as a Warehouse Manager at Local Foods in Chicago, is interviewed by Jim Murphy about getting his start at Growing Home, an urban farm-based training environment for people with employment limitations. Through opportunities at Growing Home, Frank explains how job-readiness training helped him land a higher-paying job in less time than the training program took.