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Auto Body Program Gives Inmates Valuable Job Skills
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Auto Body Program Gives Inmates Valuable Job Skills
By R.T. Sideman
Keith Boyd will soon emerge from jail, his life transformed by a rusted out 1970 Cadillac Coupe Deville.
A newly revamped auto repair program allows jail inmates like Boyd, 44, to gain valuable job training while providing the public with a low-cost alternative to traditional auto shops.
Boyd had never worked on a car before. But under the close guidance of trained staff, he single-handedly restored the run-down Cadillac into a gem.
"I've got a lot more opportunity than I did when I first got here," said Boyd, who is doing time for drug-related charges. "I learned the prep work, spreading Bondo, sanding, painting — it is all very interesting."
Boyd now wants to become an auto service technician after his release in January.
Santa Cruz County officials hope that others at the Rountree Detention Center in Watsonville, also known as the "Jail Farm," will follow Boyd's example.
The program, a collaboration between the County Office of Education's Regional Opportunity Program and the Sheriff's Office, was established in the 1970s by then-Sheriff Al Noren.
But with new state and federal grants worth $50,000, and a $25,000 eco-friendly painting system donated by Santa Cruz-based Carquest Auto Parts, the program has more amenities, such as car frame straightening, and greater capacity to handle more cars.
"Our goal is to give job skills to as many people as possible, and get them out the door back into society," said county jails chief Len Lofano.
It's also meant to help the inmates "leave with good feelings about themselves," said Santa Cruz County Sheriff Phil Wowak.
Paying Back
Wowak said the program is cost-neutral, with revenue reinvested back into the program and into an inmate welfare fund, which aids GED classes, substance abuse programs and English language classes.
"[The auto] program helps keep up a revenue stream for all these programs, even when times are bad," said Wowak.
Program instructor Juan Jara took over when former instructor Tom Alejo retired this year. Jara walked Boyd through the entire repair process on the Cadillac.
He hopes the training will help Boyd and others find better paying work upon their release.
"Hopefully when they get out," Jara said, "they will become pro body men and painters." He said they can be certified in Los Angeles by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence.
Car owners, too, like the program.
The Cadillac's owner, for example, paid the county just $4,000 for a restoration job that would have cost up to $25,000 elsewhere, according to estimates he received from other repair shops. The final bill is also tax-free.
"It's win-win," said Allen Terusiak, who said the work done on his car was of a higher quality than what he would have received at a traditional auto body shop. "I came in here to the shop once a week to check in. Over the two months it took, we developed a nice relationship. I got the 'kid glove' treatment."
Inmate Jonathan Mayhew worked in construction before he was sent to jail. With the housing market struggling, auto work might be a better alternative, Mayhew said.
He now plans to get certified to work in an auto body shop.
"I'm thinking that it might be the best opportunity I have," Mayhew said.
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