Why this steel-processing plant offers hope to recovering addicts
It’s tough, exacting work. Giant forklifts and cranes carry up to 20-ton pieces of steel to sandblasting machines that have to be adjusted precisely for every job. Full-time inspectors on our 80,000-square-foot factory floor ensure that the steel we process is safe to use in construction. Employees must be focused, alert and ready to respond if something goes wrong.
Surprising as it may seem, Envirosafe welcomes job applicants who have a history of alcohol and drug abuse, arrests and even stints in prison. We’ve hired a number of guys with backgrounds like that. Some of them have established successful careers here.
Why would such a high-skill, high risk industrial operation go out of its way to help people most employers wouldn’t consider—especially industrial employers?
There’s a story behind that question. My family’s story. I’ve learned through experience that addicts and anyone else who makes a big mistake in life deserve—no, need—a second chance. No one should be shut out of society because they were ensnared by addiction to drugs or alcohol. If I didn’t believe that, my wife, Marg, and I would have given up on our own daughter a long time ago. We didn’t give up, and neither did she. And so neither does Envirosafe.
This story is from the July 2018 edition of Guideposts.
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This story is from the July 2018 edition of Guideposts.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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