Construction program gives former inmates skills needed for new life
BOB ZELLAR/Gazette Staff
Steve Houlihan, general manager for Koinonia Housing
Construction, works on a home on Buchanan Avenue. The company
focuses on helping those who live on the South Side or have
finished prison sentences.
Related Video
- Finding help after prison
- Koinonia Housing Construction Co. has made it its mission to help former prison inmates develop job skills needed to stay straight on the outside.
At one point in his life, Jacob Swecker couldn’t see himself
having a job or place to call his own and raise his 6-month-old
son.
At one point all Swecker could think about was meth.
Swecker spent much of his youth experimenting with drugs and trying to avoid run-ins with law enforcement.
Now an adult with a clean record, the formerly gang-affiliated Swecker has a steady job building and renovating homes with Koinonia Housing Construction, a 15-year-old company focused on helping those who live on the South Side or have finished prison sentences.
“I’m only 18, but I know a lot of younger kids going through the same things I did,” Swecker said. “If I see kids having trouble, I point them in this direction.”
Swecker had been with the company as an employee or volunteer on and off for about three years until general manager Steve Houlihan hired him full time in June.
Houlihan became general manager of the company almost a year ago. Working with a crew of about five at any given time, they work 40 hours a week on South Side homes.
One entire neighborhood, Chrysalis Acres, near Orchard Elementary has 25 homes built by the company. There is plenty of room, with about 15 more lots available.
“Half of these are pre-sold to customers who come in and we build to their specs,” Houlihan said. “Half are built and put on the market.”
The crew was working on the framework of a house off Buchanan Avenue last week — a project that Houlihan is inspired to spend extra time on.
It’s his house.
He and two other workers, including Swecker, braved the chilly temperatures trying to stay on an already delayed schedule.
Some issues with the title put them back 60 days.
Houlihan said he chose the Buchanan address for his future home on purpose — to get to know the community better.
“The goal is too see their transformation for the guys who work for us and the community we are working in,” Houlihan said. “The goal is to make the South Side a better place to live.”
To become part of the team, the crew members have to be from the South Side, out of prison and have an interest in learning about the Bible.
“The idea is to teach these guys construction skills, introduce them to the teachings of Jesus and hope they pick up on what we are teaching and doing,” Houlihan said.
It’s worked so far. The company’s foreman has been a member of the crew for almost six years after serving a 10-year prison sentence.
For Swecker, joining the company was life-changing.
“It got me to straighten up, get a job and get through treatment on my own,” Swecker said. “I’ve been sober of a year and a half now. Life is finally falling into place.”
At one point all Swecker could think about was meth.
Swecker spent much of his youth experimenting with drugs and trying to avoid run-ins with law enforcement.
Now an adult with a clean record, the formerly gang-affiliated Swecker has a steady job building and renovating homes with Koinonia Housing Construction, a 15-year-old company focused on helping those who live on the South Side or have finished prison sentences.
“I’m only 18, but I know a lot of younger kids going through the same things I did,” Swecker said. “If I see kids having trouble, I point them in this direction.”
Swecker had been with the company as an employee or volunteer on and off for about three years until general manager Steve Houlihan hired him full time in June.
Houlihan became general manager of the company almost a year ago. Working with a crew of about five at any given time, they work 40 hours a week on South Side homes.
One entire neighborhood, Chrysalis Acres, near Orchard Elementary has 25 homes built by the company. There is plenty of room, with about 15 more lots available.
“Half of these are pre-sold to customers who come in and we build to their specs,” Houlihan said. “Half are built and put on the market.”
The crew was working on the framework of a house off Buchanan Avenue last week — a project that Houlihan is inspired to spend extra time on.
It’s his house.
He and two other workers, including Swecker, braved the chilly temperatures trying to stay on an already delayed schedule.
Some issues with the title put them back 60 days.
Houlihan said he chose the Buchanan address for his future home on purpose — to get to know the community better.
“The goal is too see their transformation for the guys who work for us and the community we are working in,” Houlihan said. “The goal is to make the South Side a better place to live.”
To become part of the team, the crew members have to be from the South Side, out of prison and have an interest in learning about the Bible.
“The idea is to teach these guys construction skills, introduce them to the teachings of Jesus and hope they pick up on what we are teaching and doing,” Houlihan said.
It’s worked so far. The company’s foreman has been a member of the crew for almost six years after serving a 10-year prison sentence.
For Swecker, joining the company was life-changing.
“It got me to straighten up, get a job and get through treatment on my own,” Swecker said. “I’ve been sober of a year and a half now. Life is finally falling into place.”
Read more: http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/construction-program-gives-former-inmates-skills-needed-for-new-life/article_e6bb1987-8ece-5a6c-a415-6936bbed1dc6.html#ixzz1jj3O99oF
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