Two Cleveland men are offering everyday people who want to work in the trucking industry a rare opportunity — a second chance.
The best friends who founded Freewheeling Trucking Logistics hire people with criminals records as long as they are prepared to complete their tasks as truckers and stay out of trouble. The economic reality of applying for jobs with an easily reviewable criminal record is that many employers won’t take a chance on people with checkered pasts. That puts community members who want to change the trajectory of their lives by securing gainful employment in a difficult position. However, Demetrius Holmes and Charles Brown are keenly aware that people can overcome their past with a helping hand.
“Can’t judge them based on their past. They’re good people. They’re good workers,” Holmes reportedly said. “If you have something on your record, the first thing a person is going to do is judge you. What we try to do here, we try to look past that.”
The friends, who happen to be African-American, started the freight hauling operation in 2020. Part of their mission was to provide necessary trucking and delivery services in conjunction with opportunities for people with records. Approximately one-third of the upstart company’s employees have a conviction. That fact has not hindered the ability of Freewheeling Trucking to grow and flourish.
The outfit initially handled clothing, water, and other necessities, throughout the Greater Cleveland area. Recent harvests have Holmes and Brown expanding to agricultural transportation such as potatoes.
“If you get potatoes in Ohio in the next couple of months, it most likely was on our truck,” Brown reportedly said.
Both men remain acutely aware that taking on team members who have done time comes with a stigma that could conceivably limit their customer base. To their credit, the value of providing former convicts a chance at economic stability and the sense of pride that comes with a job appears to have outweighed making more money. In fact, Freewheeling Trucking plans to expand and the Cleveland men are looking to hire.
“We’ll be starting to hire dispatchers as well, and again, we will be looking for those with past criminal background records,” Holmes reportedly said.
Brown mindfully indicated that a secure job not only helps the individual but their families as well.
Sources: wwnytc.com, ktenaslaw.com
Leave a Comment