Tom Harris

Phoenix from the Ashes: New Horizons Employment Solutions

While attending a Christian Sunday service at Bastrop Federal Corrections Institute, another innocent man gave a sermon. We had discussed what had happened to both of us. He knew I was innocent. He looked at me and said: Some of you are angry because you were convicted of crimes you didn't commit. A terrible injustice. But you are EXACTLY where you are supposed to be, because God doesn't make mistakes. His words made me angry, yet they stirred something deep inside me. I was incensed, but I couldn't argue with his logic. God knew I was innocent, yet HE allowed this to happen. WHY?
            I began to study the Bible, cover to cover. The passage that leapt out at me was from Genesis 50:20: But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people. While friends and family considered me a Job-like figure because of how I had been victimized by the FBI/DOJ, the Biblical character I identified with was Joseph. Joseph was betrayed by his brothers, just as I had been betrayed by my government. He was sold into slavery and endured 13 years in slavery/prison for crimes he didn’t commit. Despite these arduous circumstances, Joseph remained faithful to God and was subsequently elevated by Pharaoh to a position that allowed him to save his people.
            When I was released from prison, however, I had forgotten about Joseph—I had to find a job! Financially, we were devastated. I threw myself into my job search, 6 days a week, 8-10 hours/day. Countless interviews that yielded nothing. Finally hired by a lower-paying company, I was overjoyed. But 2 weeks later, I was devastated when the corporate staff in New Jersey terminated me without notice. A few months later, I was hired by a second company. I soon discovered this company was doing things I thought unethical, possibly illegal. I was a convicted felon, yet I was compelled to quit because I believed the company was unethical.
            I was a West Point graduate, a retired Army Colonel who’d served for 30 years, with 2 master’s degrees. Yet I could not find a job. No one would hire an ex-felon. Needing to stay busy, I began volunteering at Houston-area charities. Then I saw a statistic that changed my life: over 75% of those who go to prison go back. I realized that anyone with a smartphone can do a background check. If you have a felony, you will not be hired. I was a victim of this phenomenon; I had experienced this ‘sting’ of my new reality.
            I realized many who were innocent, and others who sincerely wanted to change their lives, were being deprived of that opportunity by an ignorant and/or unforgiving society. They were desperately trying to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives, but no one would hire them. My market research delved into who was aware of this cycle of criminal recidivism and who was doing something about it. Most were aware of it, but few were interested in addressing it. I knew I had to do something!
            Over 25,000 ex-felons are released into the greater Houston area every year. Not all want to change or be quality employees. When businesses hire out of that ‘large pool’, they are often burned by ‘gamers and players’ with no desire to work or assimilate back into society. Similarly, many businesses would like to have a 2nd-chance hiring program, but their own bureaucratic recruiting processes prevent them from doing so. Routine HR hiring processes eliminate more than 85% of ex-offenders, who are more than capable of performing the work, before they are even given a chance to compete.
            In 2018, I created New Horizons Employment Solutions, a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, to address this grave societal problem in the United States. More of a ministry than a business, my motto was Breaking the Cycle of Criminal Recidivism. I gave a presentation to the Correctional Management Institute of Texas. They introduced me to Prison Fellowship, a nonprofit founded in 1976 by Chuck Colson, a Nixon aide, who went to prison for Watergate crimes. Today, Prison Fellowship is the world's largest Christian nonprofit for prisoners, former prisoners, and their families and an advocate for justice reform.
            Prison Fellowship introduced me to a Houston nonprofit specializing in providing safe, secure, spiritual housing for those getting out of prison. My focus was on finding meaningful employment for those trying to rebuild their lives. Since the second most significant factors contributing to recidivism are inadequate housing and meaningful unemployment, it was a match made in heaven.
            I began working with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP). TDCJ coined the title “the Colonel” because first names were not allowed, and I had never been ‘Mister’ Harris my entire life. When I discussed my vision, most shook their heads, saying, “Colonel, I love what is in your heart, but it’s been tried before, and it will never work.” But in the back of my mind, it wasn’t Genesis I heard, but Matthew 19:26: With God, All Things are Possible.1I’d been uniquely prepared all my entire life for this near-impossible mission. I’d spent 30 years in the Army and 6 in the business world as an innovative problem solver. As a Lieutenant in the 1st Cavalry Division, I was assigned impossible missions with insufficient time, people, money, or resources, and failure was not an option. Since then, as a platoon leader and, later, a US Combatant Command (Colonel), I have been an innovative problem solver. I have worked with men for over 40 years, in peacetime and during war,
            I understand men better than most. 6 years in the business world gave me a business perspective to know what businesses need. Finally, even though I was innocent, I had been forced down this road so I could understand what these men and women were living though, and up against. No one had been able to successfully address this complicated issue, because no one had been so uniquely and perfectly ‘prepared’ their entire lives for such a time as this (Esther 4:14)
            Finding employment opportunities for men and women no one wants to hire is a near-impossible task. My initial efforts to get them directly hired failed miserably. I was told, “If you want businesses to take a chance on your people, you have to have skin in the game. You have to hire them first.” This meant I had to create my own placement agency. I was not set up financially to do this. Even worse, my own experiences with staffing agencies were abysmal—I disliked them immensely. My task became more difficult: trying to find employment for men and women no one wants to hire, to having to use a staffing venue no one wants to use. While I still believed all was possible with God, I was acutely aware HE had a one heck of a sense of humor.
            Many ex-offenders want to work but cannot find meaningful employment. In my efforts to solve this complicated dilemma, I discovered businesses were struggling with a ‘revolving door’ challenge of their own: recruiting, hiring, onboarding, training, and retaining employees. Businesses face significant manpower shortages because the employee pipeline is tight. This is because many job applicants have poor work ethics, do not show up on time, and/or demonstrate a less-than-satisfactory attitude on the job. Once trained, many simply stop going to work altogether.
            I developed a unique win-win solution to address both dilemmas: a venue that provides meaningful employment opportunities for those who desperately seek a second chance, while also providing businesses with an untapped pipeline of highly motivated, dedicated, dependable American men and women who genuinely want to work. I seek career opportunities, not minimum-wage, dead-end jobs. I knew I had to find good businesses that pay my men and women a living wage, provide a safe work environment, and offer an opportunity for direct hire, upward mobility, and benefits. As a proactive advocate for both employees and employers, this assistance helps businesses hire quality employees and empowers individuals to ‘break the cycle’, transition back into society and lead productive, crime-free lives. My primary mission is to be the advocate for and help those in need find meaningful employment. To make this work, however, I had to be the advocate for the employer as well. The result is a win-win situation for both ex-felons and employers.
            In 2023, the Texas Workforce Commission informed me that New Horizons had requested that I go to Austin to serve on a leadership panel at their annual conference. When I asked why they wanted a tiny company to participate, they informed me that New Horizons placed more ex-felons than any other business in Houston. Today, my strategic focus in Putting Americans Back to Work is Veterans, ex-felons, and those who have lost their jobs due to the economic downturn. We assist Veterans from all branches of service in successfully transitioning from the military to the civilian world with meaningful employment opportunities.
            I’ve always heard that the Hand of the Lord works in mysterious ways. There was no way I could have known the reason HE made me go through the hell my family and I had to endure. But in hindsight, it seems clear: while the FBI and the DOJ meant evil against my family and me, God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people.
            New Horizons is indeed saving many people. Today, I work with law enforcement, almost every major nonprofit in Houston, the Texas Department of Veteran Affairs, the US Department of War, and many other organizations and agencies. To date, New Horizons has placed just under 1500 American men and women, most of whom no one would have hired. I believe this ministry will spread across Texas, and eventually, across the United States.
            To see what my men and women have to say about New Horizons Employment Solutions, visit my Google Reviews and read their testimonies.
            Final Note: Every man and woman I put to work is American. Every business where I place them is American-owned. Ironically, I am still serving my country, albeit in a way no one could have ever predicted. SAO