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 Scott Silverman makes a living by
handing out second chances. His nonprofit organization, Second Chance, teaches the homeless, indigent and former inmates how to find and keep jobs and learn self-sufficiency.
Silverman often calls on his Jewish faith to help guide his efforts in the classroom. In a culture and religion that teaches giving back to society rather than taking away, he works with the people who are hardest to reach and helps them
break the cycle of unemployment, poverty, substance abuse, and homelessness. Silverman founded Second Chance in San Diego in 1993 and recently celebrated the graduation of Second Chance STRIVE's 100th class. The three-week classes teach
life skills and job-readiness training. Graduates are eligible for up to two years of employment placement assistance, transitional alcohol- and drug-free housing, mental health counseling, case management,
career clothing and affordable housing referrals.
Second Chance operates as an affiliate of the national Supportive Training Results in Valuable Employees (STRIVE) program, which has historically placed 80 percent of its graduates in jobs, most of them paying well above the minimum
wage.
Among its ex-offender graduates, fewer than 30 percent recommit crimes and return to prison within two years. That's significantly lower than the statewide recidivism rate of 70 percent. Many people come to Second Chance with little or no
job experience, mental health and substance-abuse issues, and criminal records.
"I've had people come to me and say, ‘Before Second Chance, the only thing I was ever able to finish was a prison sentence,"' Silverman said. "I tell them, ‘If you can finish this three-week class, you'll be amazed at what you can
accomplish in life."'
Second Chance depends mostly on private donations to stay in business. Silverman has found that it's sometimes difficult for people to see the value of the service Second Chance performs for society.
"There are a lot of people in our society who would rather not acknowledge the existence of people who are homeless or who have made mistakes and served time," Silverman said. "But we believe that most people, when given a second chance,
welcome the opportunity to become productive members of society again."
Can these people experience teshuvah? Scott thinks about this a lot. Teshuvah, which means "returning" in Hebrew, is the way of atoning for sin in Judaism. Can the people who most need Second Chance's services, those who have committed
crimes, become addicted to drugs or have made other mistakes in their lives, repent and undergo a transformation?
"The answer, I have found, is a resounding yes," Silverman said. "One needs only to sit through a Second Chance graduation and listen to the graduates as they tell their stories to a gathering of family, friends and other supporters. They
come to Second Chance full of skepticism, full of doubt. They come wrestling their own demons. Those who make it to the end of the program learn a lot about themselves and their worth as human beings."
Through the last 13 years, Scott has led a trained staff, many of whom have transcended similar paths as the participants, and learned not to define people by their worst moments. He's learned not to be a harsh judge. People are more
complicated than he ever imagined. No one is all good or all bad.
Scott believes people can learn a lot about themselves by learning about the lives of others. Some may be surprised to discover that some of Second Chance's students are more like us than we might realize.
Scott enjoys making people laugh, and making people think. He is definitely un-mainstream, un-politically correct, frequently uncouth and always unafraid to voice an opinion.
He grew up in the Mt. Helix area, a juvenile delinquent doing petty crime, drugs, etc. He was once accused of putting his fifth-grade teacher in the hospital with a heart attack, simply by acting out so much in class. Sheriff Bill Kolender
remembers dancing at Silverman's bar mitzvah. Mayor Jerry Sanders first met Silverman during a drug raid of a Southeastern San Diego apartment building, when Sanders was a young SWAT captain. At the time, Silverman was making a living
eradicating drug dealers from apartment complexes.
Silverman, at one time, weighed more than 350 pounds before he had his stomach stapled. He lost about 150 pounds and now people don't recognize him. He says that's a good thing, considering his past.
Today, using his own eccentric mix of humor, tough love and craziness, Scott enjoys being at the helm of a passionately committed team of staff members who teach the chronically unemployed how to find and keep jobs.
In 1998, Silverman spearheaded the effort to bring STRIVE from Harlem to San Diego. Scott is an active member of the community as a Rotarian, a Eureka Fellow, member of Eureka San Diego Leadership Council, member of Eureka Communities
National Board of Trustees, National Steering Committee member of STRIVE National and a Board member of the San Diego Community Housing Corporation.
He was most recently highlighted by the Channel 10 Leadership Award and he was selected as one of the Top 50 People to Watch in 2003 by San Diego magazine. The Second Chance STRIVE program is currently being featured weekly on Channel
6.
Over the past 14 years, Second Chance has provided opportunities for thousands of people in need and helps make San Diego a better place to live. Through his vision and leadership, Silverman has taken the teachings and ideals of the Jewish
religion to heart and applies them every day in his work so that others can transcend barriers and find employment, housing and a more meaningful life. What he does is truly a mitzvah for the community.
From:
San Diego Jewish Times - Vol. 34, No. 24, December 1, 2006
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