TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A former felon is working to prevent crime in Tallahassee through a special program designed to help save taxpayers money while keeping ex-offenders off the streets.
Stanley Sims started a program called Hardship Employment for Low-income People or help three months ago, putting ex-offenders to work, washing and detailing city vehicles.
Sims says there are hundreds of former felons in the area who could use a hand in finding work and keep them from making choices that would put them back in jail. So far, only three people are part of the program, working on 11 vehicles, but sims says he wants the city to create a social partnership to financially expand the program.
"Will it fix all everything? No, it's not a one-fix, but what we will be doing is we will be getting these people off their feet," said Sims. "Just imagine the impact if we could get 20 people off the street and build a community policing program from simply detailing cars and saving the taxpayers dollars at the same time."
Sims says the ex-offenders would work during, what he says, are high-crime times of the week on nights between Thursday and Sunday.
