A Life Changed by Good Will

Seduced by the lure of easy money and the rush of life on the edge, Felipe Merla began selling drugs when he was just 9 years old.

After completing his fourth prison stint at the age of 56, Merla enrolled in the Transitional Employment Opportunity Program, a partnership between Goodwill Industries in Little Rock, Ark. and HOPE that assists those returning to life after time in prison. The voluntary, 16-week program pays returning citizens to work at Goodwill while participating in counseling programs. Participants’ paychecks are deposited directly into accounts established at HOPE.

“HOPE is an integral part of this program,” says Kim Hogue of Goodwill Industries. “These returning citizens have no money, no credit. They’ve burned every bridge. HOPE is a financial institution that’s willing to give them a second chance.”

Merla admits that when he initially enrolled in the Transitional Employment Opportunity Program, he had little hope he could change – or that he really wanted to change.

“My plan was to work the program for a month, make some money, then go back to selling drugs,” Merla says. “But as the weeks went by, I started to relate to the people from Goodwill and HOPE who were trying to help me. I was getting a chance to establish something new with people who really cared. I realized then that I couldn’t abandon this program. I wouldn’t be failing them. I’d be failing myself.”

After completing the transitional program, Merla landed a permanent job at Goodwill Industries as a forklift driver. “I’m driving a forklift for $10 an hour and sometimes I think about how I could make $2,000 or $3,000 in a couple of hours on the street. But I want to change my life and my attitude.

“I have grandkids, and I can still do something right for them. I didn’t do it for my kids, but I can do it for my grandkids. Everything in my life is changing because of the grace of God and the people he has put around me.”