CARNEGIE, PA - CARNEGIE, PA COMPANY HELPS EMPLOY THOSE IN RECOVERY

Beating a drug addiction is hard enough but then trying to find employment when you might have a criminal record can seem nearly impossible.
No job equals low self-worth and can trigger a relapse.

But one company near Pittsburgh is trying to help those in recovery maintain a steady job.

Deep inside the walls of an old steel plant in Carnegie, PA, Patrick Thunberg works on a large steel beam.  He not forging it like what people did inside this building nearly a century ago. He's painting it.
In 2014 he would never even dream of being where he is at now.  Patrick was an addict of 13 years. A life in shambles. Then came a wake up call.

"I was 30 years old and I woke up on my birthday in a prison cell. Where I'm at right now compared to where I was homeless. No where to go. Now I'm making good money. I'm looking to buy a house, I'm engaged," said Thunberg.

But Envirosafe gave him this chance.  In fact, many of the employees here are ex addicts.  The owner had a sister who was in and out of rehab for 10 years before she turned her life around. That's why they are trying to help others do the same.

"I think these folks are hungry for a second chance and some of our best employees have a background in addiction," said owner, Mike Vorel.

Envirosafe is an industrial coating company that sandblasts and paints steel.  The steel they are working on now will be used to build a waterpark in Nashville.

General manager, Jason Wogan, said, "It's challenging but it's great. Seeing these guys come in and their life is in shambles but they're driven to recover. You give a guy a second or even a third chance, the loyalty,  it's just there."

Not everyone succeeds here. Not everyone can be saved from their demons.  It's hard work, but these men use that work to keep the temptation of the drug away.

"They get a couple paychecks under their belt and start to get a taste of what sober life is like and make an honest living here it's really rewarding not only for them but for us to watch it all happen," said Vorel.

WHERE YOU CAN GET HELP TO FIND EMPLOYMENT

The best jobs for people leaving recovery centers:  Temp jobs, Restaurants and construction.

Local drug rehabilitation centers should help their clients find employment.

"Citizens Circle" is an organization out of Warren, OH that covers Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties.  They help provide those leaving recovery with re-entry strategies.  

Trumbull County Citizen Circle (Trumbull/Warren):

Mahoning County Citizen Circle: