“Where do you go for somebody to give you a second chance?” asked Denise Lewis, of Mobile, Ala., an ex-felon who served 23 months in an Alabama federal correctional camp.
Lewis set out on a mission to answer that question across state lines in St. Louis. She had hoped that Miss Robbie Montgomery, owner of soul food restaurant Sweetie Pie’s, would be the one person to give her a second chance at life.
Lewis said the idea came to her one night after watching an episode of the reality series Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s that airs on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). After doing some research, she grew inspired by the hardships Montgomery and her son Tim Norman overcame throughout the years, from homelessness to Norman’s 10-year incarceration.
Lewis, at 47, faced conspiracy charges with the intent to distribute cocaine, charges she claims she didn’t deserve. She said it was a case of guilt by association and a mother not wanting to give up her son who is now serving a life sentence.
Once out of prison, she was devastated to learn that she had lost her job at the Austin Shipyard in Mobile where she did installation work. She and others who have served time struggle to find steady employment.
She became homeless, bouncing around from one temporary living situation to another. She said her drug-related conviction disqualified her from receiving government assistance like Section 8 housing and food stamps.
“I went from having everything to losing everything,” she said.
Her future was uncertain, but the one thing she was sure of: she knew how to cook.
Upon her arrival in St. Louis in November 2011, she was once again homeless and stayed temporarily at Gateway 180 emergency homeless shelter. A family living at the shelter invited her to tag along for dinner at Sweetie Pie’s in The Grove area.
Determined to meet Montgomery, she snuck off to the bathroom near Montgomery’s office and the two spoke briefly. Montgomery told her to come back in April when hiring would begin for the new Upper Crust location on Delmar Boulevard near Grand Center.
After her 30-day stay was up at the shelter, she traveled to Texas and returned to St. Louis the following January, resuming her quest for a job at Sweetie Pie’s.
“I didn’t care what she gave me,” she said. “Just give me a job.”
Her persistence, culinary skills and faith in God landed her a cook position at The Upper Crust.
“I know how hard it is to make it out here if you don’t have a record,” Montgomery said. “I’ve heard the story before; it’s not an unusual story. I get letters all the time: ‘I want to move there, and can you hire me?’ But she actually made the trip.”
Last November, Montgomery and Norman were keynote speakers at the 7th annual Missouri Reentry Conference. The conference was sponsored by Area Resources for Community and Human Services (ARCHS), Missouri Department of Corrections, Missouri Department of Social Services, and Family and Community Trust (FACT).
During his speech, Norman wore a sign with his old inmate number 530600 and spoke about how it was hard to leave his past behind.
“Miss Robbie and Tim have a unique perspective regarding the barriers that ex-offenders face when they return home,” said Leslie A. Johnson Jr., vice president of Grant Management Services at ARCHS. “And because of that understanding, they often hire ex-offenders in their restaurant, seeing their role as giving a hand up, not a hand out.
ARCHS’ St. Louis Alliance for Reentry (STAR) program pairs ex-offenders with mentors, job readiness training and support for maintaining sobriety.
“STAR is a network of government agencies, funders, service providers, universities and volunteers who seek out collective strategies for improving reentry efforts in St. Louis City and County,” Johnson said.
“Our programs have been cited as promising/best practices and have led to the employment of more than 600 ex-offenders.”
Lewis hopes her story will inspire others to keep the faith. “I wanted to work there, and I didn’t want no other job,” Lewis said. “I didn’t give up.”
If you are an ex-offender needing help getting back on your feet, email St. Louis Alliance for Reentry at info@stlreentry.org or contact Leslie Johnson at johnsonl@stlarchs.org.
