By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
In the midst of rising homelessness and stagnant rates of recidivism, the Seattle Conservation Corps (SCC) is emerging as a beacon of hope for individuals seeking to rebuild their lives. Founded by Seattle Parks and Recreation in 1986, the program initially focused on providing employment for the homeless. Over the decades, SCC has broadened its mission to serve the formerly incarcerated, individuals recovering from addiction, and anyone in need of a fresh start. Through a combination of job training, education, and life skills development, the SCC is helping participants transform their lives, one day at a time.
“We’re very accommodating because we understand we’re dealing with some very fragile people, but at the same time, people who have a lot of potential,” says Alvin Harris, the Education and Training Coordinator for the Seattle Conservation Corps. “That’s one thing about us. We see the potential in these people who’ve been through some very challenging circumstances. We’re a very accommodating program.”
The Seattle Conservation Corps is the behind-the-scenes work that keeps our parks, trails, atriums, and other public spaces in pristine condition, as well as developing skills that can lead to other high-paying opportunities. They also are contracted out to clean up vacant homeless encampments. But more importantly, the Corps provides training and opportunity.
Robert Banks, a past participant who now works for the Corps Encampment Unified Care Team, says that the patience and empathy of the program’s staff go a long way in helping people rebuild their lives.
“The program has different people, from different backgrounds that are there to teach you the way,” says Banks. “There are a lot of resources in the program. So that’s what I like most about it. The program is good because it allows people, if they’re struggling to get a job or they’re struggling to get somewhere, they can always rely on the program to be there. Even if they show up late, they still allow people to work and do the job that they need to do. Instead of just saying or getting mad at them and telling them that they can’t come to work or they can’t be there, that patience and empathy go a long way.”
According to Harris, every person that becomes a member signs what is called an “individual performance contract,” where they agree to one year of paid employment starting at $22.00 an hour, education, and life skills development.
In addition to their conservation work, members can study topics such as basic math, high school equivalency, and reading skills. They also receive training in job safety, technical skills related to specific projects, and life skills like job readiness, effective communication, money management, conflict resolution, and nutrition.
To prepare them for the pathway forward, other classes include resume building and writing, proper power and hand tool usage, and interviewing skills.
“We have two sides, the operation side, and they do all the landscaping and whatnot,” says Harris. “Then we have the social services side. Social services have four case managers, a job coach, and myself; I’m the education and training coordinator. I teach life skills like emotional regulation and self-control. We have trauma-informed yoga that reinforces how to get back to the center, how to center yourself. We train in financial literacy, literacy, GED, resume writing, and job-searching skills.”
“On the conservation side, we plant new trees. We water planting strips all over the regions,” continued Harris. “We build trails, we prune trees, we cut grass, we cut shrubs, we take out dead trees. We put in playground equipment, barbecue pits, and park benches when they get old and worn out. Basically, we’re a landscaping outfit, but we also provide and give members options in training to prepare them for work outside of the Corps.”
The importance of the SCC’s mission is underscored by the troubling statistics on homelessness and recidivism in the region. According to King County and Seattle’s 2024 Point-in-Time Count, 16,385 people were experiencing homelessness in King County on any given night, a 23% increase from 2022. Of these, 9,810 were unsheltered, a 27.7% increase from the previous year. The Washington Department of Corrections (WADOC) reports that of the approximately 8,000 incarcerated individuals released from prison each year, about 30% will re-offend and return to prison within three years.
The SCC directly addresses these challenges by providing participants with opportunities to achieve their GED, obtain a driver’s license, seek criminal record expungement, receive child support advocacy, and access shelter. The program’s comprehensive approach is designed to tackle the root causes of recidivism and homelessness, offering participants the support they need to build stable, productive lives.
On average, the Corps consists of up to 60 people in the program a year. The Corps prides itself on second chances because they are aware of the struggles and pitfalls that may occur in the life of addiction, incarceration, and homelessness, and the program, on average, consists of up to 60 people per year.
“Our baseline level of participation is between 50-60 people,” says Harris. “During the pandemic, we dropped down to the bare bones’ minimum. We had 16 people because we could only have one person per truck. So, we’re at about 54-55 right now. When people get jobs, some people relapse, unfortunately, and some people say this program is not for me, so we have a constant group of people coming and going. To alleviate that, what we do is, we have an orientation every 6 to 8 weeks where we bring in new people; we bring in between 8 to 12 people every orientation. And I’d say we’ve got about a 65 to 70% retention rate.”
Jason Vining, a senior supervisor with Seattle Parks and Recreation, believes people who experience struggle and are offered a second chance are some of the most driven and appreciative employees and advocates for more opportunities for such individuals.
“All the people that I met along my journey, I’d say 90% of them came from the Conservation Corps, and those are some of the hardest working, genuine people that I’ve met,” says Vining. “I always find myself thinking that people who want a second chance, they’re a little more driven than your average person. They appreciate things more. So, that’s why I found myself over at the Conservation Corps because we need more folks like that in the parks department, in our front line, folks that are driven. They have a passion for it. Overall, they just appreciate having a good, sustainable job. And that’s why I made myself available to the Conservation Corps to seek more of that talent.”