WE ARE A
MISSION-DRIVEN
STAFFING AGENCY
Providing an opportunity for successful employment and recovery by empowering individuals to manage challenges because of substance use addiction and past convictions.
MEET OUR STAFF
OUR
VISION
VISION
Supporting people in early recovery from substance use addiction by providing the space to develop or restore the belief in themselves as productive and responsible members of the community.
Providing hope to individuals, after incarceration, that they can build a meaningful life that includes employment and the ability to manage other life challenges.
Creating a community of recovery friendly workplaces that treat people in recovery or those with past convictions as they would treat all others.
SECOND
CHANCES
CHANCES
Working Fields was founded on the belief that individuals who have made mistakes—yet have accepted responsibility, entered recovery, and acted to improve their lives—deserve a second chance. A true second chance includes opportunities to return to the workforce as a way to become self-reliant and fully engage in relationships, support their family, and contribute to their community.
PEER COACHING
Our highly-trained peer coaches and our evidence-based model are the keys to our success.
Peer Coaching is not therapy or addiction treatment. It is a strength-based, action-oriented, supportive relationship in which a coach helps individuals in recovery to connect with resources, identify a change plan, and stay accountable to making progress toward their goals in areas such as work, education, and relationships.
MY RECOVERY STORY
MICKEY WILES | FOUNDER & CEO
- I CAME TO WORK WITH INDIVIDUALS IN RECOVERY BY WAY OF MY OWN RECOVERY
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In my past is a 20-year history of substance use addiction, from the age of 14 until 34, when I finally sought treatment to stop abusing substances. Yet recovery is so much more than just getting clean. True recovery involves working on all aspects of your life, and I had not yet taken those deeper steps.
Ignoring the underlying issues of my substance abuse and addiction led to a string of poor decisions with serious consequences to myself and my loved ones. My choices led to a two-year sentence in federal prison for mail fraud (which is a fancy way of saying that I stole money from the company I was working for). - MY CHOICES LEAD TO DEFEAT AND THEN SURRENDER
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Making poor decisions doesn’t mean that I didn’t have a conscience. In fact, I was aware that my actions were wrong, and stealing the money was eating me alive. But at the time I didn’t have the strength to turn myself in. Instead, I did what many alcoholics or addicts would do, and just moved on, hoping that walking away would be the secret to curbing my behavior. I was tired of living a double life and didn’t really care if I got caught.
The good news is that I did get caught, several months later. This brought me to the point of total surrender. - RECOVERY IS PROGRESSIVE AND LIFE-LONG
- My intensive recovery journey restarted the day that everything came crashing down. Because I already had previous experience in AA and with counseling, I knew what I had to do. It took nearly two years to begin my prison sentence and by that time I was living out a renewed life of recovery. Yet recovery is a process, not a moment, and even though I had made many changes, it wasn’t until two years later when a friend in prison challenged me over a seemingly small decision that I saw the depths of what my recovery required.
- ONE PIECE OF UNCUT FRUIT
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We were leaving the mess hall, where I had accepted another inmate’s unwanted piece of fruit. As we headed to our cells, my friend stopped me. The prison’s rule was that each inmate may only take one piece of uncut fruit. I had two. But it was no big deal--everybody did it--I reminded him. He looked at me and asked, why are you here? I stopped cold. Stealing. I was in prison for stealing.
My friend reminded me that I of all people should know that breaking this rule was a slippery slope to justifying my choices. His words had a lasting impact on me. That day I made a decision to live by the motto: one piece of uncut fruit. I knew I wouldn’t be perfect, but I wanted to start with a guiding premise that would lead me to complete honesty and truly learning from my mistakes. - GRATEFUL FOR MY SECOND CHANCE
- The second chance I have been given to overcome my obstacles and walk the path of long-term recovery into a new life is a gift, which I strive to pay forward to others. I’m forever grateful for the opportunity to use the lessons I’ve learned to help others who need a second chance after a life of addiction or criminal convictions stemming from past mistakes.