Farmer Melvin from bad soil to good soil. Melvin Parson had spent his life going in and out of prison for 13 years homeless and addicted to drugs. What happened next in his life was not planned. Melvin was living at a place that had a community vegetable garden. The man tending to the garden passed away. People living there encouraged Melvin to take care of the garden. He said, “I don’t know anything about farming.” He began paying close attention to the soil. He instinctively added good compost and just tried to be really kind to the soil. As a result, it produced really good produce. And it dawned on Melvin that the same thing applies to human beings. It is all about the soil. You take a healthy plant and put it in bad soil, it becomes unhealthy, and you take an unhealthy plant and put it is good soil it can thrive. Melvin thought this could break the cycle of incarceration. As Parson learned more about gardening and farming, he began to think about creating a sustainable farming system that could support a workforce of formerly incarcerated men and women. Melvin had faced many challenges reentering society, and understood the power of second chances. He founded We The People Opportunity Farm in 2015. The WTPOF provides paid internships for the previously incarcerated. They also provide life skills and financial literacy education. Melvin has become kind of famous. He has been featured on several news networks including the PBS New Hour. Celebrities, such as, Jane Fonda have visited and contributed to the efforts of WTPOF. This is an inspiring feel good story! visit the website and contribute to www.wtpof.org
