Breaking the Cycle

There are many generous people in our community. While they all make a difference in their own special way, Frank Genetti and Ken Gilbert are two who have made a significant impact on an often forgotten population. Genetti founded Helping the At Risk Community (HARC) two years ago. HARC vocationally trains and certifies struggling individuals and helps them to find employment.

Genetti partnered with Gilbert, the CEO and director of manufacturing of LightWorks Inc, to help those who have been incarcerated from returning to the system. Together they have achieved a common goal and have brought hope and opportunity to the community.

Starting out, they knew if they were to help make a difference in the lives of those they were trying to help they would need to come up with a project. And that is where tiny homes came in.

Tiny homes are a nationwide craze that has taken some communities by storm. LightWorks hires HARC graduates to help build the homes, giving them life skills they may not otherwise learn. But it doesn’t stop there. They knew that simply creating 9 to 5 jobs for their uncommon workforce was not enough to stop the cycle of incarceration, so their plan is to create housing for them, hold Bible study, character building, create and share meals together, grow food together and basically learn what it is like to live as a family.

The two often describe their status as “throwing balls into the air and see where they land.” It's obvious these men are much more organized than that, but it tells us they are willing to be flexible. They have many dreams and everyone knows dreams cannot be simply controlled.

The mission is run under a nonprofit, but there are plans to create an income to fund future ventures as they progress. The tiny homes are a viable and sellable product. To grow their own food, they build hydroponic greenhouses also another viable, sellable product. They hope to eventually get a commercial kitchen so they can feed the labor force and create other sellable products.

We feel very blessed to have met these gentlemen. Not only are they very serious about their goals but they have also approached and gained the support of many.

We see this company growing and expanding and doing great things not only for our community, but possibly serving as a model for other communities —all with the goal to help individuals who before felt only hopelessness and desperation but can now see a future that is a lot brighter due to HARC, LightWorks and Frank and Ken.

#local #lifecommunity