On a shelf in the corner of his office, Paul Fitzpatrick keeps two documents that changed the trajectory of his life: His Cleveland State University Bachelor’s degree and his signed parole release form.
Fitzpatrick spent more than 18 years behind bars. Now, he’s the director of CleveLawn-Home, a nonprofit that provides job training and employment opportunities for people who have been justice-impacted, experienced homelessness or addiction, or are at-risk youth.
Fitzpatrick understands what it takes for people in those situations to succeed. After serving in the Marines, he worked in property maintenance. He started using cocaine and alcohol, which led to criminal activity. He’s been sober 26 years now.
When he was released, Fitzpatrick found the right mentors to guide him as he turned his life around. Having a criminal record, it was hard to find a job, housing and stability, he said.
“I overcame it, but I had people helping me,” Fitzpatrick said. “I didn’t do it by myself. And you can’t overcome that by yourself.”
CleveLawn-Home’s mission is to “reduce violence and poverty in Greater Cleveland” by providing “second chances through workforce development and self-improvement.”
CleveLawn-Home offers services such as grounds maintenance, landscaping, fence removal and installation, property cleanouts, demolition and home renovations. Participants learn skills on the job, working alongside more experienced employees, many of whom have also been justice-impacted.
Maintaining Midtown’s green spaces
New CleveLawn-Home participants go through a job interview and assessment. Devon Ventura, human resources and program director, keeps a case file for each person.
Ventura assesses whether the person has a stable address, is going through a recovery program, and is on probation or parole. Does the person have an ID or driver’s license? Do they need help finding housing?
Job training includes workplace etiquette and how to communicate professionally with co-workers and clients. Participants also participate in a financial literacy class.
The community development corporation Midtown Cleveland Inc. hires CleveLawn to maintain vacant lots and landscaping along Euclid Avenue. CleveLawn also maintains land owned by the Cleveland Foundation and by the Dunham Tavern Museum & Gardens.
On a recent Tuesday morning, Fitzpatrick drove along Euclid Avenue, pointing out his team’s work. He also noticed a few missed spots, like weeds growing out of a sidewalk and an unmowed tree lawn.
“That’s a teaching moment,” Fitzpatrick said.
Participants are trusted and given major responsibilities, he said. They operate a truck that’s worth $100,000 and other expensive equipment, they’re taught how to use and take care of that equipment, and they beautify public spaces from East 55th Street to East 30th Street.
“This humbles me,” he said. “To drive around and show someone what we’ve built.”
‘They don’t judge you’
After driving past the fields in Midtown, Fitzpatrick headed to his home in West Park.
There, Matthew Poland, CleveLawn’s field operations manager, and Jose “Tito” Pinto, a team member, worked on renovations. Fitzpatrick contracted CleveLawn to do more than $28,000 of renovation work, providing participants a safe space to learn without feeling rushed.
Fitzpatrick currently lives in the basement. The main home is filled with stacks of wooden slats and boxes holding windows, ceiling fans and cabinets. The walls expose red and blue pipes that will eventually carry water throughout the house. He wants the guys to see what a home looks like behind finished walls and ceilings.
After spending three years in prison, Poland was staying at a halfway house when he learned about CleveLawn.
Poland has been with CleveLawn more than two months and recently got promoted. He had more than 10 years of experience in landscaping and home remodeling work.
At Fitzpatrick’s home, he and Pinto worked on the bathroom, figuring out where to add wood framing to install the shower handle. They had spent the morning replacing windows.
Pinto worked for a landscaping company for 10 years. He’s been unhoused on and off over the years and was struggling financially before he joined CleveLawn. Home renovation work is new to him.
Pinto said he likes learning how to operate machinery like the Bobcat and that, now that he has learned it, he can help others on the team.
“They don’t judge you,” he said. “They just let you know, ‘That’s not the right way.’”
Success measured through individual’s goals
More than 100 people have participated in the program since it began in May 2019. Most of them spend about two months with CleveLawn, Ventura said. Some move on to the private sector with the skills they learned, while others decide home and lawn care isn’t for them.
CleveLawn measures success based on whether each participant met their individual goals. Ventura keeps notes on each participant’s progress and how well it matches goals they set during the assessment.
“It could be as simple as your personal development plan. You have a problem getting in on time,” Ventura said. “You’re not allowed to be late for a whole month, and then that person leaves in two months. So that person was a success story because they met their measurable outcomes.”
They also consider it a success if a person improves their life, he said.
Sharyna Cloud is a consultant with CleveLawn, working as their fund development director. She said participants gain a mix of “soft skills,” like learning how to build relationships and manage money, and “hard skills,” or the maintenance and renovation skills they gain in the field.
“As we grow, I am hopeful, and I’m looking forward to those individual and personal touches still staying with the organization,” Cloud said. “Because to me, that’s what CleveLawn is building their name on.”
‘An organization that follows through’
Fitzpatrick said he’s worked overtime the last five years to build the organization. They started with two beat-up trucks and $20,000.
Fitzpatrick’s goal now is to expand the organization and add more training. He and his team recently completed a proposal for a 10-week program and are looking for funders and training partners.
If the program is funded, participants would learn basic skills such as CPR, Narcan administration and career development, as well as auto mechanics, grounds maintenance, carpentry, HVAC and lead abatement and asbestos removal.
He’s been recruited to manage private companies that do the same kind of work CleveLawn does, he said. He would make more money in the private sector. But he’s not ready to leave.
“I believe we can make an organization that follows through,” Fitzpatrick said. “That doesn’t end with a little bit of training and a resume, and ‘good luck!’ It ends with coaching and helping them through like I was.”
