Yeshua’s Second Chance fights for a second chance

Gwendolyn Watkins opens the driver’s door as she inspects one of the many fire trucks she manufactured, this one for the Oakland Fire Department. The trucks were built by formerly incarcerated people she worked with through her nonprofit Yeshua’s Second Chance Foundation, a program she wants to resume. by Kia Shaun Walton Gwendolyn Watkins, founder and CEO, fights to secure funding for Yeshua’s Second Chance Foundation (YSCF), a nonprofit that supported incarcerated individuals to secure job training and a stable income after re-entry into the general public. These trainees received on-the-job training for gainful employment at Watkins’ fire truck manufacturing company. The foundation, which began in 1980, has helped hundreds of formerly incarcerated people, according to Watkins. YSCF is rooted in her spirituality, and she ardently shares, “Jesus is the CEO.” Beginning what would become a lifelong career working with incarcerated people, Watkins first began visiting prisons at the age of 13 with her minister. At the age of 79, Watkins is still working with incarcerated individuals, supporting them with appeals and committing to public speaking engagements inside prisons. While Watkins does not charge for her services, she asserts, “Jesus pays me.” The cost of running a foundation requires capital,...