WASHINGTON (WUSA9) — Will Avila of Northwest, D.C. joined a gang when he was young. He spent years in and out of jail. And when he got out, he tried to get a job. He says he was rejected 22 times.
WUSA9's Debra Alfarone: "How did that make you feel?"
Will Avila, Clean Decisions: "Lost, confused, dehumanized. Like I wasn’t part of the society or was feeling like I was going to end up back in jail."
Fueled by the sting of rejection, Will thought of the idea to start his own cleaning business. The only requirement to work with him? You have to be an ex-offender.
In 2014, Clean Decisions was born, and Will said it's grown a lot since then.
"Right now, we have 17 official full-time employees, we’re a half million dollar company, all of our employees are returning citizens and earn a living wage...and we created a family. A brotherhood for people coming out looking for a second chance or third chance, a fourth chance, fifth chance. We don’t give up on you," he said/
Charles General works for Clean Decisions, cleaning up the Barry Farm Recreation Center.
"Before Clean Decisions, I was on the street, I was a drug dealer.....I sold crack cocaine," said General.
General now has a chance to not only provide for his family, he provides an example to the kids coming up in the Barry Farm neighborhood. He grew up there too.
Troy Cleveland also works with Clean Decisions to clean up the recreation center.
"It’s more than just working for them, Clean Decisions...takes the time to know what’s going on your life," said Cleveland.
Avila said the employees are like a family to him.
"People coming out of incarceration deserve a chance, they shouldn't be left to the side," said Avila.
The company provides cleaning services to restaurants, food trucks, and commercial kitchens. They also provide landscaping.
Avila said the skies the limit.
"Prisons and jails shouldn’t be filled with people of color, colleges should be filled with people of color," he said.
In addition to founding Clean Decisions, the 30-year-old father helped found a non-profit called Changing Perceptions. It enables formerly incarcerated people to become entrepreneurs.
Perhaps the most star-powered development in Will's journey came in 2017. That's when he was selected by Unlocked Futures, a new accelerator program that helps entrepreneurs who have been incarcerated or impacted by the criminal justice system. Behind it? Grammy-collecting singer John Legend, Bank of America and others.
Avila won money and coaching that will help fuel and build Clean Decisions. He said he hopes to offer ownership opportunities one day.
Will said he has a lot of people to thank for everything he's been able to do. He said the District has been very supportive, especially the Department of General Services which helped him get the contract to clean Barry Farms in January, 2018.
He said it's important.
"You’re showing an example for their community.," he said. "The children come in and out of this place. They’re seeing good men do good work."
