In a three-year time span, two former inmates of a New Mexico prison started their own forestry company after participating in a similar state program while they were incarcerated. Lawrence Jaramillo and Joshua Melendrez told ABC News Tuesday they learned firefighting and prevention strategies while they were inmates at the Central New Mexico Correctional Facility. "I have a lot of family members that have been in and out of prison. Some of them keep going back. I would like them to see they could make it," Jaramillo told the news station. "We all have a chance."
The men began the inmate work program in 2015 and decided they would try to start their own business when they got out, ABC News reported. "All we thought was, 'Hey, let's start a business and see what we can do. If we fail, we fail. If we don't, awesome,'" Jaramillo told the news station. Melendrez, 34, was released from prison in July 2017, and Jaramillo, 40, followed in January 2018. They obtained a business license for All Around Forestry in November 2019, ABC News reported.
The company landed its first contract with Ponderosa Christian Camp months after solidifying the business license, KOAT Action News reported. "They've been doing an amazing amount of work, they've gotten an amazing amount done," board director Craig Mathews told the news station. "We hope this is just a spring board for them, and that they're very successful in the projects they get awarded in the future."