Society usually scorns, condemns and is afraid of criminals. But on March 6, an audience of who’s who in Seattle not only forgave, but gave Eduardo Peralta, a convicted murderer, a standing ovation at the Center for Career Alternatives’ 28th annual dinner.

Before a crowd of 800 at the Seattle Sheraton Hotel, Peralta — who was released last year after serving 17 years in prison for murder — was nervous and initially felt out of place. But the listeners quickly put him at ease, applauding seven times during his speech.

Peralta, 52, recounted his experience at the first of five prisons he was in — maximum- security McNeil Island — where he met CCA’s Executive Director Al Sugiyama. Sugiyama was the keynote speaker last May for the Asian Pacific Coalition’s Asian Heritage Month program for the inmates.

Peralta recalled that Sugiyama said that “people would give us (prisoners) a second chance, but it was up to us to quit making excuses and to take advantage of programs like CCA.” CCA offers education, employment, training and career development services for disadvantaged youth and adults at no cost.

As the guests listened, they quickly realized that what Peralta needs is a lot more than just applause from strangers and people’s advice and good wishes.

“As simple as that sounds,” Peralta told the audience, “it’s hard for us to understand and we don’t know what to do. In prison, everything is controlled, everything moves real slow because you have nowhere to go. In fact, after a while, your brain goes slow and you can’t think any longer. That’s why some people want to stay in prison because they don’t have to think.”

After a month-and-a-half wait, Peralta finally visited CCA. Sugiyama responded, “What took you so long?”

Despite Sugiyama’s question, he understood what Peralta was going through. Many former inmates relapse for many reasons. Some can’t confront the pain of the past or face the challenges of the real world, while others see no future and hope in their lives.

Society also ostracizes them. Even with a two-week CCA program to brush up on his job interview techniques and update his resume, Peralta was rejected five times because of his jail record.

Finally, through CCA, he landed a job as a production metal worker last October. Within five months, he received a raise and will get another one next month.

Sugiyama said it is important that the community shows their support towards these individuals. “They have paid their dues in spending their time in jail. People coming out of jail are afraid of success; they don’t understand how to deal with it. Everything hits them at once. It’s easier for them to go back to crime,” he said.

To help people like Peralta, Sugiyama said it is crucial for them to have a “positive environment,” which includes support from family, friends, church, as well as regular visits with probation officers. Sugiyama said Peralta’s regular church attendance, counseling sessions immediately after prison, and his family’s support contributed to his success.

Pam Perez, a CCA staff member who met Peralta at McNeil, said she was proud of Peralta’s progress. Initially scared of the idea of visiting a prison, she is now glad she accompanied Sugiyama when he gave his speech at the prison.

Perez mentioned she was surprised by the number of Asian inmates. Of the approximately 200 people listening to Sugiyama’s speech that day, about 70 were Asian. Sugiyama noticed that several of the guards were also Asian.

The Asian American community doesn’t typically think its prison population is a concern, but it should make an effort to not insulate itself from the prison system.

Perez said that she remembers Peralta being fearful of his future and not prepared for the transition. Now, she said, “Peralta is confident, able to make a living and has a new life.”

Staying in a job for a while in order to earn a track record and having a daily normal routine that keeps him busy are vital to his progress. Consistency is key.

Born in the Philippines, Peralta came to Seattle after settling in Hawaii for the first part of his immigrant life in America. He told the Asian Weekly after the CCA dinner that he dropped out of high school and had associated with bad influences in Hawaii.

He said he tried to make the most of his life in prison and completed his GED in 1988, as well as a computer information systems program. Before he left McNeil, he was active in the Asian Pacific Coalition.

Peralta has struggled hard to arrive at where he is today. What society can offer, in return, is not so much about money, but a smile, a little acceptance, and the belief that he can change, lead a normal life and be a productive member of this community.

Judging by his example so far, Peralta already has.

Center for Career Alternatives is located at 901 Rainier Ave. S., Seattle. For more information, call 206-322-9080.

Assunta Ng can be reached at assunta@nwasianweekly.com.

Merit Ayele

My name is Merit Ayele and I want to thank you very much for letting me share with you a little bit of my background and how the King County Job Initiatives and Center for Career Alternatives changed my life.

I was born and raised in Gonder, which is in Ethiopia. I was a student and I also worked part-time for a jewelry company. Due to the political unrest and civil war, I left Ethiopia for America in 1984.

I first moved to Dallas, Texas. I didn’t know the language or the culture. I did not have any job skills so I was only able to find part-time or temporary jobs at minimum wage.

I moved to White Center in Seattle, Washington in 2002 in hopes of finding a full-time job. Once again because of my lack of skills training and work experience, I could not find a full time job!

One day I saw a Center for Career Alternatives flyer. I decided to call them and see if they could help me. I met Keo Soth, my CCA Case Manager in 2004. Keo enrolled me into the KCJI program and encouraged me to take the truck driving program at South Seattle Community College. Since I had a little experience driving a truck, I decided to give it a try. The instruction at SSCC was excellent and I graduated 9/24/04 with my commercial drivers license.

With Keo’s help I got a job at KKW as a truck driver. My starting wage was $18 per hour. After a few months I was given a raise to $22 per hour. While working I met other drivers that told me that if I really want to make money I should buy my own truck and become an Independent driver. I decided to do that. I worked long hours and saved my money. In July of 2005, I was able to buy my own truck and now I’m an independent driver. Once I build up my business I should be making $90,000 per year.

Without KCJI and the training I received at SSCC, I would still be working part time, at minimum wage and no benefits as a parking attendant. Because of what this program has done for me, all my dreams are coming true.

I want to thank Mr. Ron Sims for making this program available to me and other students. I would also like to thank my instructors at SSCC and my case manager at CCA.