These formerly incarcerated people in Pittsburgh are learning 'how to work and walk in this society'

In the basement of the Pittsburgh Mennonite Church in Swissvale, family, friends and loved ones of formerly incarcerated people took their seats at tables draped in blue cloths, decorated with matching balloons and tinsel.

"Class of 2026" signs were in every corner. Framed photos of graduates served as centerpieces on each table.

On Tuesday night, the 13th cohort of graduates of the Colorful Backgrounds E.X.P.O (Ex-Incarcerated People Organizing), a program chartered by West End P.O.W.E.R. (Providing Opportunities with Effective Resources) and the Downtown-based Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network.

Throughout a 12-week course, formerly incarcerated people are trained to "organize for change in the criminal justice system and build their employment prospects," according to West End P.O.W.E.R.'s website.

Courses focus on areas including job readiness, basic computer skills, financial literacy - including bank account basics, budgeting and credit repair - leadership skills, anger management and more.

"I joined to try to better my life … to get my independence back, be with my family, get my own house," said Michele Parks, one of eight graduates honored with a diploma for completing the program.

Her favorite courses included information on expungement, voting rights and computer skills.

"[The program] teaches you how to get back into society, to link back in with reality," Parks said.

Terri Minor-Spencer, a community activist and founder of West End P.O.W.E.R., started the program in 2021, inspired by her own experience finding success in a similar career development course after serving 16 years in prison.

"Besides my mom's prayers, this is 90% of why I'm standing here today. It taught me everything," she said of the course she completed in 2008. "We had to learn how to work and walk in this society."

Supported through funding by Carnegie Mellon University's Center for Shared Prosperity, Minor-Spencer welcomed the first cohort into the Colorful Backgrounds program in 2022.

More than 83 graduates - including eight from the latest cohort - have completed the program since then, including Terri McClary, who graduated in 2024.

"I started in this room," McClary said. "I had to work on me. I had to do some work, and I'm still working on it, because it just don't happen overnight."

A native of Philadelphia, McClary came to Pittsburgh for substance use treatment when she relapsed after 10 years of sobriety from heroin.

She attempted several local programs before landing at Colorful Backgrounds, initially as a way to get out of the house.

She described herself as "feisty" and a "piece of work" back then, waiting for the moment they would kick her out of the program.

But that moment never came.

​​"They loved me when I didn't love myself," she said. "They didn't break me. I probably fought with each and every one of them."

McClary now lives independently in her own apartment and works for The Worx!, an McKees Rocks organization that offers recovery support services and housing assistance.

"I am living proof that this works," she said.

After dinner and remarks from the program's leaders, each graduate was welcomed on stage with a brief introduction, shedding some light on each of their personalities.

Members in the audience left their seats, phones in hand, to get a better view and record their loved ones receiving the diplomas marked with colorful stripes.

Some were teary-eyed, and others couldn't wipe the smiles off their faces.

The ceremony was especially meaningful for graduate Travis Holmes, 45, who has a GED but had never worn a cap and gown before Tuesday.

"I've had a colorful background all my life," Holmes said, adding that he's been incarcerated on and off for 10 to 15 years. "I've been fighting with trying to get jobs because of my colorful background, and I just want to get better."

Holmes, a South Carolina native, said he hopes to open his own seafood restaurant one day and to live comfortably in a big house for all his kids and grandkids.

"That's why I want to keep going to these different programs," he said. "I'm trying to get all the help, all the things to get me to my goal."

Holmes' case manager was also in attendance. Paige Dawson works at Renewal Center, a community corrections organization focused on re-entry support with locations in Downtown.

"I'm so happy to see him succeed," Dawson said with tears in her eyes. "A lot of people have a lot of negative stigmas against people that have been incarcerated, so I think this program is awesome because it helps break down that stigma.

"You're not just a number, you're a person, you have a name, you have a story, you have a background and it's awesome."

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This story was originally published May 27, 2026 at 3:45 PM.