Mary Loftus

Mary Loftus has worked at Goodwill for over 10 years. In 2012, she began working at Goodwill as a case manager for previously incarcerated people, specifically aiding in reentry resources. She retired in 2021 but felt a calling to come back only 9 months later to work on a new grant-funded program. Mary is now a full-time coordinator of the Department of Labor-funded Good Path Program at Goodwill. The Good Path Program is a pre-employment training class that helps justice involved adults who are reentering the workforce. At Good Path, members learn valuable skills such as building their resume, being interviewed, diffusing conflict, and fostering healthy relationships both in and outside of the workplace. There are opportunities to join a paid retail training program, receive long-term case management support, and get help finding housing. This program is still running and currently accepting new members!

Mary didn’t always work with justice-involved individuals. She started at Headstart in Derby, her hometown, as a social services coordinator before then working with victims of interpersonal violence for over 20 years. She enjoyed working at the shelter and working in mobile crisis, but eventually found her passion to work with Goodwill. Mary says that the shift of working with “victims” to then “perpetrators” had a major impact on her perspective of incarcerated and previously incarcerated people. She was also massively influenced by her previous mentor, William Juneboy Outlaw III. William was a previously incarcerated community advocate who worked at Goodwill with Mary and “taught her everything” that she knows today. As the dubbed “Governor of New Haven,” William immersed Mary into the New Haven community and introduced her to other community members.

Mary quickly learned that the population of formerly incarcerated people was extremely vulnerable. They needed educational assistance, and many came from single-parent families. Mary explains that people unfairly look down on this population, often telling them they “aren’t worthy [of help]”. She sees the impact in her clients when she takes time to hear their perspectives and to be the one who says to them, “You are worth it.” Put simply, Mary knows now that good people make bad decisions, and more than 20 years later, she still looks back on the relationships she has built with clients with adoration and pride.

William taught Mary more than just about the physical community they worked in. He taught her how to “see through the bullshit”, particularly when it comes to other service workers. “There’s people who are out here working with this population, then there are people who really do. And I can tell the difference.” Mary has a good eye for respect and integrity in the community of health service workers, and this skill aids her in her networking strategies.

When asked what is missing in the reentry community, particularly for women, Mary simply began with the simple answer of “a lot.” In her experience, Mary sees a lack of safe and affordable sober housing for women. This, substance use treatment, and re-unification support services are just some of the resources that previously incarcerated women are needing in our communities right now. Mary emphasizes that the Good Path Program is open to women as well as men, though she does not have nearly as many women attend. Mary encourages programs to make themselves known in the community, as well as recommending any other services they know about to their current clients.

Mary offers a piece of simple advice for future community activists: Take care of yourself. William once asked Mary, “What is worse than trauma?” His reply, “Untreated trauma.” She emphasizes the importance of self-care, addressing vicarious trauma, and not taking the work home with you.

There are many stories highlighting the difficulties of working with this population: whether it be the constant battle against massive systems of oppression or the too-often losing of a client to murder or suicide. Mary likes to focus on the positives, though. She tells us stories of previous clients going on to buy houses and regain custody of their children, explaining that she gets these positive calls often. Mary tells us that “the relationships keep [her] going” and that she has found her purpose in working with people impacted by criminal-legal systems.