MILWAUKEE — After 20 years in prison, a Milwaukee man started his own business.
Now, he’s using it to help others that are transitioning out of the system.
Five years ago, Ed Hennings started Go Time Trucking. He said it was an idea he never thought would become a reality.
“My time in prison prepared me for this,” Go Time Trucking owner Hennings said.
Hennings was in prison for 20 years for murder. He said during his sentence he worked to better himself and encourage others.
Once he got out, he worked hard and started his own barbershop. Then he started his trucking business.
“I wanted to inspire people. I wanted to inspire people even while I was in there. I wanted to make sure that the guys in there knew that we could do it, that we could come back from our situation. That we’re, we’re better than the choices we made to get us there,” Hennings said.
With his trucking business, he now helps to employ other former inmates, hoping to give them job skills and an income to get back on their feet.
“Anybody that I run into and I meet that has faced those adversities I say, ‘hey man, I have a trucking business. You need a job? I got a job for you,’” Hennings said.
Todd Jones is one of his drivers. Jones was in prison for 25 years, entering the system when he was just 15 years old. He has been driving a truck for some time now and said it’s a whole new world for him.
“For me, it’s freedom. It’s freedom because I really get to be by myself and see things,” Jones said.
Jones said he is able to look at trees differently and really appreciate all the world has to offer since he missed out on so much while he spent time in prison for his actions.
He said the transition out of prison wasn’t easy, especially when it came to trying to line up a job.
“It’s difficult even before you get out of prison to find a job because we are not given [a] mechanism to job search. I didn’t know where to look,” Jones said.
He’s now in control of his future and driving his own path to success thanks to the help of Hennings.
Hennings said it’s gratifying to see how the work he’s been able to do since getting out of prison has made an impact on other people’s lives.