Lifting the Weight of Incarceration
May 3, 2018, 3:00 PM, Posted by Michael Matza
If your organization is creating a healthier community through sport, learn about the RWJF Sports Award. InnerCityWeightlifting, a 2016 Sports Award Winner, helps at-risk youth and former inmates restore their standing in society.
An hour before his next client is due, Edgardo “Chino” Ortiz is in the glass-walled break room of InnerCity Weightlifting (ICW) in Cambridge, Mass., poring over a study guide to become certified as a personal trainer. Fiercely focused on achieving that goal, he is rarely separated from his worksheets.
“Prescribe RICE,” he says, circling the acronym for “rest, ice, compression and elevation” on a sample quiz question about injury.
All across America, men and women with similar ambitions are prepping for careers in physical fitness. But few share the unique drive that fuels 33-year-old Chino’s determination. For him, getting certified as a fitness trainer is a life-changing turning point, built on his smarts, his talent, and his grit.
Chino recently completed a sentence of five years in a Massachusetts state prison for shooting a man in the leg over drugs. For most former inmates, finding a good job is notoriously difficult. But Chino’s future looks promising because of his connection to ICW.