Ramelle Kamack describes his work for a prison body shop where clients get their cars restored and repaired for free.

About a month ago, I started working a new job at a body shop. Having a work history with power tools, hand tools, and welding, I fit in easily with the shop’s crew of around twenty other guys. During work hours—Monday through Friday from 8:00am to 3:00pm—three garages, multiple paint stations, a paint mixing room, and a tool room bustle with paint-stained workers, whirring tools, pneumatic hoses, and vrooming engines.

Just the other day, a pearl-white Chevy Equinox veered into our open garage. Its driver was a brunette woman in her early thirties with soft brown eyes and a softer frown. She spoke briefly with our supervisor before strolling toward the car’s rear and pointing below the liftgate. The Chevy’s bumper had a fist-size crater in it that looked as if someone had whacked it with a Louisville Slugger.

“Wow,” my coworker said. A toothy grin spread across his face before he lowered his voice. “She must’ve pissed off some guy’s wife, huh?”

My supervisor assured the woman that we could fix the dent and soon after, her mouth curled into a smile.

Over the next two days, we repaired the Chevy’s bumper and worked out a few minor dents before she arrived to pick up her car. Her smile shown brightly, and she thanked us before driving off. Her car was as good as new, our job was complete, and we didn’t charge her a single dollar.

Unlike other body shops, our shop is located in a prison and our entire crew, including me, is made of incarcerated people.

As in most body shops, cars and trucks come in weekly. Some cars in need of repairs are shiny newer models while others are vintage classics that are nearly falling apart. The needed repairs range from light scratches and minor dents to complete restorations.

Here at the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad, California, body shop workers and customers mutually benefit from one another. Customers are looking for technicians who can repair their car, and we are looking for a diversity of cars and trucks that we can repair to hone our skills. We receive hands-on training from a skilled instructor while prison staff are offered vehicle repairs minus the cost of labor.

Upon joining our crew, each new member is issued a collision repair textbook and after completing the required reading, passing each lesson’s test, and accumulating over 500 hours of repair work, we earn a certificate as a technician. We specialize in straightening aluminum, applying fillers and undercoats, paint spray techniques, detailing and much more. All of these skills help us find employment in body shops when we’re released from prison. When we assist a customer, my supervisor says we do much more than restore and repair cars; we restore the community’s confidence in our rehabilitation.

Not long ago, a pickup truck arrived. It towed a trailer that earned a burgundy 2013 Honda Accord. Patches of paint had peeled like scabs from its fender and hood, and deep gashes and dents made the car’s front-end look like a battered fighter. Our supervisor eyed the car and clapped his hands with anticipation. The car was over a decade old and it could take months or longer to restore it to showroom condition. But we’re the right crew for the job and we knew it.

“Let’s get to work, guys,” our supervisor said.

And so we did.

Ramelle Kamack #AA-1281

CTF – Facility C 

PO Box 689

Soledad, CA 93960

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