VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Wendy Morelli has had a tough go of it, and knows all about bad times, time wasted, and time served.  

“Four years, 43 days, and two hours. It’s a number I’ll never forget,” said Morelli.

She remembers every day she was incarcerated. 

Morelli had it all, until there was nothing left at all. 

“You know, I had a good career going, and then the market crashed, and so did my job, and my marriage ended.” 

And it got worse. 

“I worked for a lady, for four-and-a-half years, and I thought I should be paid more to work for her, and I swiped her credit card a couple times, and that would lead to a credit card charge.” 

That led to a knock on her door.

“Detectives knocked on my door one day and said, ‘you’re under arrest.’”  

Morelli was convicted of felony fraud and credit card forgery and ended up in Sheriff Rocky Holcomb’s Trusty Program, doing jobs around the Virginia Beach Correctional Center. The program gives inmates an opportunity to earn privileges and potential sentence reduction.

Morelli did her time before she was released December 2023. 

She was out, but not out of the woods so to speak. 

She had serious struggles for more than a year. After all, she was a convicted felon.

“So, I couldn’t even work at Dunkin’ Donuts. Dunkin’ Donuts would not hire me, and they specifically told me because of my felony charges. I couldn’t get a job as a maid in a hotel because of my felony. I got some work at family-owned businesses, but the pay wasn’t great with no meaningful benefits.” 

What Morelli needed was a second chance.  

Holcomb gave her that.

“I’m glad we were part of giving Wendy her second chance, and this is a second chance program,” Holcomb said.

Morelli got a second chance with Holcomb’s “New Beginning Program” which allows eligible former inmates to be considered for employment with approved professional vendors within the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office’s food services division. 

Morelli said this program is perfect for someone like her.

“Where people like me who work hard and do a good job can be able to redeem themselves and, you know, go forward in life, not backwards,” Morelli said.

This new job came with benefits.

“I cried because I knew it was a golden opportunity for me, that no one else would give me that opportunity except the sheriff and Mr. Wilkie,” Morelli said, referring to Steven Wilkie, director of food services in the Virginia Beach Correctional Center.

Morelli is right at home in the kitchen. She comes from a restaurant family background.  

“I’m very comfortable in the restaurant,” Morelli said. “So working in the restaurant is easy work for me,” she said.

She is strong in the position, shouting out what’s needed for the food orders from the over 200 department employees who eat their lunch from what is served in the jail kitchen.

“We got an order! We got an order up, and we got a slammer,” she said. “Come on, Bobby. You need a bun for that?” 

Bobby is a co-worker, working side-by-side with Morelli in the bustling kitchen. 

“Two grilled chicken breasts, cut up. OK, here we go.  Make that three. One is not cut,” Morelli said.

The New Beginning Program is designed to be a hands-up type program. 

“I reached for that hand,” Morelli said, holding her hand close to her chest. “I did, they gave me an offer to come to work, and I took it. I took that hand and kept it.”

“It’s not just Wendy,” Holcomb said. “We’re just highlighting Wendy here. There are folks in the community that I’ve seen that we’ve released from here that are grateful for the help they got, and the opportunities they received,” said Sheriff Holcomb.

Here are some quotes from Wendy that describe her thoughts on the New Beginning Program:

“It gives me a second chance. This is my second chance.” 

“It’s hard out there for a felon for someone that has spent four years in jail.” 

“To have someone to care enough to help someone like me is very emotional.” 

 “I feel it every day in my heart when I walk in here. I feel grateful.” 

Morelli has come full circle — once down and out, but now high up on the mountain top.

“I can hold my head up high, you know, part of society again,” she said. “I know I have to struggle, but I finally have my own home. I have a car, and I have a credit card. I can come and go when I want. It’s amazing to feel this way, and I want anybody who has a felony on their record to know that there are people out there that can help you.”