Participant Stories

When Stephen talks about his hometown of Pontiac, Michigan, he lights up. “The whole block was family, man. We all grew up together.” Raised by his grandmother with ten siblings and countless cousins nearby, Stephen spent his youth playing basketball and hanging out in the neighborhood. After high school, he enrolled in community college to study HVAC – he came from a strong family where entrepreneurship was common, and he was encouraged to learn a trade.

For Dewayne, the goal was always simple: find steady work, earn a living, and move forward. Growing up in Cleveland, he learned early that hard work was non-negotiable. Showing up, putting in effort, and staying focused were values he carried with him even when the opportunities in front of him didn’t match that level of commitment.

Born and raised in New Orleans, Charbaney comes from a place that knows firsthand what it means to rebuild from the ground up. Today, the 39-year-old mother of four is now doing that herself – rebuilding her life.

As a semi-truck tow driver for a major company in Kentucky, John spends his days hauling everything from box trucks to tractor-trailers to and from depots and garages throughout the Midwest. Today, he says it’s a job that he not only enjoys, but that also provides an experience he has dreamed about. ​ “I’ve always wanted to travel on the open road,” John said. ​ “Now I have a skill and a career that I can use to one day see the whole country that way.”

It took Andre 63 years to finally get to this place in his life: a quality job, stable housing, a reliable vehicle, strong relationships, and a healthy mind, body, and soul. While this may be a less-than-exciting yet important goal for most Americans, for people with a substance use disorder, having basic necessities and living a balanced life can be a tremendous challenge.

Every day, Angel helps unhoused individuals navigate some of the hardest times in their lives. As a behavioral health peer specialist for Sacramento County’s Homeless Engagement and Response Team (HEART), he connects people to food, medical assistance, and mental health services, and helps them find housing and shelter resources. Most importantly, he shows them that change is always possible.

Today, living in a new apartment and working multiple part-time jobs, George is finally able pursue the career he gave up years ago and begin studying to become a certified member of his local carpenters' union. The union specializes in diverse construction projects, including commercial construction, scaffolding, pile driving, and historic renovations throughout Louisiana. Working for them will provide the kind of job security George says he has always wanted and needed.

At 64, Kim knows the importance of getting another chance in life, and he’ll do anything not to squander it. After spending nearly two decades behind bars, the father of three girls recalls the feeling he had when coming home to his family and a brave new world.

Growing up in Detroit, George remembers his mother getting on the city bus to go to her job downtown and telling him that he could build something better. “My mom would tell me I could be somebody,” George says. “She believed that.” Having only met his father twice, it fell on George’s mother to raise him and his three siblings, and his grandparents, who worked for Detroit public schools. They would always stress that an education is the most important thing to have in life.

For Ahmad, Ramadan is not a break from life, it’s a time to sharpen it. As a member of the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) Emerging Leaders Program (ELP), Ahmad approaches this Ramadan season the same way he approaches his personal growth: intentionally, critically, and with an expectation of producing positive results. He is justice-impacted and grounded in the teachings of Islam, focused on becoming better each year than he was the year before.

When Daniel came home from prison, he thought his decades of experience in behavioral health and his advanced education would help him land on his feet. Instead, he found himself facing a wall that far too many reentering society knows well: employers who won’t look past a criminal record, no matter how qualified the applicant may be.

Alex always loved working on cars. As a young man in Colorado Springs, he worked as a mechanic right after high school. He became so good at the job that he was soon working for several major dealerships around the city.