Participant Stories

For the majority of his adult life, Jesse was caught in a cycle of incarceration, separated from the people who mattered most. When you are behind bars, fatherhood becomes a game of catch-up played through broken connections. For Jesse, the scariest part of coming home wasn’t the reentry process itself—it was the fear that his children wouldn't truly know who he was.

Ontario still remembers the moment something didn’t sit right. He was taking an OSHA safety training course earlier this year for the Union Pre-apprenticeship Program offered through a partnership with the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) in Buffalo. Ontario was scanning through the standard personal protective equipment (PPE) required on construction sites – hard hats, gloves, and harnesses. Everything had a purpose. Everything had a design.

At 43, Jared’s entire life has been shaped by both privilege and struggle. He grew up outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in an upper-class family, and by his account, life looked normal and happy: school, family vacations, and the expected milestones. He went to college and earned a bachelor’s degree. But after graduation, the partying continued, and over time it deepened alongside disillusionment and mental health issues he says he did not know how to manage.

For the one in three California adults living with a past conviction, searching for a job is rarely a level playing field. Even when a candidate possesses the exact skills and work ethic an employer needs, the traditional background-check process frequently functions as an automatic barrier to employment. Under current loopholes in the state's hiring laws, qualified job seekers are routinely pressured to relitigate their pasts during interviews—long before a formal, conditional job offer is even on the table.

When Damien first came home after incarceration, life felt unfamiliar. “It was very unreal,” he recalls. “I struggled to find employment. People kept turning me down for basic things because I was fresh out. I had a record. I didn’t want to ask for help and I felt like I had to figure everything out on my own.” Like many people returning home, Damien faced barriers that went beyond employment. Reentry came with pressure, uncertainty, and the emotional weight of trying to rebuild while carrying the experiences of incarceration with him. At one point, it all became overwhelming.

The quiet, tree-lined streets of Palmyra, New York, looked like the picture-perfect place to raise a family. It was an upper-middle-class small town where neighbors left their front doors unlocked. Outside the house, Chad was an energetic, athletic kid who loved playing every sport available. But behind closed doors, reality looked entirely different for him.

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.