What is it to have a second chance? UNITE INDY’s SecondChanceIndy.com web site gives men and women access to a new future—one that is a gateway to a financially secure life, that opens doors to having successful relationships, raising successful children, and becoming self-sufficient and independent.
But second chances are only for those who are willing to do the work. There are a lot of ways to end up inside, but most incarcerated people are not ‘lifers.’ Most are men and women who want a normal life on the outside that is beyond their grasp without some serious help. That’s were where UNITE INDY comes in. For a person who never saw anyone hold down a regular job, a work ethic must be taught. For someone who has gotten through life with their fists, they must be loved. For a person who never had a chance, they need an opportunity.
There will always be those who are released from incarceration, so damaged they will inevitably return. Some are addicts, others have a mental issue. This is the kind of person that killed Officer Seara Burton during a traffic stop just weeks before her wedding. So, yes. There’s a reason we have prisons. But there are lots of valuable people who just want to live a good life, and have a good paying job. So with an understanding employer, a caring mentor, and the training to get it right, most of them can succeed.
In this strange time, when division and offense runs rampant in our society, UNITE INDY has been joined by businesses, government, non-profits, and churches to provide real second chances to those with a criminal record. My mother used to tell me, “You can only do what you can do.” Well, with 12,000 men and women being released from jails and prisons into Marion County every year, we think we can do quite a bit.
Nancy
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