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Darnell Ford is the property manager at Valor Ridge, an aftercare housing facility for Men of Valor, a local prison ministry.
By the time I got my “second chance,” I had acquired 11 felonies and had been in at least five different county jails.
I had been given other chances, of course, but up until then, I had passed them all up.
Today, I am a changed man.
Not only am I a free man, but I work for Men of Valor, the prison ministry I credit for being the agent of change in my life. As the prison ministry’s property manager, I am responsible for overseeing Valor Ridge, our aftercare housing facility for the formerly incarcerated.
Daren Swenson is the vice president of Reentry Partnerships and Innovation at CoreCivic.
Again this year, the federal government has officially designated the month of April as Second Chance Month. It s a time to raise public awareness about the need to give those who have been convicted of crimes and completed their sentences a real opportunity for an honest second chance at successfully reentering our communities.
At CoreCivic, this focus on reentry and reducing recidivism has been and continues to be a major part of what we do year-round because we believe we have a moral, social and economic obligation to provide those who have been entrusted into our care with the tools they need to successfully reenter their communities upon their release and to stay out of prison.