When Terrence* was sentenced to 12 years in prison for acting as an accomplice in a home robbery, he says his life crashed. This wasn’t the first time he’d been in prison. He’d served other sentences for dealing in stolen car parts, but this time, it was different. This time, he said, “I lost a lot of things, a lot of respect. I hated myself.”
As a husband and father of eleven children, he says for the first time in his life, he felt embarrassed, and he knew he had done that to himself. He didn’t want that lifestyle anymore. He wanted to change.
Fortunately for Terrence, Journey to New Life was in the right place at the right time to help him after he was released from prison. And he doesn’t hold back in articulating his gratitude for all that the organization did for him.
“When you first come out, you don’t have anything,” he said. “I didn’t have rent, I didn’t have bill money. Journey helped me get a lot of that. They helped me with clothing, bus passes, jobs and gas cards to go places that the bus didn’t go. Basically, my whole life has been surrounded by Journey. Journey to New Life has been kind of my go-to person anytime I have a problem.”
This year, Terrence lost one of his children, a devastating experience that set him back not only emotionally but also financially as he worked to cover his son’s funeral expenses.
“Journey has pulled me through a lot of situations,” he said. “Recently, with the loss of my son, Journey was there for that.”
Journey has been a lifeline for a lot of people. Without Journey, I’m pretty sure, I can almost guarantee, I would not be talking to you.
— Terrence
The loss of his son really hit Terrence hard and brought many emotions that he’d been suppressing to the forefront. “I was in prison when my mother and father passed, and my oldest sister,” he said. “So yeah, it took a toll on me. I didn’t grieve until I think after my son passed. And that’s when everything hit me at one time.”
With the help of Journey to New Life, he’s been able to deal with that grief and better understand the decisions he made in the past and the decisions he wants to make in the future. “If any guy tells you when he comes out of prison he’s whole, he’s lying. You’re broken, and everybody knows you’re broken.” he said. “Anyone who comes out of prison, I don’t care if you served anywhere from 10 days to 120 years, or how many years you did. You get out, you’re not the same person because I’m not.” He credits Rita, the Journey to New Life staff and the other clients who formed a support group for helping him face who he’s been and who he wants to be.
Thanks to Journey, he says he’s learned to seek help when he needs it, to set goals and to be optimistic about the future. He has goals and dreams now.
Terrence has an affinity for classic cars, and somewhat jokingly, he says he’d like to own a classic car again someday — a ’67 Chevelle, in particular. Beyond that, he said, “I want to own my own house. I used to own it. I lost a lot of things, you know, the prison takes this stuff. If you go to prison in Missouri, and you own something, they take it. It’s not yours anymore.”
Today, Terrence is well on his way to accomplishing whatever he sets his mind to, including that ’67 Chevelle.
*The client’s name has been changed to protect his family.
