Voice of San Diego featured Andre, a graduate of Second Chance, as part of its "People at Work" series. The article describes Andre's work as a process server and intake specialist for a legal document preparation firm. It also describes his arrest for grand theft, his short stint in prison and his release on parole. While on parole he participated in Second Chance's Prisoner Re-entry Employment Program (PREP) and graduated in STRIVE class 112 in 2007.

The article describes Second Chance this way:
"He entered a job readiness program that promises inmates emerging from prison or jail a place to live for two months and some help getting acclimated to the ways of the job market -- resume help, computer resources, evaluations of handshake strength. The program is the Prisoner Re-entry Employment Program run by an Encanto non-profit organization, Second Chance. Garrett still pops in weekly to the Second Chance offices -- graduates have wide access to those services for two years after they complete the initial three-week program.

He found his current job, moved to La Mesa and makes weekly check-in calls to his parole officer. The group's motto is "Life ain't fair! It ain't gonna be fair! Eat it! Swallow it! Accept it!" Garrett credits Second Chance -- and class 112, of which he's a proud alumnus -- with a lot of his turnaround.

"It's not how you fall; it's how you get up," he says. "If you don't choose to get up, you're going to stay down."

To read the entire article and watch a video about Andre, click here,

To meet Andre and other graduates like him in person, come to Second Chance's Celebrating 15 Years of Success gala this coming Saturday, September 6, at 6:00 PM. It's not too late to buy tickets! Click here to buy a ticket today!