The Reentry Adaptation Manual was written to assist, guide, and motivate individuals during their transition back into the community. My team and I created this manual because of the passion we have for those that struggle to survive. Who am I? I am an ex-felon, that was incarcerated for eight years and realized that if I wanted to have a decent chance at a productive life I was going to need a plan, so I created one.
The more I planned, the more I realized the challenges and disadvantages that I would have to face once released and also acknowledged how desperately I would I needed help. I created this plan in the solitude of my cell with the intentions of overcoming every obstacle in my way. I began researching and gathering information and putting it all together in a small folder.
By the time I was ready to go home, I had gathered a massive amount of information. Once my plan was created and I found the help I needed, I followed the plan to the best of my ability, and restructured the plan as I progressed. Of course I veered off a couple of times and forgot about my goals, but having my plan written down was a great reminder for me and allowed me to see where I actually faltered. But I made it. It is 12 years later and After getting back on track I can now sit down twelve years later and write this manual as a successful man. It took a while to get to where I am now but only because I didn’t have the amount of support I needed at the time.
Times have changed and so has the amount of resources for ex-felons. My biggest hurdle was finding those resources and that is one of the reasons we created this manual. We want to minimize that hurdle as much as possible for those coming back into the community. This is one of the ways this manual can help you. I was as an ex-felon that nobody wanted to hire and at this moment I am a man with two college degrees, a successful career, a house, two cars, a very nice savings account, and last but certainly not least, pardoned.