Voices of Hope – Aaron H.
“I moved out when I was 16 years old, and I got caught with armed burglary charges. I was sent to a youthful offender camp and was released in 1999. I stayed out of trouble until 2009 when I got into opiates. I was doing stupid stuff like selling pills and ending up getting caught […]
Voices of Hope – Chassidy P.
“Growing up in Tennessee, I had a good family and didn’t know struggle. But when I was a young teenager, my dad got locked up and my mom got diagnosed with breast cancer. It all started to go downhill from there. We moved to Florida so my mom could get help from family to raise […]
Voices of Hope – Tanaine J.
“If everyone in America was judged only by their worst mistake, what would that look like? Where would we be? How can people be contributing citizens if they don’t have access to jobs they are qualified to do? When no one else is willing to give people with a record an opportunity, Operation New Hope […]
Voices of Hope – Robert B.
“I was a medically retired combat veteran working as a supply and logistics manager when I got into trouble. I knew better, but I broke the law trying to help my sick mother, and I was sentenced to prison. I had no idea how badly a felony conviction would affect my future. The harsh truth […]
Voices of Hope – Matt C.
Matt is building a new life for himself and his family. “Before coming to Operation New Hope, I was homeless, unemployed, and addicted to drugs. I knew I needed help, but I wasn’t sure where to turn. My daughter’s mom Kate enrolled in the Ready4Work program and told me it was helping her change her […]
Voices of Hope – Shawn A.
“Before Operation New Hope, I was hopeless. I started drinking and drugging when I was 12, and by 17, I had done everything I swore I would never do. I entered a vicious cycle of incarceration. By the time I was 19, I got put in the Matrix and thought as long as I didn’t […]
Voices of Hope – Cassie D.
“After I lost my home that I had owned out-right when I couldn’t pay the property taxes because of my addiction to opiates, I was living in an abandoned house with mice, rats, and roaches. I finally hit rock bottom when I snorted a huge line of heroin and fell out on 103rd Street and […]
Voices of Hope – Kate H.
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter Share on linkedin LinkedIn Breaking the Cycle – How Kate is making a better path for herself and her daughter. “I was on drugs since I was 13 years old – everything from marijuana to coke to crack – you name it. I was able to stay […]
Voices of Hope – Jacques D.
“After several years in prison, I got tired of being stagnant. I decided I needed to put things from my past to the side. I came to the realization that prison is a university, and I was going to make the most of that education. I started studying, reading, and learning in order to broaden […]
Voices of Hope – Reba O.
Before coming to Operation New Hope, I was in a really low place mentally and emotionally. I wasn’t dealing with things that were going on in my life in a productive manner, so instead I really had just given up. I stopped caring and that led me to decisions that landed me in jail. Even […]
Voices of Hope – Johnathan N.
After incarceration it’s very difficult to try and reenter society. When you get out of jail, try to reintegrate, and do things on your own, you get so disheartened. You get this sense of not being able to do it because it feels like the world is against you. It was even more difficult for […]
Voices of Hope – Shelby M.
I’m from Gulf Shores, Alabama and I’ve been working in the service industry since I was old enough to work. I started bartending at 21, and it was a lot of fun, but I got into a lot of trouble. When a friend came to visit me and saw the life I was living, she […]
Voices of Hope – Jeremy S.
After years of struggling with drug addiction and unemployment, I was finally ready to make a change in my life. While serving time at Baker Correctional Institution, I heard about Operation New Hope’s Ready4Work program, so I decided to enroll at their St. Augustine location when I got out. The Ready4Work program helped me so […]
Voices of Hope – Caleb G.
My mom and dad partied a lot when I was growing up, and I didn’t know any different. I just thought that’s how you lived. As a teenager, I started taking pills that led to harder and harder stuff, and I ended up a junkie. I was homeless and in and out of jail. I […]
Voices of Hope – Michael J.
I was at the Columbia Work Camp serving my 6th year in prison when I hear about Operation New Hope. I wrote to get more information and was accepted into the Ready4Release program. It was such a relief to know that my housing was arranged prior to my release, so I knew I had somewhere […]
Voices of Hope – Kory L.
When I was release from jail, I was staying at St. Francis homeless shelter in St. Augustine. I didn’t know what I was going to do or how I was going to do it. I don’t have an education and my rap sheet isn’t the best, so I knew I needed to do something. But […]