Q: Tell us about you, your journey, and the organization you work for.

I’m a program director with Carry the Vision, and I’m also chair of the Santa Clara County Community Advisory Board.

With REDF, I have been working on a social enterprise that we created at Carry the Vision, called Rooted, offering reuse and recycling services for clothing and other household items. We host events and reach out to the community to collect donations while creating job opportunities for those who are justice-impacted or face other barriers to employment. We work in collaboration with Goodwill, too.

And we’re doing this project in the area where I grew up, so I hold it even closer to my heart!

Q: Tell us about a time you received a fair chance. What was made possible by that fair chance?

While in prison in 2018, officers gave me a choice. Either you can be kicked out and go hang out with those guys over there that are continuously doing the same stuff that got you here, or you can step away from that lifestyle, and we will put you into a program called Breaking Barriers. That’s an in-custody program here in Santa Clara County.

That was my fair chance, an opportunity to be able to change my life and change my ways.

And if I didn’t do it, I probably wouldn’t be here now; it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

Q: What does “fair chance” mean to you as a justice-impacted leader leading a newly created social enterprise?

To me, fair chance is the opportunity of giving back. It’s opening the doors for those who face barriers and those facing struggles. When Rooted offers you the opportunity of entering our social enterprise, I believe that they give you that fair chance, that fair opportunity, to want to change.

I was telling someone the other day, ‘You know, success to me may be different than success for you. And to me, it’s as long as I open that door of opportunity for you, and give you that push to whatever version of success you’re looking for, then by all means, that’s what I’m here for.’ I’m willing to plant that seed and watch it sprout, and make it grow together. And if not, I’m still here for you, I’m not going to close the door because people didn’t close the door for me.’

That, to me, is a fair chance.

Q: A fair chance is____.

A fair chance is another opportunity to enjoy life out here.

More on Carry the Vision/Rooted.

More than 30,000 people return home from incarceration each year in Santa Clara County. REDF partnered with the Office of Diversion and Reentry Services to found the Santa Clara County Regional Initiative for Social Enterprise (SCC:RISE), widening access to jobs through the startup and growth of new enterprises.

REDF worked with SCC:RISE partner Carry the Vision to prepare their new employment social enterprise, Rooted, for launch.