Rebuilding Lives. Strengthening Communities.

“This taught me who I really
am and what my work ethic
is. I like to work hard.”
MAYORAL POLICY CAUCUS ON PRISONER REENTRY
with him, and was nearly killing
me. He nearly drove me insane.
One day, I put a knife to his
throat.” At that point, Theresa
says, she called her mother, who
got her out of Aurora and took
her to a state mental hospital
for an evaluation. There she
received counseling and group
therapy for about one week.
When she was released from
the state mental hospital, she
wasn’t welcome in her stepfather’s
home. So Theresa
returned to Aurora to her “new
crack family.” “I had no other
choice but to go back to the
streets,” she explains. “I went
back to the same situation with
the same man, who had the right
kind of money at the right time.”
A few months later she was
caught at a grocery store with a
stolen check. “I was sick and
tired. I saw the cashier go to the
phone, I knew she was calling
the police, but I just gave up. I
was done. I didn’t want to do it
anymore.”
At 24 years old, she spent one
more year at Decatur
Correctional Center. She
received her sanitation license
and took additional college
classes in culinary arts, but was
not able to complete them
because her “time was up.”
When planning for her release,
she chose to go to a recovery
home, and then she later moved
to a supportive housing residence
for formerly incarcerated
women. “My life did a 360,” she
recalls. “I knew that the life I
was living wasn’t me. I didn’t
want to run the streets anymore.
I wanted a relationship
with my son. I didn’t want to be
who I used to be.” During her
time in the supportive housing
residence, she took advantage of
treatment, outpatient therapy
and job training programs. She
also attended a job readiness
preparation course at another
community-based social service
agency and participated in their
social enterprise program. “This
taught me who I really am and
what my work ethic is. I like to
work hard.”
Theresa currently is employed
at a Chicago museum performing
maintenance work. “I like my
job, but it is not the job I really
want. I could do better. But
with my background, I don’t
have much choice. Many
employers just turn their cheek
and give me an excuse about
why they can’t hire me when
they see an ‘X’ on my back,” she
describes.
Theresa moved into her own
rent-subsidized apartment three
months ago through a referral
from her caseworker, where she
pays 30 percent of her monthly
income. She is hoping to get
into school to pursue an
Associate’s Degree in a business-related
field, when she can
save enough money. She also
speaks about her background
upon requests from advocacy
organizations.
“My biggest obstacle right now,”
she says, “is finances and time.
I’m just not used to all of life’s
responsibilities. But I sit back
and look at my apartment, and I
feel good. I feel good about how
I earned it. I’m going for that
number one spot, and I’m not
going to stop before I get there.
I want to have my own business,
be happy and stay clean.”
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