Rebuilding Lives. Strengthening Communities.

Ramon C. is a 51-year-old
Real Life
Ramon grew up in Puerto Rico.
His parents separated when he
was a young boy. He dropped
out of school in the tenth grade,
worked for a while, and then
moved to Aurora, Illinois to live
with his father when he was 20
years old. Once he got settled,
he sent for his mother to join
him.
In spite of his language barriers,
Ramon was able to find employment
relatively easily after his
move to the United States. He
landed a good position at a steel
manufacturing company with a
variety of responsibilities,
although primarily as a forklift
operator, and he spent 13 years
there. During this time, Ramon
got married, had two daughters,
and bought a house. However,
he also got involved, as he
recounts, with “drugs and drinking
and partying with his
friends.” He quickly began using
and selling drugs all the time.
His wife divorced him.
In 1991, Ramon was convicted
of delivery of controlled substances,
and sentenced to
Vandalia Correctional Center
for three years. While in prison,
he completed a GED course
and received his certificate.
Then he was transferred to the
Fox Valley Adult Transition
Center (Fox Valley) in Aurora.
“My time there allowed me to
do what I needed to do to
improve my life,” Ramon recalls.
At Fox Valley, he got his state
identification card, and ultimately
secured employment in shipping
and receiving at a local
meat packing plant.
After his release, Ramon continued
working at the meat
packing plant. With this salary
and his savings from Fox Valley,
he was able to rent his own
apartment. But shortly thereafter,
he remembers, “I started
drinking again, getting high, and
resumed the lifestyle that I
knew—selling drugs. I was missing
days at work and coming in
late. It was hard to keep a job
when you are living this way. I
was tired, and I didn’t take care
of myself.” He quit.
In 1996, he was incarcerated for
narcotics distribution and spent
two years at Jacksonville
Correctional Center (Jacksonville).
When he was discharged,
he hopped on a bus back to
Aurora and cashed his paycheck.
Since he had not earned much
money in prison, he couldn’t
afford his own place. He stayed
at a mission for a few months. “I
needed to work,” he explains,
“but the rules of the mission didn’t
allow me to have a job. I soon
moved in with a friend.”
Ramon C.
Hispanic male.
Ramon’s job search became
more difficult at this point. He
relied on “temp agencies” for
assistance. Although he was no
longer selling drugs, he was still
using them. Because of his
addiction, he kept “jumping from
job to job” as employers would
fire him or he would quit. “I
kept doing the same thing that I
was doing,” he says. “It led me
right back to prison.”
In 2001, he was arrested again
and sent to Jacksonville for
another three-and-a-half years.
Before his release, he talked to
his prison counselor. “I had no
place to go and I knew I had to
change this time for real.” His
counselor referred him to a
supportive housing residence in
Chicago. “I could start over
here. I kept myself busy,”
Ramon explains. “I took advantage
of various programs—job
readiness, anger management,
support groups, drug treatment.
They showed me how to fix my
life. I was doing day labor jobs
to earn a little income, and the
staff worked with me to find stable
employment.”
Ramon has been clean for four
years now. He recently found a
position at a plastics factory,
although it is in the suburbs, and
is low-paying, with no overtime
or benefits. “I have a two-hour
commute to the factory. I leave
my apartment at 5:30 a.m. and
make three different transitions
—I catch a bus, then a train,
then another bus to arrive on
time at 8:00 a.m.,” he describes.
According to Ramon, the
biggest challenge for former
prisoners like him is “finding
places that will give us a chance.
We need more opportunities.
Although there are good jobs
out there, they are hard to find,
especially for someone with a
record.” But he says, just as
important, “you must work to
stay clean and, to succeed, you
have to want to help yourself
stay out of trouble.”
“You must work
to stay clean
and, to succeed,
you have to
want to help
yourself stay
out of trouble.”
MAYORAL POLICY CAUCUS ON PRISONER REENTRY
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