I know there are some who may be asking "why do we need to help these people". Simply put it gives opportunity, and hope of a different life to those formally incarcerated that like it or not, will someday return to the streets. One of the biggest challenges facing those released from prisons and jails is deciding what to do now. Most are out of touch with life in this new world they have entered, and depending on the amount of time spent inside it can be quite overwhelming. Trying to navigate in a world you left and in some cases decades ago can put fear and cause anxiety in these men, I was one of these, I went to prison in 1986 and was released in 2016 and it was as if I were placed in a new world I knew nothing about. Without the help of places like Stepping Stones I have no doubt I would have sunk back into my life of addiction and criminality. Having someone to support this transition and provide drug counseling, life skills classes, programs that allowed me to realize and work on reinventing myself in a clean and sober as well as safe living environment has given me the opportunity to become a productive member of society and give back to those I have taken so much from. No, it will not work for all, overcoming a life time of "Stinking Thinking" is at times hard to do because its how we survived, but Stepping Stones gives a person the chance to learn a new way of living if they want it. So when asked why, tell them it reclaims Humanity, provides a safer California and saves money in the long term and in addition rebuilds families. Its Gods work after all it was said "Whatsoever you do for the least of my brothers that you do for me. Don out.
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