Walter Terry, 34, an ex-offender, who now is drug-free and holds a full-time job at Streetwise says, “You have to be active, positive. My job is my foundation. In my spare time, I make meetings. It all plays a part. It’s good to talk about your feelings. If you don’t deal with your feelings, your feelings will deal with you.”

“It’s inspirational,” says Sedrick Waller, 45, an ex-offender whose life has totally turned around. “The meetings feed the body, mind and spirit. People come from all walks of life… looking for a way out. It helped me to keep my commitment to a new way of life, and made me feel like I belonged to someplace. People embrace you for who are you. It’s my family outside of my family… they let you know you’re not alone.” Waller, now employed as an ambulance driver, got married and pays rent. “God makes a way out of no way. Now, I’m giving back to others.” Waller was in and out of the penitentiary eight times, and encourages others to have hope. He has also connected six ex-offenders to employment opportunities.

Stanley Owens, 27, a student in the last stage of getting his truck-driving license, looks forward to the weekly meetings. “Anytime I have questions, I can go to the CSAC meetings for support. You can get good advice; you can’t go wrong.”

Reginald Banks, 39, one of the original members of the Overcomers meetings, now serves as an Outreach Workers at CSAC. “It gave me a whole lot of different outlets. I learned how to stay out of prison, and not go back to the old routines, like using and selling drugs. If you have the mindset to do it, anything’s possible.”