Prison Fellowship: The Art of Starting Over
/All people are created in God's image, and no life is beyond His reach.For more than 40 years, Prison Fellowship® has served prisoners, former prisoners, and their families on the road to restoration. Through an amazing awakening to new hope and life purpose, those who once broke the law are transformed and mobilized to serve their neighbors, replacing the cycle of crime with a cycle of renewal.At Prison Fellowship, we "remember those in prison." We believe in second chances, and that prison should be a place of rehabilitation. Through our programs, we offer incarcerated men and women hope, encouragement, and support, so that people like Anthony can be transformed.[gallery type="slideshow" size="full" ids="2730,2732"]Photos: Prison Fellowship The story of Anthony Ramirez by Emily Andrews published on the Prison Fellowship website is a jaw-dropper, both in writing and photography. Read the full story and see the photo essay by clicking here.
Every time I got out of jail, my time on the outside got smaller and smaller. My fourth time on parole, on the seventh day, I broke into someone's house in the middle of the day. I ran, hid, got caught, and was taken to jail. I thought I was looking at home invasion—that's a life sentence in California.I was coming down off a three-day high when I woke up in my cell, and I knew something wasn't right. Something had changed. Normally I'd been in there, and thought, OK, back in the yard, it's program time. Earn some more tattoos, meet some more fellas, and get to a higher-level yard. But that day it wasn't the same. I felt really, really low. I thought, Man, this is it. I'm done.