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TWENTY-EIGHT-YEAR-OLD ALONSO READ AS A SINGLE FATHER OF THREE. MAKING SURE HIS CHILDREN ARE FED AND HAVE A ROOF OVER THEIR HEADS IS HIS PRIORITY BUT A BRUSH WITH THE LAW MAY DOING SO NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE IN 2016. HE FACED SOME SERIOUS CHARGES 28 TOTAL CHARGES FIVE OF THEM IN LIFE SENTENCES. THE STATE’S ATTORNEY’S OFFICE DECIDED NOT TO PROSECUTE AND PLACE READS CASE ON THE STET DOCKET FOR YEARS IN RETURN READ HAD TO STAY OUT OF TROUBLE A GREAT DEAL, BUT IT MEANT READS STILL NEEDED A JOB AND A PLACE TO STAY AND EVERYWHERE. HE WENT HE WAS MET WITH DISAPPOINTMENT. THEY LOVE ME AS A PERSON BUT ONCE THEY GET MY BACKGROUND CHECK IS AS IF WE WERE ENEMIES FOR 10 YEARS, NO CALLBACKS. WE FOUND OUT ABOUT A PROGRAM BALTIMORE JUDGE, NICOLE PASTORE CREATED IN 2016 THE DISTRICT COURT RE-ENTRY PROGRAM OR D CREPT A JUDGE REFERS A DEFENDANT TO 17 PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE FOCUSED ON PREPARING EX-OFFENDERS FOR THE WORKPLACE. WE HAD PEOPLE IN OUR COURTROOM EVERY DAY SAYING I DON’T HAVE A JOB. I CAN’T GET A JOB. I HAVE A RECORD THAT PREVENTS ME FROM GETTING A JOB AND IT JUST GOT ME THINKING. I THINK THAT AS JUDGES WE’RE NOT JUST HERE TO PUNISH PEOPLE BUT TO HELP REHABILITATE PEOPLE JUDGE PASTORE REFERRED READ TO A PROGRAM RUN BY THE POWER 52 STATION HE WAS TRAINED AND IS NOW THE OFFICE MANAGER FOR POWER 52 ENERGY SOLUTIONS ARE GOING TO LEAD BY EXAMPLE. WE’D ALSO WORKS AS A MENTOR AND COACH POWER 52 AND 4-D CREP JUDGE PASTORE SAYS SECOND CHANCE PROGRAMS JUST MAKES SENSE TO INCARCERATE SOMEONE IN A MARYLAND PRISON IS FORTY THREE THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED AND EIGHTY DOLLARS FOR ONE YEAR, BUT IT’S COST. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO GIVE THEM A JOB SINCE SEPTEMBER. AND 16 THE PROGRAM HAS GRADUATED 143 PEOPLE AND SOME HAVE RECORDS THAT ARE 17 CONVICTIONS 19 CONVICTIONS. AND SO NO ONE’S HIRING THEM. BUT THESE PROGRAMS HIRE INDIVIDUALS WITH THOSE RECORDS GO IF YOU DON’T HAVE A PLACE GIVING THEM A SECOND CHANCE, THEN THERE IS NO SECOND CHANCE. THE ONLY THING THEY KNOW IS SELLING DRUGS DON’T THINK PEOPLE KNOW IS GET MONEY BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY AND BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY MEANS ANY MEANS NECESSARY. YOU GOT TO LIFT ME UP AND WITHOUT THIS PROGRAM REED SAYS HE DOESN’T KNOW WHERE HE

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One of the biggest obstacles those who've been in the justice system face is finding a job and stability. But there's a district court re-entry program giving those formerly incarcerated a second chance.Alonzo Reed, 28, is a single father of three. Making sure his children are fed and have a roof over their heads is his priority. But a brush with the law made doing so nearly impossible. In 2016, he faced some serious charges."Twenty-eight total charges, five of them being life sentences," Reed said.The Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office decided not to prosecute and placed Reed's case on the STET docket for three years. In return, Reed had to stay out of trouble. It was a great deal, but it meant Reed still needed a job and place to stay. Everywhere he went, he was met with disappointment."They love me as a person, but once they get my background check, it's as if we were enemies for 10 years. No call backs," Reed said.Reed found out about a program created by Baltimore City District Court Judge Nicole Pastore in September 2016. As part of the District Court Re-Entry Project (DCREP), a judge refers a defendant to one of 17 participating organizations that are focused on preparing ex-offenders for the workforce."We had people in our courtroom every day saying, 'I don't have a job, I can't get a job. I have a record that prevents me from getting a job.' And it just got me thinking. I think that, as judges, we're not here to just punish people, but to help rehabilitate people," Pastore said.Pastore referred Reed to a program run by the Power 52 Foundation. He was trained and now is the office manager for Power 52 Energy Solutions. Reed also works as a mentor and coach at Power 52 and for DCREP. Pastore said second-chance programs just make sense."To incarcerate someone in a Maryland prison is $43,480 for one year, but it costs absolutely nothing to give them a job," Pastore said.The program has graduated 143 people."Some have records that are 17 convictions, 19 convictions, so no one is hiring them, but these programs hire individuals with those records," Pastore said."If you don't have a place giving them a second chance, then there is no second chance. The only thing they know is selling drugs, the only thing they know is getting money by any means necessary, and by any means necessary means any means necessary," Reed said. Without the program, Reed said he doesn't know where he'd be.