There are many second chance stories in progress. Some people
have just realized that they have received a second chance. Others are
in the middle of doing something productive with them. Some have had
success and are finding ways to give back. All are inspiring and motivating in their
own ways.
Malcolm Ricks: 'One woman in particular lingered at my stall, and we ended up talking. There was an instant chemistry.'
"There's something to be said for meeting someone when you're homeless. She couldn't have been after my money."
Originally a tree surgeon in Hampshire, England, Malcolm Riggs did not realize he was in financial ruin until it was too late. Finally finding a shelter in a hostel before Christmas 2 years ago, he began to work again by starting a garden with other residents. Eventually he sold the produce and plants at a farmer's market, where he met the "love of his life". When she returned to talk over vegetables, he asked her out and it bloomed into a beautiful relationship. Malcom became so popular at the market, he was hired by enough folks to tend their gardens around Bath, he was able to start his own business and get off benefits with a bit of help from a "Crisis Changing Lives" grant to buy his own tools.
He told the Guardian, "I do not look back at what happened and think what a difficult time it was, but hitting rock bottom stops you from taking anything for granted."
The Guardian; by Malcom Ricks; photo by Mark Chilvers
Geoff Maestas as he plays his guitar in a corner of the South Idaho Correctional Institution Community Work Center. He works weekdays at a local tech firm and hopes to continue working when he wins his release.
Friends and family saved a man and gave him hope.
As reported by Michael Deeds for The Idaho Statesman: "This is a story about a guy next door who was smart and talented and had everything going for him, then threw it all away by doing something stupid and destructive.
A story about a guy who had a great job at Micron Technology and a great talent with music, but who chose to buy and sell marijuana. He lost his job, disappointed his friends, shamed his family and landed himself in an Idaho prison for up to seven years.
But it is also a story about how his friends stood up for him, about how his sister and parents stood by him. And even while Geoff Maestas spent nights behind bars, his friends and family worked to help him find a way to create a thing of singular beauty and grace.
They helped him make an album.
And just maybe they helped Maestas make a new life for himself."
Kenny and Melissa hold their one month old infant son, while talking about their mutual recovery from drug and alcohol addictions.
Grant funds program to help break the family cycle of alcoholism and addiction.
According to the Billings Gazette, Melissa, 41, and Kenny, 53, knew that they had to make a change after their first son died about two years ago."Breaking away from social circles that revolve around intoxication can be one of the hardest parts of getting sober. Many addicts must start over with new friends, new jobs, sometimes even new cities."
Their parents were alcoholics. Everyone they knew growing up drank and did drugs. Access to Recovery is giving them a second chance.
This grant specifically targets American Indians in Montana and Wyoming. The grant helps with treatment as well as support for child care, transportation, and food.
