When Daniel came home from prison, he thought his decades of experience in behavioral health and his advanced education would help him land on his feet. Instead, he found himself facing a wall that far too many reentering society knows well: employers who won’t look past a criminal record, no matter how qualified the applicant may be.
“I have 20 years experience in my field and I’m finishing my PhD very soon, but none of that mattered. I couldn’t get a job at McDonald’s when I first came home to Philadelphia,” Daniel says.
Daniel, now 58, spent two years incarcerated, and the impact on his career was immediate. Because of his arrest, Daniel cannot work in his field for five years because his license to practice has been suspended.
“So I had to explore other options,” Daniel says. “I had no choice. But almost nobody wants to hire someone who has been through the justice system.”
For someone who had spent decades helping others – with a master’s degree in human services and a mental health specialty, as well as an alcohol counseling certificate – being shut out of his profession was devastating.
But Daniel’s story begins long before his incarceration. He grew up in a small family in Liberia before fleeing the civil war and coming to the United States at age 34. He built a life in Philadelphia, raising children, volunteering in his community, and staying active in politics, church groups, and local organizing.
But coming home after prison meant starting over from scratch. He was living with a friend, applying for job after job, and getting nowhere.
That’s when the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) stepped in.
The CEO Philadelphia office hired Daniel on one of their transitional work crews – teams that beautify the city streets while giving people returning to society immediate paid work and support. For Daniel, it was the first real opportunity he’d been offered since coming home. He showed up every day, worked hard, and began to rebuild his confidence.
After six months on the crew, Daniel told his supervisor he wanted to pursue a commercial driver’s license (CDL). Once he qualified for the advanced training pathways program, the team helped him prepare for the DMV permit test, covered his trucking school tuition, paid for his bus fare and work clothes, and provided a stipend so he could attend classes full‑time for three months.
“CEO helped me tremendously because I couldn’t afford the tuition for trucking school,” says Daniel. “They also helped me stay on track through some difficult times with my reentry.”
Even with his CDL, Daniel still faced discrimination. One trucking company paid him below minimum wage. Another treated him poorly because of his background. But he kept going – applying at dozens of places trying to get a quality job.
Eventually, he found a fair chance employer: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), the public transportation agency for Philadelphia.
At the time of his hire, SEPTA had been going through some difficult times financially, and Daniel had doubts as to if he’d be able to stay there.
Nevertheless, Daniel remained positive and is now halfway through the three‑month training program with the transit agency, learning defensive driving, pedestrian awareness, and the complex rules of operating a city bus. Three students train together with an experienced driver, and after passing three exams, Daniel will become a full‑time SEPTA driver. It’s stable work, a living wage, and a path forward.
“I’m fairly happy with my situation now,” Daniel says. “I have a new apartment, a new job, and I see my kids regularly. I can’t ask for much more right now.”
He still volunteers in Southwest Philadelphia, organizing against gun violence and staying deeply connected to his community. And one day, he hopes to return to the organization that helped him rebuild. “I’d like to work for CEO eventually,” says Daniel.
Daniel’s journey is a reminder of what’s possible when people are given a real chance – not just a second chance, but a fair one. CEO didn’t just help him find work; they helped him find stability.
And that allowed Daniel to focus on the things that mattered most: finding a quality job and reconnecting with his family.
Now having done both, Daniel gives thanks to the CEO staff and the people in his life who stuck by him through tough times. He likes his new job and receives a monthly work retention incentive from CEO. And in time, he’ll return to the work he’s most passionate about: helping others stay mentally well.
“CEO puts you in a position to succeed, but you still have to do the work,” Daniel says. “I’m confident that I can do the work.”
