As a semi-truck tow driver for a major company in Kentucky, John spends his days hauling everything from box trucks to tractor-trailers to and from depots and garages throughout the Midwest. Today, he says it’s a job that he not only enjoys but that also provides an experience he has dreamed about.
“I’ve always wanted to travel on the open road,” John said.
“Now I have a skill and a career that I can use to one day see the whole country that way.”
More importantly, in 2022, just before his release from prison after serving four years for a nonviolent offense, John promised his mother he would turn his life around. She passed away before he left, but he is determined to keep that promise.
“She told me to try, so I’m doing everything I can.”
His first step was getting a long-overdue education. Growing up, John had always struggled in school and, despite his best efforts, never graduated from high school. Years later, while he was incarcerated, he finally received testing and discovered the reason for his earlier academic struggles.
“Whenever I read, I could see all the letters just fine, but putting them together always clogged my brain up, and I could never pronounce them,” he said.
“Turns out I have ADHD and Dyslexia.”
After being released, John entered a transitional housing program where he attended church and joined regular group recovery and support meetings. This setting gave him the space and stability he needed to study for the GED. Because of his diagnosis, when he finally took the test, the GED program provided him with someone to read it to him and extra time to complete it. As a result, he passed his exam.
“I had been trying since 2003, and I finally did it,” John said.
Earning his GED showed John what he could achieve when given a fair chance. Afterwards, he connected with the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) in Louisville, did transitional work beautifying neighborhoods, and received job coaching and resume help.
At CEO, he met people who welcomed him and shared similar backgrounds. He learned how to interview, use computers for job applications, and as a result of that, he gained confidence. When a crew leader left for medical reasons, he volunteered to take over.
“They helped me, so I wanted to help them,” he said.
While John leaned into achieving his goals, he enrolled in an advanced training pathways program which offered him to study for his Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) while having the cost of the training covered. John passed his CDL exam and obtained his license. CEO also connected him with employment opportunities at trucking organizations throughout the city. Two months later, he was hired to drive an eighteen-wheeler for a local trucking company.
This new career allows John to fulfill his dream of cross-country travel and provides a steady, comfortable living with benefits, as well as 28 percent of revenue from each load he hauls. With his new income, he saved, rented a home, and bought two cars. Moreover, he’s reconnected with his son and granddaughter, plans to strengthen these relationships in his free time, and recently took a week-long vacation to Alaska. Ultimately, he hopes to own a house.
“I love what I’m doing, my bosses all appreciate my hard work, and now I just want to spend my time with my family, spoil my granddaughter, and maybe eventually find a house of my own out in the country,” he said.
“I know now that it’s not about how we mess up, but how we get back up from the mess that matters.”
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