-My name is Meko. I'm a person in recovery.
-Good morning, Meko.
-I was thinking about, um,
when I was deep in my active addiction,
how, you know,
people used to make all these suggestions to me,
and, uh, I didn't want to change.
I know that because it was familiar.
And when I went to prison, you know,
the evidence was just overwhelming
that it wasn't working for me.
So, as long as I don't use drugs,
and I face my feelings on a daily basis,
I think I'm gonna be a better person.
For that, everybody have a good day.
-Thank you.
-God, grant us the serenity to accept the things
we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
-Whoo! -Sign-in sheets.
-I was born in Roger Williams Projects,
Providence, Rhode Island,
and I started smoking crack cocaine at a really young age.
When I was 14 years old, I got my first charge,
possession of cocaine.
From that, you know, that use progressed,
and I found myself getting into trouble,
you know, doing things like selling drugs,
and, you know, taking people's money for drugs,
and not returning their money.
Debbie, I'll see you tonight.
We'll talk later, okay?
That's, essentially, you know what I mean,
the beginning of a long, hard road of addiction,
you know?
-So, Meko came from prison. -'Sup, Chris?
-Amos House was founded as a house of hospitality.
We have a 90-day treatment program
for the men and women who are homeless,
and from there,
they can go into what we call our phase 2 housing,
so we have permanent housing for about 200 people.
-When I was released from prison,
I wrote a letter probably like five months
prior to being paroled to the Amos House.
I asked them would the Amos House be willing to accept me.
-Most of the folks that come to us
have long histories of incarceration and addiction,
and they're really trying to get their lives back on track.
-[ Singing ] Keep on moving.
Keep on moving, don't stop.
-He, um, started to work on our cleaning crew,
and now he's actually working as a house manager
in the men's 90-day program, where he started.
-What's up, my dear?
-And more recently, Meko has finished the education hours
to become a certified peer-recovery specialist.
-I want to go into the substance-abuse field.
I think that my past is not a liability,
it becomes an asset, because I have lived the life.
Fred! What's up?
How you doing?
-When you talk about fair licensing,
when you talk about housing,
when you talk about these type of things,
there are still barriers for us.
-You know, we have lots of people here
that can't get certain licenses,
so there's a push to eliminate those barriers.
-Okay, and I'll be out of group by, like, 10:50, so...
-PJ did not come through our program,
but she applied for a job here.
She is the coordinator of our women's street outreach program.
-Good morning, good morning, good morning.
-And then, in the residential program,
I also do facilitate three of the groups
that we run here weekly, focused around substance use.
Think of the two most important things for you in your recovery,
things you need to keep at the forefront.
Myself and another colleague use the term
that we're "in recovery from, like, a lifestyle."
So kind of like, you know, hanging with the wrong people,
got in trouble a lot as a teen due to,
you know, being around the wrong crowds, wrong people.
I have been incarcerated twice.
-Knowing that you got to open your mouth and everything.
You take it and you deserve [inaudible].
Like, they should do it,
just like they should be mindful.
I actually served my 30-day sentence
while pregnant with my daughter,
and that was kind of like my turning point, right there.
I realized I was gonna be, like, someone's mom.
I was like, "I can't do this."
Like, "I can't keep doing this."
Like, "I need to change my life.
That's not what a mother looks like."
If you can make it here and get through that,
just like you said, you can make it --
you can make it anywhere.
-She will have a barrier to be able
to getting her license in social work
if we don't change the laws that deny access to certifications
and licenses for folks like PJ because of her felony.
-Another day sober.
[laughter] -We're trying to reduce recidivism,
and then we put all these barriers to employment.
-So, how many people in this room are impacted
by the criminal justice system? -Yeah.
-That's the reason why I'm advocating
and I'm asking the state legislature to pass these bills,
you know, to make it easy for me
to be able to not only have quality of life,
to have a purpose, to have a career,
but also to help my community and give back.
-Closing the door to so many opportunities,
due to someone's background, does not allow them the chance
to have a sustainable income and make a life.
Here, Rocky can chase you this way.
It would mean everything for me to be able to,
you know, not only be productive and reach my career goals
and have a job that I love,
but be able to provide for my family.