How Vladimir Truly Became Free

Vladimir found new direction when he came to Fortune.

“Everything changed when I came here. Now, I think: What’s my career going to be? Am I going to finish school? Do I want to go to college? You know. I started thinking big instead of small.”

 
After successfully completing our Alternatives to Incarceration, Education, Employment, and Mental Health programs, Vladimir became a staff member. He now works to connect others with services that made a difference in his life. He says “When participants first come in, they are angry. When they leave, they have a better image of themselves and what they can do in life.”

Vladimir’s transformation would not have been possible without support from individuals like you. Help people like Vladimir reimagine their freedom after incarceration. .

“If I hadn’t come to Fortune, I would probably still be in the streets, incarcerated, or dead,” recalls Vladimir.

 
“I was so focused on wanting to do just me. I was part of gang life. I was hustling. I didn’t care about anything. I gave up on school,” he says.

Through reentry services and advocacy efforts, you helped The Fortune Society support 7,223 individuals over this past year in rebuilding and transforming their lives.

Though people released from incarceration are no longer behind bars, there are many hurdles that can prevent them from truly being free. Poverty, stigmatization, and legal barriers to securing housing, employment, education, mental health, and other stabilizing factors compound the challenge of successfully reentering the community.

In fact, 65% of individuals who come to Fortune earn less than $1,000 per year in reported household income—well below the poverty line. In addition, 85.5% of our participants are unemployed and one in five reported experiencing homelessness at intake.

From working to close Rikers Island jail complex to providing housing and employment opportunities, your support is critical to helping people thrive in the community after incarceration. Support individuals like Vladimir truly become free. .

Together, we can reimagine freedom for thousands of individuals like them.