“In just one day last year, Charles Rivers went from being a supervised parolee to a welcomed professional in the same state office building where one individual held the power to revoke his freedom.

After serving 19 years, nine months and four days in prison, Charles Rivers, 48, returned to Syracuse. N.Y., in 2012 to start again. He worked part-time jobs and started earning his bachelor’s degree. In 2016, he started his first full-time job when PEACE, Inc. hired him to run the South Side PEACE center.”