Invest in Someone's Second (or Third) Chance

Second chances aren’t just nice ideas. For many in recovery, they’re survival.

After incarceration, addiction, or trauma, it takes more than sobriety to rebuild a life. It takes someone willing to offer trust and belief again. Without that belief, people end up defined by their worst mistake, not their future potential.

At PARS, we spoke with “Casey”, whose true name PARS has concealed out of respect for their privacy. Casey knows the value of a second chance firsthand. Their story is proof that real change doesn’t happen in isolation, it happens when someone opens a door that others have closed.

Casey’s longstanding battle with addiction left them hopeless, justice involved, and unable to win parental rights for their child. “Did I want to change? Did I want something different? Of course,” Casey told us. “But I wasn’t able to do it by myself.”

In recovery, personal desire is only part of the equation. Even with the strongest willpower, people coming out of addiction and incarceration face massive systemic barriers, especially when it comes to housing, employment, and basic community support.

“It’s hard to find a job. It’s hard to find [a place to care for a child]. And it’s hard to feel like you belong anywhere,” Casey explained. In that space between wanting change and being able to reach it, even one opportunity can become a lifeline.

For them, that lifeline came through something deceptively simple: a phone call.

Casey had just recently moved out of one treatment facility and into another. They moved in with someone and within just a few weeks found themselves in another situation where they had to choose between going back to a life of selling pills or picking up and moving again. 

“I ended up moving back home. At the time, I was [figuring out what to do] with my second kid, fighting to get my first kid back from the state, and I’m walking home from work one day when my attorney calls me and says, “There’s an open spot at the office as the front desk person. Would you be interested in taking that position?”

Casey couldn’t believe their ears.

“I told [my attorney] on multiple accounts that they called the wrong person, that [my attorney] doesn’t understand who they called, that I’m the wrong contact. But my attorney assured me that they had called the right person, that they knew who they were talking to, and they were offering me the position. I said yes!”

Casey took the job and never looked back.

“My attorney would fight for me in court when they didn’t have to,” Casey continued. “Not just in court, but after court. They would march back in the court hearing and stick up for me despite what my actions were, despite all the things I had done wrong in between court hearings. It was just people like that who would fight for me when I didn’t see myself going anywhere.”

That offer, a desk job and someone who believed they could handle it, was a spark. And from there, small acts of trust and support kept the flame alive. 

Recovery is never a single moment. It’s an ongoing process. And it doesn’t thrive on judgment or distance; it thrives on human connection. As Casey put it, “Every time someone believed in me, it helped me believe in myself a little more.”

These second (and sometimes third or fourth) chances don’t just help people survive. They give people a reason to grow. To contribute. To thrive. And it all starts when someone is willing to look past a record or a résumé and see a person instead.

Take Action: Be Someone’s Second Chance

• Hire someone in recovery. Don’t dismiss candidates because of past mistakes. Look at their present potential. Every job is an opportunity for stability, self-worth, and forward momentum.
• Mentor someone starting over. Your experience, empathy, and time can be transformative. Just being a consistent, nonjudgmental listener matters more than you think.
• Refer instead of reject. If you can’t help directly, pass along a name, a resource, or a connection. A single referral can change someone’s entire trajectory.
• Advocate for systemic second chances. Support fair hiring practices and policies that expand housing, education, and recovery access for people reentering society. Change at the policy level starts with individual voices.
• Stay present for the long haul. Recovery isn’t linear and it doesn’t end when someone gets a job or completes a program. Show up again and again. Encouragement fuels resilience.

When someone is trying to rebuild their life, they don’t need perfection. They need one person willing to say: “I see who you are. I believe in who you could be.” Be that person. When you invest in someone’s second (or third) chance, you’re not just giving them an opportunity, you’re giving them hope.

If you’d like to share your story or help others, tell theirs, add your voice to “Human: A Project by PARS Topeka.” Contact PARS at (785) 266-8666 or email: info@parstopeka.org.