Meet Julius. In May 2009, Julius was released from prison and wasn’t sure what his next step should be, but he had heard about OWL while incarcerated and decided to give it a try. He started on the LMC production floor and a few months later worked his way up to the position of quality technician- which is a supervisor role that comes with an increase in responsibility, a raise and an office. Julius says that OWL “gave him a chance” and...

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“when you give somebody with ambition

a chance that can make all the difference."

 

Julius used the experience, skills and opportunities he gained at OWL to go on and do great things. He is now the Director of Re-Entry Services at Lexington Rescue Mission where he serves Fayette and surrounding counties and helps ex-offenders make the transition to life outside prison walls. He has also won an array of awards from community organizations such as “Outstanding Citizen” at OWL, “Father of the Year” at UK’s Fatherhood Initiative, and “Volunteer of the Year” at the Lexington federal prison.

 

He says that working at OWL gave him the ability to provide proof that he was a good worker and he also attributes a personal change in mentality to his time at OWL, or as it calls it, OWL came him a “bird's eye view”. Being given the opportunity to work in a supervisor’s role allowed Julius to gain a new perspective and think of the bigger picture beyond his own problems. This is what he says helped him decide to go to school and earn his bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Kentucky, with a focus in re-entry. He wanted to look beyond his own experience in prison and see the community and its issues from the big picture.​