The mayor of Columbus is working to provide felons with job training, mental health resources and the opportunities to work when they return to society. The “Free the Future” initiative aims to educate Chattahoochee Valley citizens about re-entry–the barriers formerly incarcerated individuals face in obtaining gainful employment.

In the United States, over 600,000 people are released from prison each year, and three-quarters of them are rearrested within five years of their release. News Leader 9 spoke with a man with a criminal background who said that when he got out of prison in May of last year, a second chance program gave him a way to provide for his family.

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