BIRMINGHAM – In honor of April being Second Chance Month, we’ve reached out to Coseen J. Smith, one of our successful Day Reporting Center participants. Here is his story:
My journey has been one of uncertainty. I wasted many years of my life running in circles committing crimes to only realize that I was ruining my life. I would not have thought in the beginning, as a 15-year-old Black youth in the City of New York, that I would have gone through so much trauma throughout my life.
I was in and out of correctional facilities and causing my family to bear the stress which is not something that could be undone. But now I have learned so much along the way and met so many amazing people. I am grateful for those experiences and the awesome people God placed in my life.
I was troubled in so many ways including my thinking, my understanding, and my actions. Today, as a violence intervention specialist at Offender Alumni Association in partnership with the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the Alabama Department of Public Health, I was able to redefine my position in society by becoming a part of the solution instead of being a part of the problem.
I was tired of tearing down my community. With the support of Birmingham Day Reporting Center and Offender Alumni Association, my failures have become my triumphs.