Lee Dixon entered the workforce after graduating high school. He envisioned his life as one where he would make a healthy sum of money and build a family, not spending ten years in state prison.
Before going in front of a judge, Lee was like many hard workers. He says his friendships at his job were strong as the steel he was working with. But, as the years went on, habits began to form.
“We would work all night long and all day long,” said Lee.
After a long day’s work, Lee and his coworkers would go to the local bar. This routine would continue for six years. After that, this hobby started to turn into a lifestyle for Lee. He recalls even bringing liquor to work to get through the day.
In 2006, Lee’s new lifestyle became the gateway to a new life behind bars.
“I left the bar and was headed home when a car pulled out in front of me, and I hit a car,” Lee recalls. “I went to court, they convicted me, and I had to do ten years flat in prison.”
Lee served his entire sentence. In the days leading to his release in 2016, Lee knew his new challenge would be finding a job.
“I had no idea what I was going to do when I got out. Nobody wants to hire a convicted felon, and if they do, it’s with a job where you only make nickel and dimes,” said Lee.
Lee’s release was nothing exciting. He found himself applying for job after job, never to receive a callback.
Lee isn’t the only newly released inmate that has run into this problem. In a 2018 study conducted by the Brookings Institution, 45% of newly released felons will be unable to find a job and will not see a paycheck within the first year of their release.
It wasn’t until Lee heard about Addiction Recovery Care (ARC) that he felt like he may have found something that could give him the life he dreamed of.
“I had a friend, and she worked at the Sanibel House. She told the director that I needed a job,” said Lee. “He called me, and I came in for an interview. I told him my story, and he hired me.”
During his time working inside a recovery center, Lee says he too started to understand what a life of recovery could do for him moving forward.
“It gave me my life. It gave me a career. Since I have been with ARC, I have got married, and I have kids now. I just had another baby two years ago,” he said.
Lee has been an instrumental part of ARC’s continued commitment to rescuing thousands and giving second chances to people just like himself. He now manages crews responsible for janitorial services, warehouse needs, and food delivery logistics across the ARC network.
ARC can help you also find your second chance. Begin your journey to recovery today by calling our intake team at 888-818-1434. Interested in a career with ARC? Visit arccenters.com/careers to learn more.
