This year, I will celebrate a decade of sobriety and the 10th anniversary of my release from Cook County Jail. The interesting thing is I never really left.

Inspired by my experience with the sheriff’s office staff, I essentially walked out of the cell and into an office as a volunteer, receiving and providing peer support. Ten years, four positions, and five titles later, I am now a Project Manager for the Cook County Sheriff’s Women’s Justice Programs (SWJP).