“I’ve Come A Long Way”

Lakeisha Martin loves the freedom of the open road. She’s a commercially licensed truck driver, and every day, she crisscrosses the country in an 18-wheeler, 53-foot long haul truck. “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” says Lakeisha. “I’ve come a long way.”

Lakeisha grew up in a small town in Arkansas. Opportunities were limited and family support was minimal.

In 2015, she was arrested and charged with multiple felonies including aggravated robbery and aggravated assault. She spent three years in prison.  Two months before her release, Lakeisha says she realized she needed to make some drastic changes if she truly wanted to turn her life around.

Upon her release, Lakeisha jumped on a Greyhound bus and headed for Dallas. There she began the slow, steady and often frustrating process of rebuilding her life. She worked warehouse jobs and fast-food jobs to make ends meet, only to be let go once her employers found out about her background.  Lakeisha says she didn’t realize how much her criminal record would limit her opportunities. Employers judged her not on her work ethic and potential but on her status as a felon.

In search of a stable and well-paying job, Lakeisha began exploring the idea of becoming a truck driver. At a truck school in Dallas, she was introduced to FreeWorld.

‍

FreeWorld is a tech-enabled non-profit working to eliminate recidivism by connecting formerly incarcerated people to high-wage truck driving jobs. Graduates of the program known as FreeAgents are given support to find employment for up to three years after graduation. Once FreeAgents are successfully employed, they must pay it forward by contributing 10% of their monthly income for three years to help the next person complete the program.

Two months after walking into trucking school, Lakeisha walked out with her Commercial Driver’s License (CDL).

O’Neal Heard, a FreeWorld’s Post Program and Job Placement Manager said Lakeisha was a star student. “Everybody makes mistakes. Mistakes should not define your future as long as you’re striving to better yourself,” he said. FreeWorld provided Lakeisha with a space and a community of people with similar lived experience, like O’Neal, who didn’t judge her and who supported her.

“FreeWorld changed my life in a major way,” Lakeisha shared.

Lakeisha’s biggest success, she says, is staying out of prison. On average, according to FreeWorld, 68% of released prisoners are rearrested within three years. FreeWorld believes financial stability can help mitigate the risk of recidivism.

Now that Lakeisha has found stability, she’s working to pay it forward through FreeWorld’s programming so others can find stability too.

Lakeisha is engaged and has two stepchildren. Driving trucks has allowed her to provide for her new family, giving them a better life than she had growing up. She has now traveled to every state in the U.S.

“I can’t believe I’m doing it. Honestly – I’m like, man, I’ve come a long way,” she said. “This is the happiest I’ve ever been.”

Learn more about FreeWorld.

‍