Second chances, built on a plan.

A Message From Our Founder

Why I Created Second Path Reentry Network

I know what it means to need a second chance because I have needed one myself.

I grew up in Akron, Ohio, and my journey has not always been easy. I am a two-time felon, and I have overcome addiction and spent more than two decades rebuilding my life in recovery. My past is part of my story, but I refused to allow it to determine how my story would end.

Over the years, I was given opportunities to rebuild my life, grow, and become a leader. I have spent nearly 20 years in leadership roles and have had the opportunity to serve as a supervisor, union representative, peer counselor, mentor, and through employee assistance efforts.

Those experiences taught me something important: people can change, but change is difficult to sustain when people don't have the support, resources, and opportunities they need to move forward.

I have watched individuals come through work release and the justice system determined to do better, only to face barrier after barrier. They may have a job but nowhere stable to live. They may have housing but no transportation to get to work. They may need identification, financial guidance, recovery support, or simply someone to help them figure out what to do next.

Too many times, I have watched people struggle and eventually return to the same situations they were trying to escape.

I began asking myself a simple question: What would happen if someone helped put all the pieces together?

In 2022, that question became a calling.

I knew there needed to be something that went beyond handing someone a list of phone numbers and telling them where to go for help. People needed someone to listen to them, understand their individual circumstances, help them create a realistic plan, connect them with resources, and continue checking in as they worked toward their goals.

That vision became Second Path Reentry Network.

I believe employment is an important foundation for rebuilding a life, but I also know that a job alone cannot solve every problem. Successful reentry may require stable housing, reliable transportation, identification, financial stability, recovery support, healthy relationships, mentoring, and a strong community of people willing to provide opportunities.

That is why Second Path looks at the whole person.

When someone comes to us, I don't want the first question to be, “What did you do?” I want it to be: “Where are you now, where do you want to go, and what is standing in your way?” From there, we can begin building a path forward.

My vision for Second Path is bigger than one organization. I want to build a network of employers, housing providers, recovery organizations, community agencies, volunteers, donors, mentors, and people who believe — as I do — that someone's past should not automatically disqualify them from having a future.

I want Second Path to help people find employment and maintain it. I want to help people find stable places to live. I want transportation to stop being the reason someone loses a job. I want people to have access to recovery support when they need it. I want people to learn how to manage their finances, obtain the documents they need, rebuild relationships, and become independent.

Most importantly, I want people to know that asking for help does not mean they have failed.

Sometimes a second chance needs a second path.

I cannot promise that the journey will always be easy. I cannot walk the journey for someone. But I can make sure they don't have to walk it alone.

My hope is that years from now, when I look back at what Second Path has become, I will see hundreds — and eventually thousands — of lives changed, families strengthened, people working, people housed, people maintaining their recovery, and individuals who once believed their past had closed every door now opening doors for someone else.

If Second Path can help make that possible, then I will be able to say: Job well done.

I believe every person deserves a second chance. I believe every person deserves a chance to be heard. And I believe sometimes people need someone willing to walk beside them until they can walk confidently on their own.

That is my story. That is my reason. And that is why I founded Second Path Reentry Network.

No One Walks Alone.

— Katrina CooperFounder, Second Path Reentry Network