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Franklin Lodge Helps
Chauncey Carter Turn His Life Around
Friends, family, staff and fellow Franklin Lodge clients gathered March 24, 2004 to honor Chauncey Carter for graduating from barber school and help him celebrate a major milestone in his life.
Several guests spoke of his 10-month, daily commitment to board the early morning bus and attend classes. One reminisced about the time Chauncey went to school even though it was closed because of bad weather.
Chauncey recalled the long, hard road that led to this happy day. "My parents broke up when I was really little," he said. "We moved around a lot." He said he always considered himself a good human being, but his unstable environment led to a life of doing and dealing drugs until the fateful day in 1995 when a drug deal went terribly wrong. While high, he killed a man and wounded another. Chauncey was just 19 years old.
He was sent to a maximum-security mental institution. "At first I planned to continue my life as a drug dealer when I got out," he remembers. "Then one day a counselor asked me to divide a blank piece of paper in half and write down where I
thought I would end up if I continued my previous ways on one side; and what my life might be like if I went to school and learned a trade on the other."
After completing the exercise, Chauncey concluded he would be able to have all
the positives – money, car, nice clothes and jewelry – as a drug dealer, but he could have all the same things and live without fear if he pursued a life without crime.
This was his turning point. He vowed to be a model prisoner and turn his life around. He earned his GED and was ready to be released in 2003 on the condition that a place in a transitional home could be found.
Chauncey waited patiently for months for such an opportunity. Then he met Ron Redd, manager of Swope group homes, and learned that he ran transitional living homes. Chauncey promised, "Mr. Redd, please give me a chance. I won't let you down." Ron recalls, "I just knew he was for real and he meant what he said." Ron gave him his chance and arranged for Chauncey's transfer to Franklin Lodge.
A conversation with a cousin, who runs a barber shop, helped him focus on a future. "So I
applied to barber school," recalls Chauncey. He was accepted, religiously attended his classes, graduated and now has a job at a barber shop.
"Maybe 2 percent of our clients achieve this level of success," says Ron. "We're so proud of him." As for Chauncey, he says he feels like he's finally part of something. "Now I know I don't have to be angry; I don't have to be scared; I don't have to hurt anyone ever again." We're all proud of you, Chauncey.Congratulations.
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