This ex-drug dealer's story shows how powerful a second chance can be

A second chance, that’s all one former inmate asked for.

A new study shows several barriers leave those involved in the criminal justice system, unemployed.

Marquess Dennis had a troubled past.

“I am a recovering drug dealer,” he said. “My mom was a crack dealer when we lived in Turley and she was busted a couple of times. I was out there doing all kinds of wild things.”

Eventually he went to prison for dealing drugs. “I was in Colorado from 2014 all the way up to 2017,” he said.

But his future was waiting for him at Fox Cleaners, where he is now a manager.

“I got released on a Wednesday and was back (to work) on a Monday,” he said.

A business that gave him a chance when he was 21 and again when he got out of prison, with a felony on his record.

“You don’t have to let that be a hindrance and it is really important to have support,” Dennis said.

Even from someone you’ve never met.

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