Freddy describes himself as a young man who is “hard working and finishes things he starts.” It’s taken some time for that to be apparent, but now, at age 22, he is working hard to support his daughters and family, excel in his job at Ashbury Images, and to finally complete his credits for a high school diploma.

Having a family and making positive choices haven’t always been a part of Freddy’s life. At age 11, Child Protective Services placed him in a foster home for the first time, because of his mother’s drug problem. Freddy didn’t like the foster home and ran away from it, along with several subsequent foster homes. He wanted a family with which he could fit in.

Freddy stopped attending school around age 14. Since his mother had not been able to give him the support he needed, he had found a tight knit group on the streets. With his first experience in Juvenile Hall at age 12, Freddy is the first to admit he was making poor choices for his future.

“Being in jail for 3 years was the worst time of my life—I was in the cell for 23 hours a day with one hour of recreation.” After he got out, he continued to make mistakes that landed him in jail for another 6 months. That was the breaking point.

“I couldn’t wait to get out. I was ready to turn my life around.” And, with hard work, Freddy has taken steps to do just that. He came to New Door a few months after getting out of CYA (California Youth Authority: prison for youth), hoping for his first real job. He was accepted to the Social Enterprise Internship Program and got a job at Ashbury Images where he learned time management, how to communicate with supervisors, and a strong work ethic. He also received support from a case manager to help him achieve other goals like completing his education and staying out of trouble.

As a marker of this life change, Freddy participated in a tattoo removal program, to erase the gang affiliation tattoos he’d worn for years.

Freddy’s hard work and leadership among his co-workers eventually earned him a full time position at Ashbury Images. He’s a solid team player, who is always mentioned by new youth interns as “someone who helps you out a lot.” He plans to continue sharing his story with other young people, to help them make positive choices too.