Portraits of Reentry: Avery Miles

Avery Miles. (Credit: Lawrence Lanahan)

When Avery Miles was released from prison six months ago, he set some yearly goals.

"Since I've been home, I've completed more than half of my goals," he said when we visited him at the Jericho Reentry Program in East Baltimore in early May. "One was getting ID, getting back in job employment, you know, and being productive for my family, getting housing--which I just got today."

His current job is part-time, with a company that does auto detailing at downtown parking garages.

"Now I’m just trying to get a full-time job," he said. Miles has applied for warehouse work, child counseling, cooking, and other fields. "I have a lot of different skills I can apply myself in," he said.

Ideally, he'd like to work again in security at the Baltimore City Juvenile Justice Center, where he worked before his addiction problem and arrests got the better of him.

"If I can get back down there I would love to because it was a good job," he said. "I was making good money, and me and my son, we didn't want for anything, we had everything taken care of."

More portraits of reentry at our Your Stories page.