When Billy was 17 years old, after experiencing the court system, legal fees, and the disenchantment of both the judicial system and the Dallas Police Department, he began to understand the ways in which the court of law often dropped the ball. He also started to see how stressful traveling to and from court was, and how many families were unable to support themselves financially. Billy noticed that the majority of inmates, as well as the families traveling to and from court, were from minority communities.

Billy made a commitment to God that he didn’t fully follow up on until a couple of years later, when he joined forces with a local nonprofit in his Orlando community. During this time, Billy made good on his promise to God, though he didn’t yet realize why he was ultimately there until much later. He came to understand how difficult reentry truly is, the unique challenges women face in particular, and how many prisons fail to adequately rehabilitate those incarcerated.

Billy learned that much more is needed when individuals reenter society—such as mental health support, dental care, financial guidance, emotional regulation, spiritual support, and, most of all, compassion. His goal is not to offer a handout, but to walk alongside and accompany these individuals in the best way he can, helping them navigate an already strenuous and difficult journey.

Because Billy’s family was able to support him emotionally and financially during times of adversity, he wants to do the same for the men and women affected by incarceration, one step at a time. He believes they are his brothers and sisters too, and that they deserve the same sense of familiar support he once received.

“You stand with the least likely to succeed until success is succeeded by something more valuable: kinship. You stand with the belligerent, the surly, and the badly behaved until bad behavior is recognized for the language it is: the vocabulary of the deeply wounded and of those whose burdens are more than they can bear.” - F.R. Gregory Boyle