‘Anywhere but backwards’: 17 graduate re-entry program, celebrate sobriety

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- A program helping people stay sober and out of jail held its graduation on Sunday, Nov. 23 in Richmond.

Programs like Minor Adjustments are proven to help people re-enter society after being behind bars and keep them from re-offending. 

The 17 graduates were taught life skills that can help them go "anywhere but backwards."

One graduate, Andrew McKenzie, said he signed up for the program when he overheard Minor Adjustments founder Michael Williams speaking.

Released from jail less than a month prior, McKenzie has been focusing on his sobriety at the McShin Foundation, Richmond’s top recovery home.  

“Unfortunately, I was released from jail dealing with a lot of anxiety, so I came straight to McShin and started in the program -- and I think it’s the best decision that I've ever made," he said.

McKenzie said he will be celebrating 30 days sober on Thanksgiving. 

Sunday was a big day for the 17 graduates in more ways than one.

“By the time we start on Friday, to the time we end on Sunday, they’ll be emotional from all the things we’ve poured into their lives," Michael Williams said.

Based in New Jersey, Michael and Lernell Williams travel around the country for people trying to stay sober -- a challenge Michael faced for years. 

“Wherever we’re invited, we go," Lernell Williams said.  

According to a study from the University of Wisconsin, re-entry programs can reduce reoffending by 62%.  

A graduation ceremony at the end of the program is held in hopes of one final burst of encouragement.  

“Give them the certificates, make them feel like, ‘I finished something," Lernell Williams said.  

“No matter who we call up here, you still celebrate them as if it’s you because it is," Michael Williams said. "Maybe they haven’t heard anybody clap for them in years.”