Best Chance gives ex-cons their best shot at success

It’s been said that you can’t con a con, and Best Chance, a fledgling nonprofit run by ex-cons for ex-cons to help stem recidivism, is putting the adage to work in a positive way.

Most of us cannot imagine what it’s like to walk out of prison and be faced immediately with having to find a job, a place to live and, hopefully, people who are willing and able to help you turn your life around. But former inmates do every day.

According to a 2015 report by the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Finance Committee, nearly 45 percent of those leaving prison in New Mexico wind up back in prison.

Recognizing the difficulty of transitioning from the rigid life inside to the relative freedom outside the gate, Daniel Rowan co-founded Best Chance after serving four years in prison. While behind bars he worked as a peer educator and saw the value of ex-cons helping ex-cons.

Best Chance took in about a dozen released inmates last year and has helped about 60 so far this year. Clients are referred by parole and probation officers, halfway houses, re-entry coordinators and others. It’s currently funded by anonymous donors, Rowan says.

Best Chance helps clients get whatever they need to begin a new life — whether it’s a razor for shaving, help crafting a résumé or just advice on how to rebuild a life.

Bob Hayworth, 52, and a new client at Best Chance, says he has been through the “revolving door” of the prison system eight times and was never given any guidance that could prepare him for living outside prison bars. The inevitable result was a return to crime and prison — until he found Best Chance and a group of people who understood not only the cycle he was living, but cared enough to show him a way to break it.

We haven’t seen data yet on whether Best Chance is fulfilling its mission to keep former inmates from returning to crime and prison, but the signs are encouraging. If it proves to be successful, it deserves support and, as Rowan hopes, replication for women. Anything that helps address our burgeoning crime rate — which experts attribute in large part to repeat offenders — is worth trying.