HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) – It’s deemed the Oscars for the re-entry world. Sunday The Connecticut Hall of Change inducted their 2024 “great eight” in Hartford.
The men and women, who were formerly incarcerated, are being recognized for their growth and change.
“I’m alive. I’m clean. I’m free,” said inductee Victoria Steele.
“The obstacles that these individuals have had to overcome are insurmountable for most,” said CEO and Founder of Connecticut Hall of Change Charles Grady.
The 2024 Connecticut Hall of Change inductee’s hurdles include mental health struggles, addiction, and time behind bars.
“At 16, I was in and out of prison for over 30 years,” Steele said.
Victoria Steele traded in her state inmate number for a state employee ID number, now working for Connecticut’s Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services helping people going through a similar battle.
“Change is possible and that we don’t ever have to live that way again and I’m able to give back to the community and give back to young adults and I am able to do those things, and I truly feel honored and blessed,” Steele said,
The inductees, nominated by the community, were awarded for not only turning their lives around but helping others.
Our own Good Morning Connecticut Anchor Laura Hutchinson is on the board this year and helped select the “great eight.” Now the inductees’ stories will live on forever in the Old New Gate Prison and Copper Mine Museum.
“The community they once caused problems in, today they give back to those communities and it’s incredible to see the response from the community as they do the work. They help hundreds if not thousands of people every year,” Grady said.
The inductees have all been out of prison for at least five years and now some are police officers, work in corrections or even earned their doctorate degrees and give back working in recovery, youth programs and justice reform.
Each personal story inspired the crowd, bringing both tears and people to their feet in applause. Steele said change comes from within and said if she can do it, anyone can.
“I am strong and resilient and worthy. I stand before you today as a free woman not because the state of Connecticut granted me a pardon but because I finally learned how to pardon myself.”
Grady said the Connecticut Hall of Change is surpassing state lines, expanding into Maryland this September and several other states in the next year.
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