After 22 Years In Prison, He’s Now Giving Incarcerated Men A Second Chance Through Entrepreneurship

The sounds of Texas.

By Joy Díaz & Shelly BrisbinJanuary 5, 2021 7:08 am,

Bryan Kelley first encountered the Prison Entrepreneurship Program while he was incarcerated. Today, he’s the organization’s CEO and lives in Houston. He says he works to give men who leave prison the opportunity to play to their strengths by being their own boss.

“I encountered PEP [Prison Entrepreneurship Program] as an inmate. I took a life in a drug deal that went horribly wrong. During my incarceration, actually, early on, I just had an epiphany. I was just tired of being part of the problem; I wanted to be part of the solution.”

“I just started investing myself into the men around me … I ended up doing almost 22 years before I was given a shot at parole. And what a blessing.”

“For many of the men in prison, they probably can’t see themselves going to college, earning a degree. But they do see themselves as an entrepreneur.”

“It’s so difficult to obtain employment as an ex-felon. Essentially, every sentence a person gets is a life sentence because that follows you everywhere you go.”

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