RESTORING Dignity and hope
Second Chance Battalion walks alongside justice-impacted neighbors, offering a compassionate pathway home rooted in dignity, accountability, and the belief that every person deserves the opportunity to rebuild their life. We recognize that successful reentry requires more than temporary assistance, it requires long-term community support, stable housing, emotional healing, meaningful employment opportunities, access to education, and spaces where individuals feel seen, valued, and connected. Through trauma-informed advocacy, peer mentorship, workforce development, food security initiatives, and collaborative community partnerships, we work to reduce the systemic barriers that often prevent people from successfully reintegrating after incarceration. Guided by the power of lived experience and restorative community engagement, we strive to create environments where justice-impacted individuals and their families can heal, grow, develop leadership skills, and build sustainable pathways toward personal wellbeing, economic stability, and lasting community connection.
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, we are dedicated to uplifting justice-impacted individuals through essential life services and holistic support. We focus on serving our veterans and their families, ensuring no one is left behind. Our mission bridges the gap to stability by providing safe housing, food security, and career mentorship. From vocational training to case management, we provide the tools needed to rebuild lives. Join us in creating a community where transformation is possible and every person has the chance to start over with strength. Together, we can foster a safer, more inclusive future for all.
JOURNEY & MILESTONES
Second Chance Battalion (SCB) was established in 2021 in Michigan as a direct response to the staggering systemic barriers faced by individuals returning from incarceration. Born from a vision of radical empathy and practical support, the organization set out to create pathways for dignity where they were previously closed.
We identified that the lack of trauma-informed housing and career mentorship were primary drivers of recidivism. By dismantling these systemic obstacles, SCB provides justice-impacted individuals with the essential tools and peer-led advocacy necessary for true, sustainable reintegration into their communities.
Since our founding, we have successfully launched the Healing Homes Farm, providing transitional housing for women, and established the annual Trauma Camp retreat. These key milestones represent our ongoing commitment to fostering long-term career success and emotional resilience for justice-impacted people ready to rebuild their lives.
OUR IMPACT PROGRAMS
Healing Homes Farm
Healing Homes Farm provides stable, trauma‑responsive housing for formerly incarcerated women in rural Southeast Michigan, pairing renovated, safe housing with wraparound support, reentry planning, and pathways to long‑term stability. Phase I of this this project is underway and will remodel the ranch home above and clear the surrounding 10 acres. We need volunteers, cash/material donations, and contractors who will assist with this process. A greenhouse has been funded by the University of Michigan-Dearborn and will be built on the property in June of 2026. Phase II includes developing the property to build tiny homes and establish a center to train women who are survivors of violence on new technology and agricultural practices for self-sufficiency. We are proud to partner with American Friends Service Committee Criminal Justice Program in Ypsilanti, Michigan who currently advocates for people at the MDOC's Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility.
Reentry Navigation
We support justice-impacted individuals by meeting people where they are and fostering long-term stability through trauma-informed peer mentorship, food security initiatives, transitional housing support, job coaching, skilled trade workshops, and employer partnership placements that promote sustainable career pathways. Our partnerships with organizations such as Carceral Consulting, Tinker Labs, and Evolution Art Studio, participants gain hands-on training in areas including agriculture, greenhouse operations, 3D printing, metalworking, robotics, and emerging workforce technologies while also receiving support navigating technology access, digital literacy, online workforce systems, and higher education opportunities. The organization further assists individuals with college enrollment, FAFSA and Pell Grant navigation, vocational certifications, apprenticeships, and workforce development programs to reduce barriers to reentry and help participants build long-term economic stability, leadership capacity, and stronger community connections.
Administrative Advocacy Assistance
Utilizing the power of lived experience, we provide emotional support, guidance, mentorship, and accountability through shared journeys of incarceration, recovery, and community reintegration, helping justice-impacted individuals build trust, stability, and long-term pathways toward personal and professional success. By centering peer support and trauma-informed practices, we connect participants to counseling services, mental health resources, substance use recovery programs, and community-based wellness supports that recognize the complex effects of incarceration, poverty, violence, addiction, and social exclusion on individuals and families. We also engage in public education and community outreach efforts designed to increase awareness of the barriers faced by returning citizens while promoting evidence-informed and humane approaches to reentry, rehabilitation, and recovery. Through workshops, community partnerships, speaking engagements, and advocacy initiatives, we help employers, educators, service providers, and local communities better understand trauma-informed care, restorative practices, workforce inclusion, digital literacy barriers, and the importance of supportive environments that foster healing, accountability, and successful reintegration after incarceration.
Metal Health
Metal Health is a trauma-informed healing, arts, and workforce development initiative created by Jay Elias, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who experienced incarceration and PTSD, through his Detroit-based Evolution Art Studio. The program uses the creative and technical process of metal casting as a pathway toward healing, personal growth, community connection, and skill development for veterans, justice-impacted individuals, and others affected by trauma, addiction, or social isolation. Through hands-on workshops in aluminum, bronze, and iron casting for all skill levels, participants learn practical skills such as mold making, furnace operation, fabrication, metal finishing, and industrial safety while engaging in an environment centered on mentorship, teamwork, accountability, and emotional wellness. Metal Health also serves as a platform for workforce development and restorative community engagement by connecting participants to transferable skilled-trade and manufacturing experiences that foster resilience, creativity, entrepreneurship, and positive community reintegration.
Trauma Camp
Trauma Camp is a healing retreat for returning citizens that creates a safe, restorative space to process trauma, reconnect with community, and build tools for emotional resilience. Through guided clinical workshops that include mental health/substance abuse care, peer support, and reflective activities in nature, participants are supported as whole people, not defined by their past involvement in the criminal justice system. This program has demonstrated the ability to enhance public safety and improve economic and wellness of justice impacted participants.
Fueling the Fight for Second Chances
Your contributions directly dismantle systemic barriers, providing essential career training, legal advocacy, and community reentry support for individuals ready to rebuild their lives and strengthen our neighborhoods.
You can send cash, checks, or money orders to Second Chance Battalion: PO BOX 390, Petersburg, MI 49270
You can also donate online via our current GoFundMe campaign below:
Donation Link: https://gofund.me/9e6252d80
LEND YOUR VOICE.
LEND YOUR STRENGTH.
Second Chance Battalion (SCB) relies on the commitment of community members to provide justice-impacted individuals with the essential tools and support needed for a successful transition. Join our network of advocates and mentors.
Dismantling Barriers, Building Futures Across Our Communities.
Second Chance Battalion (SCB) is a dedicated nonprofit focused on reducing the systemic barriers facing justice-impacted individuals. We believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to rebuild their life with dignity and support.
Our programs provide the mentorship, community resources, and advocacy necessary for positive long-term reintegration. By fostering resilience and dismantling obstacles, we empower individuals to achieve lasting success and community stability.