Derrick Palmer, Age 47

I grew up in Southwest Philadelphia, 54th and Chester. It was a nice little area. When I was growing up it was a mixed area. Everybody got along. I was into sports. I love to go to the gym. They had one on 58th and Kingsessing called Myers Recreational Center. They had a little boxing area. Willy Monroe_used to come in there and train. High school was a little different, because we had a lot of gangs back then. I didn’t want to participate. After school when I was coming up, you couldn’t go to certain areas because of gang activities. You get jumped. So I stayed close in my neighborhood. Usually my mom take me and my sister to school because it was real bad out there. She took us, brought us back. Then I had a little job at the market. She’d take me there and pick me up. I stayed pretty busy. I also used to box down Passyunk Gym. We used to go in like different cities, the Golden Gloves. Then I cut that out and started raising my family.

I’ve never been in prison before. First time. Drugs. Possession. I bought some drugs, got caught. It was a wakeup call. I was buying it for a girl. I got caught up, you know, the drugs, the sex. I didn’t trust her with my money. When I went to the guy, he looked at me like…He said you don’t look like you get high, but he gave it to me anyway. So when I go around the corner, I get locked up. That’s the story. Taught me a lot. It’s easy to get in trouble, hard to get out. But I benefit from it, through the JOBS Program, free education. So when I resurface I can go into another field like this computer. I went to computer repair and customer service. It was nice. I didn’t know how to turn a computer on. I was computer illiterate. Now I can program, take them apart, put them together. I can use it, boot it up. The teachers taught us everything. Between the customer service and the computer repair, I think I’m a wizard.

I’m planning, hopefully, to further my education in the computer field and then open up my own shop. I have a storefront at 20th and York. I own 3 houses on York Street. I have people in ‘em, so I have an income. My goal is just to fix that building up and prepare it for fixing computers. I’m going to do it myself. Because I know how to do sheetrock, electrical work. I’m going to go back to school and then get my business underway. Just check me out in 5 or 6 months.

My fiance visits every weekend since I’ve been locked up. Hasn’t missed a day. She bring the children up. Every now and then she might bring my mother. My daughter, she’s just so happy and shakes her head and play with my ears. And my son, he try to run all over the place. So I just can’t wait to come home, because I’m doing them a disjustice being here. Now I’m taking care of them financially because my income, but they need some moral and physical support. I would never leave them like this no more. So to me it’s a lesson. Since I’ve been here, I learned a whole lot. It’s a whole new experience.