In the quiet before dawn in the District, Richard Salmon is patrolling streets for parking violations. He hands out tickets that may wreck someone's morning, but for him the job is a lifeline.
Salmon, a D.C. native and the single father of a 6-year-old girl, is adapting to life outside prison after serving five years for getting caught with marijuana and a gun. He's one of a growing number of D.C. residents who are benefiting from services of the Mayor's Office on Returning Citizen Affairs.
The parking enforcement officer earned his commercial driver's license in prison, and prayed for guidance.
"I'm a Christian, so I asked the Lord to, basically, just work with me," he said.
Now, he walks his daughter to school at DC Scholars Stanton Elementary every morning, and sleeps while she's in class. The school supports many single dads.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser plans to open a one-stop resource center to help 5,000 people leaving incarceration find jobs over the next five years. The office also works to connect former inmates with social services.
"When they are coming home from prison or jail, [the office] will connect them to all the resources that we have here in the District of Columbia," said D.C. Deputy Mayor for Greater Economic Opportunity Courtney R. Snowden.
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Go here for information on the city's help for returning citizens.
