Michigan gives parolees IDs. What more can be done to offer residents a second chance?

This month, the Michigan Department of Corrections hit a milestone. Since 2020, they've distributed 30,000 government-issued IDs to incarcerated people. That matters because without an ID, you can't get a job, sign a lease, open a bank account — you can't even prove you’re you.

One in five people who leave Michigan prisons end up going back. The state says that's the lowest it's ever been. But what does a second chance actually look like when you walk out the door with so little?

Rick Speck knows this firsthand. He came home in 2014 after 15 years in prison. He didn't have an ID. Now, he's deputy director of Nation Outside — a Michigan reentry nonprofit run by formerly incarcerated people. He spoke with Robyn Vincent about his experiences, and what our state and culture would look like if we believed more deeply in second chances.

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