GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Urban League of West Michigan is hosting its first-ever Redemption Walk in Grand Rapids this weekend, giving community members a chance to acknowledge past decisions and move forward.
Calvin Jones knows what it means to start over. He says he spent years selling drugs before his life took a turn.
"I said I'm gonna be the best hustler that I can be," Jones said.
Those decisions caught up with him.
"I've had a lot, I've lost a lot," Jones said. "Friends, family, associates, money."
Jones says the biggest loss was time. A prison sentence separated him from the people he loved most.
"I ended up going to prison, and, man I never missed nothing or nobody as much as I did my daughter. That definitely did something to me," Jones said.
Jones says that time behind bars changed him. He now works with Cure Violence — a role he says fits him well.
"One of the best jobs an individual like me could have," Jones said.
The Urban League of West Michigan says Jones is not alone in his journey. Rufus Granderson, the organization's program manager of trauma and informed care, says the Redemption Walk on Saturday is designed for anyone who has turned over a new leaf or is looking to do so.
"The Urban League does not want you to be captured by the ghost of what was. We want to look forward to the positivity of what is," Granderson said.
Granderson says the walk is an opportunity for the community to come together and take ownership of the past.
"The Redemption Walk is an acknowledgment of past decisions, choices that may have harmed other people, and that we as a community are acknowledging and taking ownership over," Granderson said.
Granderson says the event is also a place to keep youth on a positive path, and everyone is welcome to participate.
"We're going to move forward on positivity, a positive summer for our youth in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Positive summer for our families," Granderson said.
Jones says he hopes others will take that first step, no matter how small it feels.
"I'm just excited to see and hope that people take an opportunity to.. it's such a small step, but you can't get to know where you're trying to get to without that first step," Jones said.
The walk is Saturday starting at 1130 a.m. The walk starts right next to the Urban League office on MLK and Eastern.
