On Mondays the men at Kewanee Life Skills Re-Entry Center gather in the gym for chapel, but recently they had a guest: Chicago Bears linebacker Sam Acho with a special message. 

The 93 men incarcerated at the center are all nearing the end of their sentences. To get into to Kewanee they had to apply, get a good reference and write an essay.  

They’ve put in the work. Now Acho said they need to make a choice to stay on a good path. 

“As crazy as it sounds, sometimes your whole life hinges on deciding who you’re going to be and sometimes who you’re not going to be,” Acho said.

For Loren Owens, that decision is coming up soon. When he heard Acho speak, he had just 48 hours left on his sentence. 

“It was great. It was inspiring, very inspiring,” Owens said. “Trying to get everything I could out of what he was talking about to use for when I go home.”

He’s used his time at the center wisely. Owens put together a community prevention plan to help other men like him rejoin society. 

“In the time that I’ve been here at Kewanee, I’ve been able to draw from every resource that I’ve got and get a support team going and put together something called Operation Archangel Army,” he said. “The idea behind it is to get all the churches together, all the businesses, the community leaders.”

Owens isn’t the only inmate taking advantage of the center’s resources. Lorenzo McCray has one month left on his sentence and just completed his restaurant management certification. 

He said Acho’s message reminded him that his past actions don’t define him.

“It’s a stigma on us already that we’re the worst of the worst and as of being here in Kewanee, that’s not the case,” McCray said. “It’s good to know someone else sees success in you.”

This isn’t Acho’s first time visiting a prison, but he says he’s never been to a facility like this. He describes it as special. 

“Even just the whole concept of trying to reintegrate people back into society and treating them like human beings. I believe that’s how all prisons or jails should be run,” Acho said. “Treat these people like human beings and I think you’ll see a world of difference.”

Owens said he’s most excited about seeing his family when he gets out, but he’s made a family at Kewanee, too. 

“These guys are like family to me — even the warden,” he said. “I was just telling him the other day he’s like a dad to me. I love the guy. Anywhere else you wouldn’t have that.”