Second Chances Month Is Here : No Joke
TL;DR
- April’s Dual Significance: April marks both Second Chances Month and Passover: two powerful reminders of liberation and new beginnings.
- Policy Progress: From the First Step Act under Trump to Biden’s focus on workforce development, second chances have seen rare bipartisan support.
- The Matisyahu Principle: Freedom doesn’t start with a miracle; it starts with a decision to move before the sea parts.
- The Operator’s Opportunity: We don’t need to wait for the White House to act. We can choose to hire, lend, and think differently right now.
As we flip the calendar to April, we’re welcoming two matters of significance.
April is designated as Second Chances Month. Historically, both parties have used this moment as an opportunity to announce new efforts and initiatives from the White House to promote second chances: especially for individuals returning from incarceration.
This isn’t just symbolic. At its best, it has led to real policy movement.
Under the first Trump administration, we saw the passage of the First Step Act in 2018: a rare bipartisan criminal justice reform bill focused on reducing recidivism and expanding rehabilitation opportunities. Around that same period, there was increased attention on expanding access to entrepreneurship and reentry programming, including conversations around making capital more accessible to justice-impacted individuals.
Under the Biden administration, Second Chance Month proclamations have emphasized reentry support through workforce development, fair hiring practices, and expanded access to federal resources. The administration also took steps to ease barriers in areas like federal hiring and supported efforts tied to SBA lending flexibility and technical assistance for underserved entrepreneurs.
These efforts don’t solve our criminal (in)justice or social justice problem. But, these steps were meaningful and I implore our leaders to do more.
Because when the White House chooses to highlight second chances, it sends a signal: to employers, to lenders, to communities: that this is not a fringe issue. This is central to who we are as a country.
We didn’t see a major announcement last year out of the White House. And as of now, we haven’t seen any indication of what: if anything: we should expect this year. I’m not holding my breath for anything big. If we didn’t see it last year, why would we see it this year?
The Other April Story
Because April isn’t just Second Chances Month.
It’s also Passover.
And as a proud Jew, I can tell you: the retelling of the Passover story is as much about liberation as anything else. In fact, in Hebrew, one of the ways to greet someone is Chag Cheiruteinu Sameach – Happy Freedom Holiday – okay the translation part doesn’t make much sense but you get the idea. Jews are ultimately celebrating the escape from slavery.
Think about the setup.
We take an unlikely hero. Moses: who, by biblical accounts, had a significant speech impediment. Not exactly your prototype for a leader. He walks away from a life of privilege in the palace, only to be called back into the very system he left to demand freedom for his people.
He negotiates that freedom.
And then: almost immediately: it’s threatened.
The Egyptians pursue. The people are trapped between an army and a sea.
And then comes the moment we all remember: queue Charlton Heston and the crossing of the Red Sea – a moment made for Hollywood.
Alt Text: A modern, minimalist depiction of a path opening through water, symbolizing the courage to step forward into the unknown.
And this is a perspective I love: credit to reggae artist Matisyahu:
The sea didn’t split before they moved. It split when they were already in it.
They didn’t wait for proof; they moved and the proof followed.
Freedom didn’t begin with miracles: it began with a decision.
The message is clear:
The miracle doesn’t come first: the movement does.
The certainty comes before the evidence, and that’s what creates miracles.
So take this as your reminder:
Stop waiting for the path to open and start walking like it already exists.
We can stand at the edge, waiting for the waters to part—waiting for media, policy, or politics to lead the way.
Or we can step in—boldly, together—and trust that the path will open because we chose to move.
Where This All Comes Together
Second Chances Month asks a national question:
Do we believe in second chances?
Passover asks a personal one:
Are we willing to move before we have proof?
Because here’s the truth.
We can wait for the White House.
We can wait for policy.
We can wait for the “right” announcement.
Or we can move.
We can hire differently.
We can lend differently.
We can think differently about people who are trying to rebuild their lives.
The irony is, we often treat second chances like the Red Sea: we’re waiting for it to part before we step forward.
But history: and faith: suggest the opposite.
It parts when we move.
The Real Opportunity
If something comes out of the White House this month, great.
I’ll celebrate it. I’ll amplify it. It matters.
But if it doesn’t?
That’s not an excuse. That’s an opportunity.
Because the real power of Second Chances Month has never been in a proclamation.
It’s in what we choose to do with it.
And maybe: just maybe: that’s the lesson this April is trying to teach us.
Not to wait for the miracle.
But to create it.