For Steven Canseco, it was realizing that the men in uniform who once arrested him were now his friends, mentors, and partners in service.
Today, Steven and Ceiarra are known at HOPE for Prisoners as “The Power Couple.” But their road here was anything but easy.
Steven’s path began in the 90s, wrapped in gang life and prison sentences that stretched over decades. He fought hard to break free, earning his GED, walking away from gangs, and rebuilding himself piece by piece.
Ceiarra’s journey was marked by abandonment, addiction, and years of incarceration across multiple states. She battled homelessness, violence, and devastating personal loss. Her oldest daughter was taken in by her parents during her first prison sentence, they are now slowly rebuilding their relationship, and her daughter, now 18, has just gone off to college. She is also fighting in court to regain custody of her two younger children, determined to give them the stability they deserve.
While inside the Nevada Department of Corrections, she made the decision, this is it. She stopped fighting, focused on school, and earned her diploma.
Two days after Steven’s parole ended, they met. What began as a friendship quickly deepened, but as two felons, one on parole, they weren’t even supposed to be around each other. Steven wanted to do the right thing and protect her from the risk of going back to prison. So, he asked her to marry him. It wasn’t a grand plan, just a way to keep each other close without breaking the rules. Looking back 4½ years later, they both agree, it was the best idea he’s ever had.
They worked side by side in low-wage jobs, climbed from a cockroach-infested apartment to a condo, and now to a four-bedroom home with a backyard and pool.
Then came HOPE for Prisoners, and everything changed.
Steven calls it “sharpening the tools”, taking his life experience and refining it with new skills and fresh focus. For Ceiarra, it was the first place she felt safe enough to face her emotions: “I learned it’s okay for me to cry. It’s okay for me to show my emotions without thinking something bad will happen.”
HOPE gave them a safe space where they were seen for who they are, not for where they’ve been. Its training gave them practical tools, from resumes to communication skills, and life-changing ones, like emotional intelligence, leadership, and learning how to carry themselves with confidence. They are mentored by community leaders, encouraged by people who saw their potential, and challenged to think bigger about their future.
They learned to work as a team not just in their marriage, but in their careers. They obtained their Commercial Driver's License (CDL) together, (paid for by HOPE for Prisoners), proving that teamwork works both at home and on the job.
Now, Steven and Ceiarra are able to provide for their family, mentor youth, serve alongside law enforcement, feed the homeless on holidays, and advocate for others still behind bars. They’re living proof that transformation is possible, and contagious.
HOPE became more than just a program; it is a family. They show up to every graduation to cheer on new graduates because they know how it feels to be the one in the cap & gown. “Some people have never had that moment,” Steven says. “That might be the first time they’ve ever felt truly proud of themselves.”
“We are the evidence,” Steven and Ceiarra say “It's not just HOPE for prisoners, it's HOPE for our marriage, HOPE for our family and HOPE for a community of people coming behind us.”
Today, they tell anyone leaving prison: Give HOPE eighteen months. Go all in. It works.
Because of HOPE for Prisoners, and because people like you believe in second chances, Steven and Ceiarra are no longer defined by their past. They are defined by the future they’re building, together.
For just $15 a month, you can open the door to the next success story. Your gift provides life-changing job training, one-on-one mentorship, and the unwavering support that men and women need as they rebuild their lives after incarceration. You’re not just giving money, you’re giving HOPE, dignity, and a future.
