He’s a father, a husband, and a mentor. Most days, he’s talking with men taking their first steps out of prison. He listens, guides, and tells them the truth he learned through years of hard lessons. “You’ve got to build something that lasts longer than your past,” he says.
When Angel walks into HOPE for Prisoners, he doesn’t walk in as a visitor. He walks in as proof. “The Huddle Ups feel like church,” he says. “I leave with my cup full.” The people there gave him what no prison ever could: structure, support, and people who believed in him.
When he came home after more than twenty years, he didn’t know how to use a phone or drive. The world had changed. He tried roofing, then painting, but nothing stuck. So, he built something that did. Restore Handyman Service started as a way to survive and became his foundation.
At fifteen, scared and trying to protect himself, Angel made a choice that cost a man his life. He was sentenced to two life terms before he was old enough to vote. Inside, he made a promise: “If I ever walk out of here, it’ll be because of the good I’ve done.”
He studied. He earned college credits. He became a paralegal. When the laws changed and his record showed years of discipline and service, his name was finally called.
Hope first reached Angel behind prison walls when Jon Ponder came to speak. “HOPE is a discipline,” Jon said. Those words stayed with him. After his release, Angel walked into HOPE’s office with nothing but determination. What he found was a family that saw the man he could become.
At home, his daughter climbs into his lap. He smiles and says quietly, “I never knew love until I had her. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Today, he mentors two men through HOPE’s program. He started Fresh Path Alliance to connect second-chance employers with people rebuilding their lives. He speaks in schools and youth programs, telling kids that change is always possible. “If I do something positive,” he says, “it helps the next person up. That’s what matters.”
Angel is now working toward his contractor’s license, a new milestone in building stability and providing for his daughter.
One team member said, “When it comes to describing Angel Diaz, one word I’d use is overachiever. Not in a bad way, he gives his all once he commits to something. He’s consistent, persistent, and always looking to help others. He’s a great man who deserves more than a second chance.”
Angel’s story isn’t about where he’s been. It’s about what he’s building, a life that stands on faith, work, and the power of second chances.He once promised he’d walk out because of the good he’d done.
Now every day he lives that promise.
