Some stories are almost too incredible to believe, Derrick’s is one of them.
After 33 and a half years behind bars, Derrick Skinner walked out of prison. Into the world he never thought he’d get to see again.
He was 20 years old when he was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Two young kids left behind. Life interrupted. Dreams unfinished. Memories he would never get the chance to create.
“It was a nightmare that would never end… until it did,” he told us.
For over three decades, Derrick held onto hope, not just for freedom, but for transformation. He decided early on that if he was going to spend the rest of his life in prison, it wouldn’t be wasted. He became a mentor to others. A leader. A man determined to walk differently, even when he had nowhere to walk to. But it came with a price.
But then, everything changed.
In April of 2024, Derrick went before the clemency board. And on May 7, 2025, after what felt like a lifetime of praying, he walked out of Southern Desert Correctional Center, a free man.
Before his release, Derrick was invited to join the HOPE for Prisoners reentry program inside the Vocational Village at Southern Desert Correctional Center, a place that sparked possibility.
“I kept looking over my shoulder,” he said. “I couldn’t believe I was on this side of the gates. It felt like a dream I didn’t want to wake up from.”
For the first time in decades, he could see a path forward. A future with light in it.
He had lost his mom and two brothers while being incarcerated. He didn’t come home to the family he once had. But he found a new one, with us.
Since his release, Derrick dove headfirst into everything HOPE for Prisoners had to offer. He completed our intensive pre-vocational leadership workshop and career coaching, eager to absorb the guidance, encouragement, and purpose that had always been out of reach. For the first time in a very long time, he wasn’t just looking back, he had real hope for life ahead of him.
In June, Derrick proudly walked across the stage in cap and gown at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, graduating alongside his fellow “Hopefuls.”
He’s now working at Valvoline as a certified lube technician and recently earned a scholarship to attend the Collision Repair Program at the College of Southern Nevada. And with help from his HOPE case manager, Jodi M., he’s working on getting his driver’s license, something most of us take for granted, but for Derrick, it represents a kind of freedom he’s never known.
When we asked him what HOPE means to him, he said:
“It’s the foot in the door to a positive world. One I wouldn’t have without their help.”
Because of Donors Like YOU, this is possible.
To our donors, mentors, volunteers, and friends, thank you. Derrick’s future is being rebuilt, one brave step at a time, because you cared enough to believe in someone’s second chance.
If you haven’t joined us in this mission yet, we invite you to walk with us, and with Derrick, into a future full of second chances.
