Prison diversion program offers young men a different future Last year, Miguel Chavez was facing a minimum two-year sentence for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. With the threat of prison time looming, he was living day-to-day with little hope for the future. But a new program helping young men avoid incarceration has given Chavez and others something they never expected—a second chance. Chavez was one of three recent inaugural graduates of the Tulsa-based First Step Male Diversion Program, which launched in 2016 with the goal of ending the “school-to-prison pipeline” for young men in Oklahoma aged 18 to 25. He now plans to return to school and become an architect. “Probably the most important thing I was taught was to always have a dream,” he said to a room of spectators at the Tulsa County District Courthouse. “Without a dream, you have no vision. Without any vision, you have no goals. Without any goals, you have no motivation. Motivation is the key to being successful.” A February study from Workforce Tulsa and The University of Tulsa College of Law’s Lobeck Taylor Community Advocacy Clinic found that justice-involved individuals face major barriers to finding jobs. Obstacles include employer discrimination, complex expungement practices, occupational licensing regulations, excessive wage garnishment for child support, fees and fines related to incarceration, and barriers to housing.