Steve Byron was very up front and real about who he was and who he has become.
After 16 years behind the walls, he walked out of the gates of Folsom Prison on Aug. 28, 2006.
About two years into his term, he was seeing himself in the people around him and didn’t like what he saw. So he got involved with programs like the Inside Circle and Folsom Project for the Visually Impaired (FPVI) and began looking forward to life on the outside.
A short time after Steve paroled, the Lions Club gave him a motor home to live in. It was falling apart, but he was grateful to have a place to live. Steve picked up bags of food at the local Seventh Day Adventist Church to survive, and was having little luck job hunting.
Peggy from FPVI offered him a part-time job at minimum wage. Eventually that job became full-time with higher wages.
Steve’s motor home was becoming worse, so Peggy told him to go find something and she would buy it. Steve paid her back from his work checks.
Here are his comments in a recent interview:
How did you learn to transcribe Braille?
While incarcerated at Folsom Prison, I was introduced to the Folsom Project for the Visually Impaired (FPVI) that was established by the Lions Club in 1989. Although I was initially reluctant to participate, I decided in 2003 to take the opportunity and I joined the project. In a few months I became certified in Literary Braille through the Library of Congress.
What’s going on in your life today?
Today I am married, have my own business, and own two homes. Although I am not a member, I volunteer at the Seventh Day Adventist Church that helped me. I pick up food from a local food bank and the Wal-Mart warehouse and bring it to the church for their food program.
I also volunteer through the Folsom Braille program to transcribe educational books into Braille for kindergarten through college. This is my second year as president of our local Lions Club. I discharged my parole in 2009, two years early.
What goals are you working towards today?
I am working towards a second Braille certification in Nemeth Math. Once I get my Certificate of Rehabilitation, I want to be able to go into the women’s prison in Chowchilla to help get the Braille program started there. I want to make it possible for Women to work out of their home and be with their children. If I can help even one person, I feel like it would go a long way to make up for the wrongs in my past.
