Eight months after walking out of the Tarrant County Jail, Channing Walker-Ragsdale is building a future he once struggled to imagine.<\/p>\n
The longtime Fort Worth resident, who spent years battling addiction and cycling in and out of incarceration, now runs his own personal training business, is on the verge of full-time employment, and serves as a re-entry coordinator helping others transition back into society.<\/p>\n
In mid-July, while surrounded by supporters from across Tarrant County, Walker-Ragsdale reached another milestone \u2013 receiving the keys to a donated vehicle that will help him continue moving forward.<\/p>\n
But those who gathered at Freeman Toyota in Hurst said the story is about far more than a car. It\u2019s about a network of nonprofits, educators, law enforcement leaders, businesses and community members who have worked together to create opportunities for people seeking a second chance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis journey and these people that you see here have really been instrumental in helping me transform my life,\u201d Walker-Ragsdale told NBC 5.<\/p>\n
Finding hope behind bars<\/p>\n
Walker-Ragsdale was released from jail in November 2025. Like many people returning to society after incarceration, he faced significant challenges, including finding stable housing, employment, transportation and support while maintaining sobriety.<\/p>\n
During previous periods of incarceration, he said he often searched for opportunities for rehabilitation but struggled to establish a sustainable path forward once released.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have been struggling with addiction for a very long time in my life, as well as going in and out of institutions of incarceration many times,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
This time, however, he began building connections before his release.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t want to come back to jail and repeat my former past behaviors,\u201d Walker-Ragsdale said.<\/p>\n
Those relationships started through TFT Organization, or Tomorrow\u2019s Families Today. It\u2019s a nonprofit that provides financial literacy, life-skills training and mentoring programs inside local jails and detention facilities.<\/p>\n
Walker-Ragsdale said the program gave him something he had not experienced before \u2013 a plan and a support network waiting for him on the outside.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re teaching us on the inside, but then they are preparing to meet us on the outside,\u201d he said. \u201cIt gave me a plan of action. It gave me an opportunity to say, \u2018You know what? There\u2019s some people expecting me when I come home that know my history, understand my weaknesses and are prepared to help navigate me through the process.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
TFT founder and CEO Broderick Taylor saw something different in Walker-Ragsdale from the moment he attended the organization\u2019s classes inside the jail.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was in the financial literacy class with Mr. Walker, and you can see him sitting up,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cA lot of people in the classes, sometimes they sit back, but every class, he\u2019s sitting up, he\u2019s taking notes. He\u2019s staying later in the class. The bailiffs are like, \u2018Hey, come on, you gotta get back into your cell.\u2019 He\u2019s asking questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
His story also felt familiar. Years before founding TFT, Taylor faced many of the same struggles. Raised by a single mother and moving frequently throughout Texas, Taylor said he eventually became caught in a cycle of crime and incarceration.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know what the guys are going through when they get locked up and then when they get released,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Taylor recalls walking out of jail after his final incarceration and realizing he needed to make a different choice.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last time I got out of jail, my sister wanted to pick me up,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cI said, \u2018No, I\u2019m walking.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
During that walk down Lancaster Avenue, he passed Union Gospel Mission of Tarrant County and realized what his future could become if he did not change direction. Today, he uses those experiences to mentor others.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet somebody walk you through it,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cSometimes we get the mindset that we can do it by ourselves. It\u2019s much harder doing it by yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
The TFT program operates with support from the Tarrant County Sheriff\u2019s Office, which allows inmates access to educational and personal development opportunities before they are released.<\/p>\n
Sheriff Bill Waybourn said those programs can have a significant impact on public safety by helping people avoid returning to jail.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can set the table for them to say, \u2018Hey, here\u2019s some skills that you can learn to take back to the free world and not come back,\u2019\u201d Waybourn said. \u201cIt gives me chill bumps to see people\u2019s lives turned around and the past put behind them and they start on this new future.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the sheriff, participants in these programs have experienced dramatically lower recidivism rates.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they do that with the enthusiasm that you\u2019ve seen today, they\u2019re generally incredibly successful,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen our recidivism rate go from 70% in these programs down to less than 22%. So they\u2019re making an impact.\u201d<\/p>\n
Waybourn said stories like Walker-Ragsdale\u2019s demonstrate the potential of rehabilitation programs when participants fully commit to them.<\/p>\n
A village comes together<\/p>\n
After leaving jail, Walker-Ragsdale followed Taylor\u2019s advice and enrolled in programs at Union Gospel Mission of Tarrant County. Just blocks from the jail, the mission provides emergency shelter, addiction recovery services, job-readiness training and long-term support programs.<\/p>\n
Through ongoing mentoring and support, he began rebuilding his life step by step and got help in establishing financial stability.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnion Gospel Mission, they connected me with Prosperity Bank. They connected me with various different resources that were available,\u201d Walker-Ragsdale said. \u201cThey helped me with my credit, helping me with banks, understanding, just navigating through life.\u201d<\/p>\n
He graduated from Union Gospel Mission\u2019s program and is helping guide others who are taking the same path.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re grateful for him coming through the program,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cAnd we\u2019re looking for more individuals like him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walker-Ragsdale\u2019s journey isn\u2019t complete without the ride to help him continue down this path. That\u2019s where Fort Worth ISD steps into his village.<\/p>\n
When Freeman Toyota in Hurst donated a Toyota Avalon for TFT\u2019s second-chance vehicle initiative, it needed repairs. That work fell to recent O.D. Wyatt High School graduate Carlos Flores and his instructor.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo between me and my instructor, we took it apart, and we put it back together again with a brand-new alternator to make sure everything was good to go,\u201d Flores said.<\/p>\n
The project is part of TFT\u2019s broader partnership with the school district. They work in schools to promote financial literacy, mentorship and crime-prevention efforts while also providing scholarships and career opportunities for students pursuing skilled trades.<\/p>\n
Flores said the experience showed him that technical skills can be used to serve others.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I first started working on cars, everyone always told me that it makes good money, but what this program taught me was that it gives me an opportunity to give back, really. More than what money is worth,\u201d he said. \u201cIt makes me feel really happy knowing that I had a part to do with it. And I just wish him nothing but the best really moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the car was presented to Walker-Ragsdale, it marked the first time all the partners involved in his journey had come together in one place. This was the second car presented to a recipient of TFT in this program, with hopes to keep the momentum going for years to come.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just believe that if you can get them all together, we have a lot of separate entities doing a lot of different things,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cYou saw a young man work on the car. He gets a scholarship. He gives the gift to the community\u2026Then you see a young man that gets out. He gets a job. He starts a business, and now he\u2019s giving back to the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Walker-Ragsdale, reliable transportation represents another crucial step toward maintaining the life he has worked to build.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need transportation in order to navigate throughout the city,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd so this is just an amazing opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
The TFT organization hopes others will be inspired by this second chance and will connect with them and other resources in Tarrant County to turn their life around.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat old saying, it takes a village,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cWell, guess what? It takes a village as an adult as well.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Eight months after walking out of the Tarrant County Jail, Channing Walker-Ragsdale is building a future he once…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":389086,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[150,152,151,116,122],"class_list":["post-389085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arlington","tag-arlington","tag-arlington-headlines","tag-arlington-news","tag-fort-worth","tag-tarrant-county"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=389085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389085\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/389086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=389085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=389085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=389085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}