Hi, this is the first time I’ve set up a GoFundMe campaign. My name is Elizabeth and I am hoping to raise funds to help my formerly incarcerated friend Noire buy a used car and take a big step to resurrect his life.

Noire got out of San Quentin on December 4th and is living in a halfway house in Santa Rosa, California. For the past two months, he has been working at Epicenter, a sports, recreation, and fitness center as a janitor. His employer has recognized his drive, reliability, and commitment, and he was recently promoted to team lead. Noire hopes to become a personal trainer. This past month he successfully passed the examination and was certified as a personal trainer by the International Sports Sciences Association. He is also taking classes at Code Tenderloin to start earning credentials as a computer coder.

I have been volunteering at San Quentin for the past three years in support of Marin Humane’s Pen Pals program. I go regularly and photograph dogs, the inmates, and the environment of the prison. Noire is the only young man from SQ that I have maintained a relationship with once they’ve been released. I stay in touch with Noire for the simple reason that I see him wanting to succeed, and is committed to doing so. He’s driven, smart and, kind. I believe that you can only help people who want to help themselves, and I know that Noire is one of those people.

One of the many limitations Noire struggles with is his lack of transportation. He can only go to places that he can reach on his bike. To have any hope of becoming a personal trainer, he will need to have some reliable form of transportation. I would like to help Noire succeed and could use your help. Besides a financial contribution, of which any amount would be greatly appreciated, I want to demonstrate to my friend that there are people out there rooting for him, believing he can make the right choices, succeed, and leave his past in the past.