October 04, 2012|By Arthur Hirsch, The Baltimore Sun
Before he was released, the information handed out at the presentations helped Hackett line up a place to stay at the American Rescue Workers shelter in Baltimore. A week after he was released, he checked in with Pullen at the North Laurel-Savage Multiservice Center, where several social service agencies have offices.
That day, Pullen drove him to the city so he could get a birth certificate, which he needed to get a Social Security card, which he needed to replace the driver's license that he lost when he was evicted from an apartment months ago when he was arrested.
Without all the help he has received so far, Hackett says, he's not sure how he would have figured out all the paperwork.
"They can assist you with certain people you might not know about," he says.
He'll need the driver's license to pursue his long-term plan to enroll in a truck driving school in Glen Burnie and get a steady job. For now, he's working part time for his brother's landscaping company in the city.
He returned to the Detention Center last week to meet with Pullen, and conducted an interview in a conference room there. This time — after 22 years going in and out of jail and prison — he hopes never to return as an inmate.
"You just get tired of being in places like this," he says.
arthur.hirsch@baltsun.com
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