"Marcus soon found himself facing 9-15 years in prison. 'At that point I decided that it was about time for me to start turning my life around. I was scared.'”

Ever since age 13 Marcus had been getting into trouble. Dealing with the early separation of his parents and the insecurity associated with their divorce, Marcus lashed out in school and turned to drugs.

By age 15 he was basically homeless. Sofa surfing between friends houses and his parent’s places, street smarts became the skill set that enabled him to survive. To make money, Marcus began selling crack and cocaine on San Francisco streets. The outlook for him was bleak, “There was a lot of crazy activity going on [on the street] . . . a lot of kids were getting killed out there. I got addicted and ended up using most of the dope I was selling.”

Desperate and fearless, 19 year-old Marcus made a choice that would change his life forever: armed robbery of a convenience store. He soon found himself facing 9-15 years in prison. “At that point I decided that it was about time for me to start turning my life around. I was scared.”

Since that fateful night, change has been both in the mind and on the horizon for Marcus. As a condition of his parole, Marcus was soon released into the custody of the Delancey Street drug rehabilitation program.

Two months ago Marcus joined the team at Ashbury Images and has an up-beat view of the future, “You’ve gotta have goals right? I’d even like to own my own print shop some day.” For the team at Ashbury Images, it’s good to know that with some support, and a lot of hard work, Marcus has gained the stability he needs to make these goals become reality.