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Natasha Garcia, executive director of the New Mexico Reentry Center, poses for a portrait at the organization’s Downtown Albuquerque offices on Thursday.

Richard Simmons’ decisions over the past couple of decades put him in and out of the prison system more than a half dozen times and led to his methamphetamine addiction.

But on Thursday, sitting in a corner of the New Mexico Reentry Center, a nonprofit focused on housing and job placement for formerly incarcerated people, Simmons had a revelation.

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Richard Simmons talks with Natasha Garcia, executive director of the New Mexico Reentry Center, while using a computer at the center’s office to apply for jobs. The center helps formerly incarcerated individuals find work and housing.

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Eileen Sandoval, an intensive case manager at New Mexico Reentry Center, has worked at the center since June of last year. She was released from prison the day before Thanksgiving in November 2023.

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A mural at New Mexico Reentry Center.

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Matthew Narvaiz covers the economy for the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥. You can reach him at mnarvaiz@abqjournal.com.