Former federal felon now helps those in need in San Francisco

( KRON )— Last week, a woman experiencing homelessness went into Urban Alchemy, a rehabilitation program for formerly incarcerated individuals, in hopes of finding some help. Less than a week later, that woman was able to both find temporary housing and land a job to sustain a life for herself and her son.

After her transformational week, the woman re-visited the UA offices to thank everyone for their help. Namely, she thanked Guillermo Magallanes– a formerly federally convicted felon who now oversees almost 700 practitioners as UA’s Deputy Director of Operations.

After spending time in federal prisons “all around the country,” Magallanes says he now has one single goal in life– to help. “I get up every morning, and I think to myself, ‘I gotta get to work and help someone…If I was helped to get to where I am, then I need to do the same for others.”

Magallanes, 46, grew up in the projects in the San Fernando Valley. When Magallanes was nine years old, he was sent to juvenile hall for the first time. When he was 14, he was sentenced to serve four years. Shortly after his release, he was sent to state prison for gang-related activity. He was 18 years old.

“Now that I look at my past, I realize that I was always a selfish person. I always wanted to do things the easy way… I always thought I was moving forward because, at one point, I started seeing a lot of fruition out of it… But at the end of the day, when you get incarcerated, you’re gonna go ten steps backward.”

In 2015, Magallanes was indicted into federal prison for what he describes as the attempted sale of “a large amount of drugs.”

Magallanes says things changed for him in 2020. After serving his term in federal prison, the Pacoima native was supposed to be sent to a halfway home in Bakersfield. Through a little bit of luck, however, he was sent to a halfway home in San Francisco— the city he says he fell in love with.

Not only was Magallanes now in a better housing situation and attending therapy classes, but he says the thing that helped him the most was landing a job at Urban Alchemy. He says he was able to help himself by helping the community around him.

“I’ve done so much bad in the world that being able to help someone just a little bit helps me become a better person,” he said. “Now that I have a job, I don’t have to watch my back. I’m always helping people, and I get to be a productive member of society.”

Today, Magallanes and his UA team help people with drug addiction and overdose reversals and provide work and housing for people coming out of prison and homelessness. Perhaps most importantly, they help change the lives of people who were once in the same position as themselves.

Magallanes says working at UA especially made rehabilitation easier “because we’ve all lived through the same experience. Whether it be being homeless, being addicted to drugs, or just those of us with that ‘criminal thinking.’”

“Everyone in the community loves Urban Alchemy,” Magallanes says, claiming that many UA workers even spend money out of pocket to provide community members with a hot meal.

“They also really do a good job of de-escalating issues out here,” he adds. “They really take note and listen to what we’re saying, and 9 out of 10, they’ll actually rectify what we’re asking of them to do.”

When asked about a message he’s attempting to spread to readers, Magallanes paused and reflected on advice passed on from his mother. “Growing up, my mom always told me—When people say something, be open-minded and receptive, and take it for what it’s worth.”

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