- [Gary Voice Over] I work in a sports bar and grill.

I'm just like a prep cook, kitchen help.

Washing dishes, cleaning, once in a while on the grill.

I don't wanna work in the kitchen.

It's hot back there, it's miserable, it's kinda like embarrassing.

And I feel like if my daughter was older, I feel like right now she'd be disappointed in me.

There's a lot of people like my age that are 27 with kids and you know, they got good jobs, good careers, and I'm playing catch-up for my past mistakes.

I pace $10 an hour, minimum wage, and I get like six-hour shifts, probably like five days a week.

Really isn't much.

The owners, they're really nice.

So far they've been like really understanding of my daughter.

You know, extra hours here and there.

Or if I need a little money in advance, they'll give it to me.

(gentle music) It's literally paycheck to paycheck.

You know, after rent, phone bill, diapers for my kid, wipes, the money just gets accounted for right away.

(dogs barking) I don't have a car right now, so I have to constantly get people to give me rides, fork over gas money.

Hold on, let me go grab this car seat real quick.

If I were to get a car, it would make my life so much easier.

It's like a priority that I need right now, it's a necessity.

After work, my friend Malcolm and his girlfriend Emily pick me up to go pick up my daughter Mia from my friend Matt's house.

Peanut!

Daddy!

- I got a boo boo, Daddy!

- You gots a boo boo?

- Yeah.

- [Gary] Where?

- Two boo boos.

- Two boo boos?

- [Mia] Yeah!

- [Gary Voice Over] My daughter, Mia Bella, she's two and a half years old right now.

She means everything to me.

I don't think I would be where I'm at right now without her.

You're playing with the chickies?

- Yeah!

- Yeah?

(whines) - See the chickie, no?

You scared?

- Don't be scared.

(laughs) - [Gary] I've just been working, man.

I'm gonna go look, go to the dealership right now and go look at this car.

Hopefully, I'm looking at hopefully a truck man.

'Cause that way I can do like a bunch of extra like side work and stuff with it.

It's getting expensive like having to like pay people, man.

Like go back and forth with her and like that.

And then I can get it in somewhere paying more money.

Yeah.

So I mean, they're good people there, but it's not gonna cut it for a while, man.

It's going to be hard, really hard.

All right, say goodbye to Uncle Matt.

Give hugs, hugs.

- Bye, baby.

- Bye bye.

- It's 'til like the 31st that promotion that they have right now.

All these dealerships are hurtin' so bad so they're just giving everybody cars, like anybody.

- [Woman] If you drive off the lot with one, then I know I will, too.

(muffled) - What?

(laughs) (babbles) - What?

- Why?

- Why, because it's his.

Why do you say why to everything?

"Well, why?"

Can I have a kiss?

(kisses) Okay.

Watch your hands.

- [Siri] Turn right.

You heard her, right?

- For real, turn right.

- Yeah, go right.

(all laugh) - [Siri] In a quarter mile, turn right onto Kenosha Road.

- [Gary Voice Over] Being in the Zion area, it's rough 'cause there's not much out here.

If you wanna go out and find a job that's where you're gonna live comfortable, you're definitely gonna need transportation, 'cause you're going to have to venture outside of Zion.

I want like a 2015 Honda Accord or something like that.

I need something good on gas, like a four-door Sedan.

It can't be too expensive, man.

You know?

So I'll be able to get something better.

A better job making more money.

I won't have to rely on rides.

Take a left right here.

They had a promotion.

$190 a month, $0 down.

It was all credit approved.

No credit, bad credit, repossessions, okay.

45 days before your first payment, they were gonna give you full coverage for 60 days.

Filled out some paperwork, I showed 'em my pay stubs, my ID, everything that I had.

They showed me all these cars, like this, you could choose from this one and that one.

They end up coming back to me saying, "We're going to need at least $500 down "to cover taxes and everything."

I think they were just trying to like get me in there to try to get some money, you know, telling me all this stuff.

Not making that much money at work to just throw them a 500 with bills and everything I have to pay, so.

You know, I got really excited and it just, it just dropped me down like so fast.

I just felt really bummed out.

I feel like I'm constantly playing catch up all the time.

You know, I'll get so far and then something else will get thrown at me.

- Daddy?

- What, baby?

Basically my living is, it's a place to stay, it's warm.

I don't have to worry about being on the streets or anything.

- [Mia] Juice?

- [Gary] Juice, yeah, come on.

Watch out, baby.

- Daddy!

- [Gary Voice Over] It's kinda miserable, like being down there, it really is.

But it's $400 a month.

- That one, daddy?

- No.

- You have tape, Daddy?

- [Gary] What?

- You have tape?

- [Gary] No.

- Please.

- No.

- Please.

- No.

(Mia whines) Drink your juice so you can brush your teeth.

- No!

- Stop, hey.

Stop.

- No.

- You want a time out?

- No.

- Then stop it.

- No.

(Mia cries) - [Gary] Oh my god.

Stop.

- [Mia] No, daddy.

- [Gary Voice Over] My daughter, she was born 10 months after I came home from prison.

(Mia whines) Okay.

I currently have her like full custody now.

Not on paper, but I've had her full-time since February.

And her mom just kinda dropped her off one day and didn't really come around anymore too much.

Okay.

That better?

- I got one, daddy.

- No, no, not that many.

Just one at a time.

It's just go back in two weeks and if, you know, something like doesn't fall through, then just save up and get a vehicle.

I mean, it's hard right now 'cause it's like always getting somebody to take her, just like a babysitter or anything.

You know, it's extra money, it's 10 bucks every time.

And where I'm working at right now, it's not, it's not enough to like really live by.

You know, it's hard to get anywhere.

I would really want to get somewhere as a forklift driver.

I mean, I went to school in California from like a service technician for like heavy equipment, like diesel equipment.

Something that I could make a career out of.

I think I, I know I can do it.

Who's that?

Who is that?

- It's me, daddy.

- Is that you?

- Yeah.

- [Gary] You wanna take a picture?

I wanna be able to get her away from the environment that I grew up in.

I don't want her to have to struggle with anything.

You know, money, lights getting shut off.

Look at those piggies.

(Mia laughs) - Want that one?

- I don't want it, nope.

You're so messy dude, like why?

Can I have a kiss?

Nope.

(Mia laughs) Nope.

I don't want it.

I think everybody deserves like a second chance coming back from prison.

The last time I went to prison was for 16 counts of burglary, stores, Walmarts.

And I was stealing from there to support my heroin addiction.

I was lucky enough to have a lot of people, you know, like rooting for me when I came home.

- [Receptionist] Hi!

How are ya?

- [Gary Voice Over] One of the first people I called, his name's Matt Thornton.

I've known this guy since I was like a little kid.

He's got a program for kids and it's called MFB, My Father's Business, and he gets them off the streets, feeds them, you know, mentors them, plays basketball with 'em.

He puts it like "if I get a kid off the street "for a few hours, that's a few hours "that nothing can happen to 'em.

"You know, they're safe."

You know, he told me, he said, "When you get yourself clean "and sober, let me know and I'll help you."

- Sup, Matt?

- What's up, man?

How you been?

- I'm good, man.

- Oh, good to see you.

- Good to see you too, man.

Good man, good man.

Just taking care of my daughter, man.

I got her like full-time.

- To see you here and to see you, like how you're doing now, man, more people that know your story, that are pulling on your team or praying for you than you realize.

- It's still a struggle man, it really is, but.

- It's still a struggle for me too, man.

That's life.

Life is, it's like this.

Two steps forward, one step back, man.

- [Gary Voice Over] At a very young age, I was exposed to a lot of like drugs, violence, gangs.

I grew up with my mother, my dad was in California and my mom let us do whatever we want.

I mean, we really had no male role model around.

There was really no structure.

Then I got involved with the wrong crowd and a lot of drug activity, a lot of heroin.

That's when I started burglarizing places, carrying a gun, and getting into fights.

They ended up like leading me going to prison for it.

I got pulled over.

I think I was honestly going to like buy drugs, and then you got me one time, I pulled into McDonald's.

I looked at you and we made eye contact, and I was like, "I hope he doesn't know "I have a warrant right now."

- Oh my gosh.

- That was like son of a.

That was like, "man."

(Matt laughs) I was kind of a little upset.

- Sorry I wrecked your day, man.

- You're cool, man.

"Just give me a break, man."

Matt Thornton is a detective from Zion, Illinois Police Department.

He's chased me around quite a bit.

Arrested me a few times.

- I knew you went through a lot, man.

'Cause I know your mom had the disabilities and stuff.

- [Gary] Yeah.

- And I knew that weighed heavy on you and probably a lot was expected of you.

But you were so young.

- Yeah.

Matt always gave me chances, gave me breaks.

- The norm in this country right now that you see every day is "if you don't agree with me, I don't like you.

"You're my enemy."

See all the hate mail that I get after police.

"You should've killed yourself."

I mean, I can name just some heinous things that come in my inbox.

If I dwelt on that and didn't love back, I would probably go crazy.

It would eat me up alive if I hated them back.

But I said "I'll just pray for 'em."

It's okay.

You can hate me, I'ma love you anyway.

It's love.

Love is the only thing that's gonna change this world.

This is my friend, Gary.

Known him for a long time.

Remember when he went off to prison.

Still a little emotional, man.

I remember running into him and, I remember walking away from that, like thinking like "One of these days, we're gonna get a call that he's dead."

And to see that you're here tonight is, I can't even begin to explain how emotional and how awesome it is to see.

And I appreciate you, man.

- I appreciate you so much.

- Know that if you ever need anything, that that's what we do.

We're here for you, man.

All right, let's pray, and then we can eat and play.

- In this area is, what do they say?

You are a product of your environment.

So it is more of a chance to not go down that path that leads to, you know, like prison, jail, getting killed.

- Amen.

- Amen.

(clapping) Thank you, Matt.

Mia.

Mia, this way.

- This way?

- Come on.

Yeah, you're gonna go with your mommy, okay?

- Oh, my mommy?

- Yeah, you're gonna go with your mommy today.

See if she can keep you longer this time, too.

- Oh, my mommy?

- Yeah, you ready to go see mommy?

- Yeah.

- Yeah?

There's a lot of tension between me and my kid's mom.

Mommy's coming baby, I promise.

Okay?

You know, she's, the past couple of months, she has been coming around more, like on the weekends but, it's still not that often really.

- That's my mommy, daddy!

That's my mommy!

Mommy!

That's my mommy!

Mommy!

- Come on.

- Mommy!

Mommy!

- Hello.

- She's putting in the car seat, baby.

Oh, let me grab her bag.

Do you have like any more VTO, 'cause I have to work a second shift Monday.

If you can, I can take her like in the morning time and you can pick her up-- - I'm gonna try to work something out with them so I can take her part time-- - 'Cause my sister, she's going out of town Monday, so.

- for me to work with your schedule.

- Bouncing around from place to place, it's really hard to be stable.

Alrighty, I love you.

Mwah.

- Mwah!

- [Gary] Bye!

It's giving me that feeling that somebody needs me and depends on me.

I've never really had that feeling before.

It's up to me like how, like how her life can turn out.