Success Story: Anthony Bens

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Growing up in the streets of Little Rock during the '90s was a dangerous time.  Gang warfare meant being rough and tough and not showing any sign of weakness.  Eventually this lifestyle led Anthony Bens to prison.  Keeping up the tough exterior was a way to survive.

After a period of time, Anthony decided that he had to change his way of thinking if he wanted any kind of life when he made it back to the streets.  This decision led him to the IFI program at the Tucker prison in Arkansas.  “It took a while, but I started to allow the program to soften my heart,” Anthony tells an IFI staff member.  “I never thought I could do that, but once it started it just felt right.”  After completing the 18-month in-prison program Anthony began the reentry phase upon his parole in March 2009.  “I was a bit hesitant at first," he says, "but soon realized that everything that I had been told and taught in the program actually was happening.”

This new life has not been without its challenges.  Anthony has had to face several temptations from his past life. “I know that if I’m faithful, then God has promised to be faithful—I’ve worked too hard to get where I am to throw it all away,” says Anthony.  He claims that the IFI core value of integrity has been the most important lesson he learned while at IFI.  “If you can’t be honest, and can’t be trusted, then everything else is meaningless.  I use that every day, whether at work, at school or in my relationships.”

One of Anthony’s goals while locked up was to attend college.  “I’ve always been told that I should go to school, and now I have a chance to do that,” he says.  While continuing to work full time, Anthony has enrolled and started classes at the Ouachita Technical College in Malvern, Arkansas.  He plans to get a degree in Psychology and hopes to counsel others some day.