Originally published in the Autumn 2024 edition of the Virginia Defender, issue 75, printed November 6. Reproduced here for accessibility and archival purposes. To find other stories in the Autumn 2024 issue or to download the full PDF, see this post. For other issues dating back to 2012, see the Full Issues page.

By Phil Wilayto

The storefront at 6 East Nine Mile Road in eastern Henrico’s Highland Springs neighborhood used to house a church ministry. Now it’s many things: a thrift shop, moving company, for a while a furniture renovator.

But most importantly, it’s a community where formerly incarcerated people can find a place to rebuild their lives.

PATH Reentry was the brainchild of Andrea Edmunds, a former probation officer, and Anthony Gomez, a former prisoner. The organization is in the process of becoming a nonprofit. For now, it has a fiscal sponsor, which allows it to receive tax-deductible contributions.

The two founders met back in 1997, when Andrea was tasked with writing a presentencing report for Anthony. At the time, he was a 17-year-old Puerto Rican kid from the Bronx who, despite growing up in a rough neighborhood, had led a crime-free life, always working.

His family moved him to Virginia, to get him away from the streets, and it was here that he made the one bad decision that cost him his freedom. It would be 2020 before he would see the outside world again.

He and Andrea stayed in touch.

“Anthony left an imprint on me,” Andrea said. “What impressed me was that he took full responsibility, turned himself in that night and didn’t put the victim’s family through a trial. But despite his young age, good record and his cooperation, he was sentenced to lifeplus-157 years.”

Anthony might never have left prison if Virginia hadn’t passed a law allowing the possibility of parole for prisoners convicted when they were juveniles. He was the first person paroled under the new law. By that time, Andrea had moved on from parole work and launched PoshTots.com, a successful online business that sold children’s furniture.

A year later, in 2021, Andrea helped start a moving company called Property Angels to provide work for Andrea’s son, who had just graduated from high school and Anthony’s best friend, who had recently been released after 27 years behind bars.

Their customers were often older people who were downsizing, with furniture and other possessions they no longer wanted. The movers would bring the items to Goodwill or otherwise give them away to other local thrift stores. That’s what led to the idea to start the PATH Thrift Shop in Highland Springs.

And it was about that time that the Virginia Department of Corrections contacted them to ask if they could find a place to live for a recently released prisoner. Sent to prison at the age of 16, he was now 62 – without an ID, social security card or any real preparation for surviving on the outside. He also was living in a motel room paid for by VADOC, which was about to stop paying for the room.

The solution? Rent a house to provide lodging for former prisoners, and pay for it with profits from the thrift shop and moving company. With four men now sharing the small house, PATH is looking for a second house .

The whole operation is bare bones. The thrift shop is run by one full-time employee and a few dedicated volunteers. The moving company has one employee, Andrea’s son, Evan, and hires ex-prisoners for the moving jobs.

And those projects, plus donations, fund PATH Reentry, which provides a broad range of services to the many formerly incarcerated folks seeking help.

“We set them up with IDs, drive them to food banks, help with resumes, teach financial literacy,” Andrea said. “We set them up with medical and dental and even help them find a primary physician.”

The Richmond area has many good people trying to help the community. PATH Reentry stands out as one effort that has leveraged the fierce dedication of a few founders into a multi-service project helping some of the most vulnerable among us to make a fresh start, begin new lives and contribute back to society. It’s an effort more than worthy of support.

“For me, PATH is a way to give back to the community,” Anthony said. “I can never repay for the harm that I caused, so this is just a way for me to give back, do my part in keeping the community safe. Because when people have housing and services, they’re less likely to panic and relapse.”

“We counsel, we direct people to services. I’m available anytime for our residents.”

PATH Thrift, at 6 East Nine Mile Road in Henrico County, is open Thursdays through Sundays, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Property Angels Movers can be reached by calling 804-921-7660.

To volunteer, call 804-921-7660 or email pathreentry@gmail.com.

Tax-deductible donations to PATH Reentry can be made on the organization’s website: pathreentry.org.