Three years ago, instead of indulging in the typical conventions of retirement, Robert Beaudry, his wife, Sally, and their friend, Dick Paulsen, decided to start an impactful nonprofit. “You can look at the world and see that systems are failing,” says Robert, director of The Eternity Challenge (TEC). He wanted to teach people to lead successful, meaningful lives.

In 2015, TEC employees and volunteers logged in 205,000 teaching hours at churches, Teen Challenge and prisons, including visits to the Placer County Jail and the Folsom Prison, deploying all the skills it takes to thrive upon release, including finance and career pathways. 

“California’s system has a recidivism rate of anywhere from 70-85 percent, which means that seven out of 10 are back in prison within three years. Our program’s success rate is at about 90 percent,” says Beaudry. “Senior members of the justice system notice [the inmates are] engaged [and] articulate. They understand the world,” Beaudry explains of prison and Department of Justice employees who sit in on the classes. 

TEC’s mission immediately expanded beyond teaching to fully support for major life changes, too; at present, they provide housing, life and career counseling, and either direct employment or help with finding a job. Twelve businesses operate in association with the nonprofit—including a mechanic shop, lawn maintenance and plumbing companies, a property management firm and a real estate brokerage—and employ people who come to TEC seeking help. 

“We think of ourselves as a stepping stone,” says Beaudry. The organization serves ex-cons, veterans, addicts and sex-trafficked women. Currently, 20 rental houses, including two just for women, function as group living homes where people have a chance to reorient to life. “We’re a weigh station in their journey of life, and we love it when they leave successfully and move back in with their family, get married, or get a job.” 

Partnerships with many other nonprofit organizations regularly bring people ready for change. The Mighty Oaks Warrior program serves veterans, police officers and EMTs with PTSD. Michael Priddy, a veteran graduate of the program, was hired by Beaudry to head an outpost in Rocklin, where he finds Northern California veterans to send to the weeklong Mighty Oaks program and then holds weekly meetings afterwards. Seven graduates of the program have received extensive aftercare from TEC, including counseling and employment in the Sacramento area. 

Priddy maintains that TEC gave him a completely new start in life. The challenges he faced returning from multiple deployments had destroyed his family. “TEC supporting me, mentoring me and loving me helped me to rebuild the relationship that I have with my children—something I never would have thought [possible],” he says.

Marie Cano and Chelyssa Berglund

 One man who Beaudry counselled closely was a murderer. “He was a gang banger who committed his initiation at 17 and was sentenced to life in prison,” explains Beaudry. “After six years in prison, he got down on his knees and said ‘God, I’ll change.’” While still in prison he earned two AA degrees, and upon later release was directed to TEC. Beaudry encouraged him to continue with his education. He’s now enrolled in William Jessup University and plans to start a nonprofit in East Los Angeles to keep youth out of gangs and combat recidivism.

by Dayana Stockdale  //  photos by Dante Fontana

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