Michael’s Story

Going Home II founder Michael Fesser aims to restore the concept of manhood for his community. Fesser came of age playing basketball at parks and school gymnasiums in and around Northeast Portland, Oregon. By the time he was a highschool junior in his mind, being a man meant having money, and having money meant selling drugs.

Fesser turned his life around after a two-year stint in federal prison. He had gone to church with his mother as a child, and credits God with his redemption. Taking the teachings of Jesus to heart, he was not content to simply better himself. Fesser started mentoring men in prison, focussing on the difficult transition back into regular life. Going Home II grew out of that mentoring, and has expanded to encompass a post-prison support group, transitional housing, and restorative justice work between community and police.

Fesser’s wife and organizational partner Tanisha Wells observes that it is his willingness to be open about his own failures and mistakes that sets the tone for the effective mentorship that is at the heart of what Going Home II provides. “I do this work because I love it and because I know there’s a need for it,” he says. “Because, I was that guy.”