“It’s the everyday things, like being able to open a door, that bring me such joy.”
Like many people who are incarcerated, Travis Rapp struggled with anger, pain, and hopelessness during the 16 years he spent in a maximum security California prison, almost a decade in isolation.
Travis was 21 when he was charged with first-degree burglary and sentenced to 15 years at Kern Valley State Prison in Delano, CA, “designed to house the worst-behaved, most problematic,” of all the state’s inmates. For nine years, he was confined to a 6.5-foot-by-11-foot room with just a bed, sink, and toilet. Meals were served through a slot. The exercise consisted of four hours a week in a gated dog-run-like cage in the outside yard.
Fast forward to today. Travis, 37, is just two years out of prison. He’s a lead supervisor for five of Five Keys’ employment and reentry crews, (about 50 employees) rising through the ranks from his first job on the CAL Crew, which works to repair, remove litter, control vegetation, repair storm damage and erosion and other highway beautification projects in Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Joaquin counties. He clocks in at 6:45 a.m. and out at 3:15 overseeing worker safety, the vans, hiring, data sheets, payroll and recruiting.
“Travis is a natural leader, a standup guy who is also humble and was not afraid to start at the bottom and work his way up,” said Jalonn Harrison, Assistant Director/Transitional Work Programs for Five Keys. “He’s stepped up to every opportunity and given his best. He’s an amazing role model for all that a person can make it through anything. He’s all about the power of hard work and determination.”
In February he was released from parole.
Travis is married to Lenna, a hairstylist, who shares his passion for trekking through California highways on weekends on their motorcycles. They live in an apartment in West Los Angeles with their two cats, Brodie, and Bob Cat, and have a bucket list of travel plans from Greece to Japan, to France and around the globe.
The first place he and his wife went upon his release from prison: The Claim Jumper restaurant “for a big old juicy steak.” He’s proud to say he’s taken up cooking, “mostly steaks,” he admits.
“But it’s the everyday things, like being able to open a door, that bring me such joy.”
His new adventure is all about taking risks and creating a dream life. But he doesn’t forget the suffering and longing that defined his years in prison.
As the years rolled by in prison, Travis was visited by the prison chaplain three times, each to tell him about the death of one of his grandparents.
Travis studied and earned his General Educational Development (GED) degree, classes in Excel and Microsoft, trade school auto mechanics certificate, soaked up as much history as possible, books about Napoléon, the Saxons and jotted down motivational quotes that became his lifeline and guiding light: “You gain strength through struggle,” and “In prosperity, our friends know us; in adversity, we know our friends.”
“I was a lifelong troublemaker who knew I had to turn my life around and that moving forward, the key would be who I surround myself with, he said.
Travis says he just kept telling himself: “Push forward, you can’t let it break you. Work, just work.”
Never underestimate the power of community.
In 2022, Travis was transferred into Los Angeles’ Male Community Reentry Program (MCRP), a reentry multi-tenant apartment complex that provides programs and tools necessary to transition from custody to community. Monitored with an ankle bracelet, Travis discovered Five Keys and its innovative transitional employment program.
His break was being hired by Five Keys on the Cal Crew. Through the Five Keys Transitional Employment and Reentry programs, people like Travis receive robust support to help them find permanent employment, progress along educational pathways, or enroll in progressive job training. Job readiness workshops, reentry support, access to high school completion, and hosted resource groups are provided.
“Travis is an extraordinary leader in that he takes the initiative to do things he sees need to be done instead of waiting for someone to suggest it,” said Dave Bates, VP of Transitional Employment & Reentry. “Travis forecasts what needs to be done and he gets it done. That is what you want in a leader.”
These days Travis is also passionate about giving back, reaching out to help others “get the second chance I did.”
There is a sorrow that continues to burrow in his heart. His best buddy in prison, a forty-something guy named Christophe, is sentenced to life without parole. “We were in solitary together and could only talk between the walls,” says Travis. “These days I can call and write him, but it’s hard because I am out and there is a guilt there and sadness. He got me through so much and is my best friend. Isn’t it weird, I have a best friend I never got to even shake hands with and probably never will. It’s rough. I feel very remorseful.”