Dylan Fiedler lives in Glenside and is currently enrolled in The Choice Is Yours (TCY), a program for first-time drug offenders. He recently told his story to The Intelligencer.

Fiedler is an HVAC contractor and a father or two children. In November 2021, he was stopped for driving an unregistered vehicle, and police found enough marijuana inside his vehicle to charge him with a felony. His lawyer told him about The Choice is Yours program (TCY), a national restorative justice program and a potential avenue to having his record expunged. He plead no contest and completed a year-long educational program in hopes that his charges would be dismissed.

“It’s not just a program to get the felony wiped out, it’s actually about everyday life,” Fiedler told The Intelligencer.

TCY is run by the Jewish Employment and Vocational Service (JEVS), and plans were recently announced to expand their services in Montgomery County. According to a TCY program manager, only 15% of participants have re-offended since the program began 10 years ago.

“Most people don’t even know I’m a felon, but people do look at you differently when they know,” he said.

For extensive coverage on Fiedler’s experience with the TCY program and its potential for our area, you can read The Intelligencer’s article here. To learn more about JEVS human services, you can visit their website.

Photo courtesy of The Intelligencer.