Remarkable Woman Patrice Palmer: Breaking the cycle
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — She spent 20 years struggling with drug and alcohol addiction — selling and stealing drugs and writing bad checks.
As a result of her actions, Patrice Palmer was in and out of correctional facilities. But, she turned her life around, even starting an organization focused on breaking the cycle of mass incarceration.
The Chosen for Change founder, Dr. Patrice Palmer, is now an NBC4 Remarkable Woman finalist.
'In 2003, going back to prison for the fourth time, I'll never forget the judge saying to me, 'If I could give you life, I would,'' said Palmer. 'And I thought, 'Wow, hey, I didn't do — I'm not that bad. Like, what are you talking about?' And I realized in that moment that he saw me as the habitual criminal. And he said, 'I, I had no value in life.''
That moment resonated with Palmer, she started 'doing the work' — focusing on her future.
'And then the warden challenged me to write a program, and it was called Home Run,' said Palmer. 'And every base represented a challenge that people faced in their lives. And how do I get home, right? And having a person as a support system would be up to bat, to hopefully help bring you home. Or once you gain all this strength, you could get up there and bat and hit a home run yourself.'
Since her last stay, Palmer has been busy. She leads a re-entry summit for people of all ages preparing to leave correctional institutions. And started an award-winning program in Franklin County to address opioid addiction.
'A lot of things that I'm not really proud of, you know, being addicted to drugs, involvement with criminal justice — ashamed of that, honestly,' said Palmer. 'But then the other side is being able to identify those things, accepting responsibility for the mistakes that I made, and then having the courage to say, 'I want something different.'''I'm still here. You know, having the courage to say, 'Oh, I made some poor decisions and choices in life, but I don't allow my past fears and failures to dictate my future possibilities.' So, I always get nervous when I'm talking about me, because I have to talk about my fears and my dysfunctions because those things I have to embrace because they make me who I am today.'
Palmer has earned several degrees, including a doctorate in divinity and theology. Among other things, she was recognized during the YWCA's Women of Achievement in 2023. She is also a mother of five and a grandmother.
'The reality is that my children are the winds beneath my wings,' said Palmer. 'To know that I embarrassed them and I was not present in the moment in their lives has been a thorn in my flesh.'
After her release in 2003, Palmer went to a treatment program in Cincinnati called Having the Courage to Change. She credits that program with making a life-changing difference.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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