https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZHEBwI7YpE

By Anne Cacherell

Sometimes, the best friendships begin with the worst conflicts.

Take it from these two men who used to be the bitterest of enemies. It all started when the district attorney’s office arranged a meeting between Officer Ray Robakowski and former drug dealer and gang-banger Jacob Maclin to see if cops and ex-convicts could work together and break the vicious cycle.

Robakowski was skeptical at first, because Maclin got arrested so many times that you can actually see him grow old with his mugshots. But for the sake of second chances, the former cop sent Maclin to different work interviews. One of them was Community Warehouse.

Community Warehouse is a Milwaukee-based non-profit home improvement business that helps background-challenged individuals get jobs through various skills training. Jacob started working there 8 years ago and with his perseverance and determination to turn his life around, he is now a member of the management team.

The two former enemies, now best of friends, kept in touch all those years. Jacob was very grateful to Ray for believing in him and for all his help.

There is no such thing as eternal enemies. Do you think everybody deserves a second chance? Do you have a friend, who was a former enemy, or vice versa? Share with us your experience.