It’s 11 a.m. on a Tuesday morning and Michael Coats is teaching a 60-minute peer support class to a group of Parole Project clients called “Overcoming Institutional Habits,” one of the many classes offered to clients when they return home from prison.
“The things we discuss here are not right or wrong,” said Coats, a reentry specialist. “These are habits you pick up in prison that you might not necessarily think of. I want to make you mindful of them.”
He laughs as he remembers climbing into the shower with his shower shoes on, a reflex from decades inside. His wife was stunned. “She said, ‘There are three people living in this house – me, you, and your daughter. The tub is clean, the bathroom is clean. Why do you have those shoes on? Michael, you’re not in prison anymore. You’re home now.’” It was a small moment, he tells them, but after 35 years, breaking old habits took time.
The clients chuckle and one client mutters under his breath, “I did that this morning,” shaking his head.
“My wife checks me every step of the way of the things that I do that remind her of me being in prison,” Coats said. “To me this stuff means nothing, but to her it meant everything.”
Many Parole Project clients call Coats, “Coach.” He laughs every time he hears it. “A lot of them think it’s Coach,” he said. “But it’s Coats. I never coached a team in my life.”
The confusion makes sense. He carries himself like someone who has spent a lifetime guiding others. He is wise but approachable, firm but gentle, and has kind brown eyes that stretch as wide as his smile when he greets a co‑worker. He moves through the world with a steadiness that settles everyone around him.
Coats first came to Parole Project as a client in 2023 when he was released from prison after 35 years. A close friend told him about Parole Project and connected him with Parole Project Executive Director Andrew Hundley. After completing the initial phase of the program, he began working for the organization, cleaning the office and helping out as needed. When a full-time reentry position opened in 2024, he stepped into the new role seamlessly. Today he teaches classes and mentors new clients through the reentry process.
“Michael brings a calm wisdom to his work, rooted in humility and a genuine desire to help others succeed,” Hundley said. “He leads with patience, dignity, and respect, and that is why our clients trust him when they are trying to find their footing after prison.”
While incarcerated, he earned a bachelor’s degree in Christian ministry through the New Orleans Baptist Seminary’s Angola campus and tutored students after graduating. His leadership didn’t go unnoticed. He was asked to be the keynote speaker at the next graduation, a speech that he said earned a standing ovation and praise from the prison’s warden.
Coats treats every client as a human being.
“I can relate to what they’re going through because I’ve been there and I listen,” he said. “They’re not in prison. They deserve to be treated with respect. My motto is ‘If you respect me, I’ll respect you.’ I don’t want them to feel like they’re still locked up.”
Outside of work, Coats serves as assistant pastor at Olive Grove Baptist Church in Jackson, Louisiana, continuing the ministry he began inside. He is a family man – he and his wife Doris were together before his incarceration and have been married ever since.
“She stood by me,” he said. “She’s crazy.”
Behind the joke is deep gratitude. He is proud of his family. Together, they raised two daughters and a son, now grown adults with their own families. He has 13 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren and is thankful for the second chance to enjoy their childhood.
“I missed a lot of my children’s lives and my grandchildren’s lives,” he said. “But I get to share in my great‑grandkids’ lives. Holding them, watching them take their first steps, giving them lemonade for the first time and seeing them pucker up but reach out for more. It’s like reliving life.”
In December 2025, for his 73rd birthday, his family surprised him with the first birthday party he has ever had. “They walked through the door singing ‘Happy Birthday,’ and my wife made me a special cake. I thought, ‘Is this real?’”
He carries deep regret for the pain he caused his family, but just as much gratitude for the life he has now. That balance fuels his commitment to guide clients as they return home. “I don’t get excited,” he said. “I try to use wisdom and bring calmness to a situation. A lot of that comes from my walk with God.”
When asked what he likes best about his job, he doesn’t hesitate.
“The people,” he said. “It’s a family. All these different personalities and backgrounds, and somehow, we all mesh. It’s unusual to like everyone you work with, but we do.”
