Kim Kardashian has offered to cover a former prisoner’s rent for the next five years.
Matthew Charles was the first person to be released from prison following the implementation of the First Step Act, a U.S. prison reform bill, but once he was freed, he had trouble finding somewhere to live. Charles, who was released in January (19) after serving more than 20 years of his 35-year sentence for non-violent drug and weapons charges, was denied housing due to his background, and the reality TV star has now stepped in to help him get back on his feet.
“Kim reached out privately to Matthew yesterday after hearing he was having a hard time getting approved for an apartment and has generously offered to pay five years of his rent,” Tim Hardiman, a senior producer at CMT in Nashville, told Us Weekly on Monday (11Mar19). “He was overwhelmed by Kim’s offer and graciously accepted. Her generosity will allow him to save enough money to eventually put a down payment on a house. It’s truly changed his life.”
According to Hardiman, the KKW Beauty mogul first heard about Charles’ story when she saw an article about his return to prison in 2018. The Nashville man was released in May 2016 after being incarcerated for 20 years, but was ordered to finish his sentence two years later. Kim discussed Charles’ story during her meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House last year (18) and he was granted clemency earlier this year.
Charles expressed his gratitude to Kim on Facebook on Sunday.
“Kim did not do this for attention or publicity, but I had to share it, because it’s to good not to, and my heart is about to burst with happiness, that I wish you to rejoice in this news with me,” he gushed. “And many of your responses about the outcome of my dilemma prophesied it. GOD IS GOOD!!!. WHAT THE DEVIL MEANT FOR BAD, GOD REVERSED AGAIN, FOR MY GOOD.”
Kim’s meeting with Trump previously led to 63-year-old Alice Marie Johnson being granted clemency in June. She had been serving a life sentence without parole as a first-time non-violent drug offender.