Sadie Masai is an ambitious and passionate author on a mission to educate parents and guardians of Children of Incarcerated Parents (C.I.P). She focuses on the importance of supporting a child through their experience and how to provide a safe space emotionally and mentally for their well-being. Sadie Masai LLC"s mission is to bring awareness to the rampant plague across the entire world to improve the social, emotional, and mental stability of children who feel unseen and unheard while experiencing a parent or parents that are incarcerated!In this episode, VanKe’via and Sadie explore Sadie’s journey as an advocate for children of incarcerated parents and the importance of a concrete village. Sadie discussed the challenges, successes, gaps of advocating for C.I.P. She also introduced and provided insight into her newly launched book, “My Concrete Village.” Tune into our conversation to learn more about advocacy and how to advocate for C.I.P.

Interested in purchasing “My Concrete Village” by Sadie Masai, use following link: My Concrete Village Book

My Concrete Village Book - Amazon

Interested in learning more about Sadie Masai and her advocacy:

Sadie Masai

Instagram: @sadiemasai_ , Facebook: Sadie Masai, & TikTok: @sadiemasai

Need more information on parental incarceration or supporting C.I.P:

Parents Behind Bars: What Happens to Their Children (Murphey & Cooper, 2015)

Children of the Incarcerated Video

The National Resource Center on Children and Families of the Incarcerated

Top 10 Things You Should Know

List of 36 Resources from the Annie E. Casey Foundation

The Children of Incarcerated Parents Bill of Rights

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Want to send us topic ideas or reach out to us? Complete the form: Topic Ideas Form

Are you formerly incarcerated and want to share your story? Complete this form: Resilient Reentrants Form

Please listen, rate, and review. Thank you, More Life!

Host: VanKe’via Garner, M. S.

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Natasha Khade works for the University of Cincinnati Correctional Institute (UCCI). She graduated with her PhD in criminology and criminal justice at Arizona State University. Her areas of research include desistance from crime, the reentry and rehabilitation processes for people involved in the system, and the cross cultural application of criminal justice research. Join VanKe'via and Dr. Khade's conversation on the relationship between gang membership and reentry. Dr. Khade discussed the challenges of those reentering with prior gang affiliation and recommendations to support these individuals. Be sure to check out the National Gang Center for more help and resources!

• Helping to Break the Recidivism Cycle | National Gang Center

If you are interested in finding out more about gangs and the reentry process, please review the following links:

• The Disengagement from Gangs in Prison and its Effects for Reentry by Natasha Khade

• From the street to the prison, from the prison to the street: Understanding and responding to prison gangs

Natasha Khade:

• Expert Profile: Natasha Khade | Research Directory

Instagram: @morelifethereentrypodcast

Want to send us topic ideas or reach out to us? Complete the form: Topic Ideas Form

Are you formerly incarcerated and want to share your story? Complete this form: Resilient Reentrants Form

Please listen, rate, and review. Thank you, More Life!

Host: VanKe’via Garner, M. S.

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Join VanKe'via and Pastor Tony Lowden in a discussion on how second chance hiring can help employers find loyal workers and the benefits of being a second chance employer. Tony Lowden is the pastor of former President Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter, and he is a chaplain for the Secret Service in Southwest Georgia. He was appointed by the White House in 2019 as Executive Director of the Federal Interagency Council on Crime Prevention and Improving Reentry. He is the Vice President of Reintegration & Community Engagement at ViaPath Technologies which provides advanced communications and management solutions that facilitate meaningful connections, provide educational opportunities, and enable successful reentry for 1.6 million incarcerated individuals.

Check out ViaPath Technologies and their work with reentry:

ViaPath Technologies

If you are interested in learning more about second chance hiring and opportunities of employment, please review the following links:

Benefits of Second-Chance Hiring

Employer Guide to Second Chance Hiring Programs and Tax Credits

Second Chance Business Coalition

Fair-Chance Jobs

Companies That Hire Felons

Interested in learning more about More Life: The Reentry Podcast, follow us on instagram @morelifethereentrypodcast

Want to send us topic ideas or reach out to us? Email us at [email protected]

Are you a formerly incarcerated or system-impacted person and want to share your story? Complete this form: Resilient Reentrants Form

Lastly, LISTEN, SUBSCRIBE, RATE, REVIEW, AND SHARE.

Host: VanKe’via Garner, M. S.

https://uppbeat.io/t/hartzmann/good-feelings

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Rachel King-Johnson is a harm reductionist, counselor, and advocate for the underserved. She serves as the Director of Clinical Outreach of the Phoenix Center, where she coordinates the Springfield Harm Reduction Initiative (SHaRI). The SHaRI Project is the Center’s syringe access program, which supplies clean syringes and collects used ones to reduce the transmission of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C. VanKe’via and Rachel dive into a conversation about the needs of those who identify as LGBTQ+, have HIV/or AIDS, have substance use concerns, or have a history of incarceration. Rachel discussed the intersection of these identities and how they may impact an individual on their reentry journey. Lastly, she highlights how the initiative aims to support individuals throughout their transition from incarceration.

A description of the Phoenix Center is listed below:

The Phoenix Center is Central Illinois’ LGBTQ Community Health Center that provides housing for LGBTQ unhoused folx, as well as housing for people living with HIV. In addition, they provide public health interventions such as harm reduction services and legal/medical advocacy.

Interested in learning more about Phoenix Center, please review their social media and professional pages:

Phoenix Center

IG: phoenix2U

FB: Springfield Harm Reduction Initiative- Phoenix2U

Need more information on LGBTQ+ Community Health Care Resources:

Out2Enroll

Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality

Need more information about Harm Reduction:

Principles of Harm Reduction

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration - Harm Reduction

Follow us on Instagram @morelifethereentrypodcast

Want to send us topic ideas or reach out to us? Complete the form: Topic Ideas Form

Are you a formerly incarcerated or system-impacted person and want to share your story? Complete this form: Resilient Reentrants Form

Please listen, rate, and review. Thank you, More Life!

Host: VanKe’via Garner, M. S.

https://uppbeat.io/t/hartzmann/good-feelings

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Dr. Metraux is a recognized expert on housing and homelessness. He has done pioneering work using administrative and survey data to assess housing outcomes; on how people experiencing homelessness use services in the mental health, criminal justice, child welfare, health care and veteran systems; and how receiving housing and related services interventions impacts the lives of formerly homeless households. Dr. Metraux also works extensively with various homeless services providers in Delaware and Philadelphia, and he sits on the Board of the Delaware Statewide Homeless Continuum of Care. In this episode, Dr. Metraux discussed homelessness within the criminal justice population, and how homelessness impedes their reentry process. In addition, he provided recommendations and suggestions that can aid in addressing the issue of homelessness among justice-involved populations.

If you are interested in learning more about Dr. Metraux and his work, follow his on social media

Dr. Metraux Twitter: @SteveMetraux

Please listen, subscribe and rate/review this podcast.

Follow us on instagram @morelifethereentrypodcast

Resources to learn more about the experiences of those who experience homelessness and involvement in the criminal justice system:

Incarceration and Homelessness

Criminal Justice Reentry and Homelessness

Host: VanKe’via Garner, M. S.

https://uppbeat.io/t/hartzmann/good-feelings

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Dr. Jennifer Ortiz is an Associate Professor at Indiana University Southeast. Dr. Ortiz earned her Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Her research interests center on structural violence within the criminal justice system with a focus on reentry post-incarceration. Ortiz maintains a firm commitment to civil service and activism. Ortiz currently serves as an executive board member for Mission Behind Bars and Beyond, a Kentucky-based non-profit reentry organization, and as Executive Counselor for the Division of Convict Criminology of the American Society of Criminology. In this episode, the aim was to give the audience a better understanding of how community supervision impacts reentry outcomes. More specifically, Dr. Ortiz discussed the mechanisms that underlie guaranteed return to incarceration. In addition, Dr. Ortiz breaks down the meaning of “The System is Not Broken, It is Intentional.” Lastly, Dr. Ortiz provided recommendations and suggestions for addressing community supervision impacts.

If you are interested in learning more about Dr. Ortiz and her work, follow her on social media and review her professional profile:

Twitter: @Ortiz_PhD

https://www.linkedin.com/in/drjortiz/

Mission Behind Bars and Beyond

Please listen, subscribe and rate/review this podcast.

Follow us on instagram @morelifethereentrypodcast

Resources to learn more about the community supervision within the criminal justice system and how they impact reentry:

The Invisible Enclosure: How Community Supervision Inhibits Successful Reentry

The System is Not Broken, It's Intentional: The PrIsoner Reentry Industry as Deliberate Structural Violence

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

Host: VanKe’via Garner, M. S.

https://uppbeat.io/t/hartzmann/good-feelings

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Dr. Caitlin Taylor is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology & Criminal Justice at La Salle University in Philadelphia. Her research centers on the collateral consequences of mass incarceration as well as challenges faced by returning citizens. Her work has been published in The Prison Journal, Justice Evaluation Journal, and several others. In this episode, we aimed to convey the importance of social support and how it shapes reentry outcomes. More specifically, discussing the different aspects of social support that are often involved in the reentry process. We discussed various relational roles that have been perceived as beneficial to returning citizens and examined the differences in social support needs across genders. Lastly, the conversation highlights the importance of providing social support during the reentry process and ways in which we can better provide support for returning citizens.

Want to know more about Dr. Caitlin Taylor follow her on Twitter: @CaitJTaylor

Also, check out her profile at La Salle University: https://www.lasalle.edu/sas/faculty-member/caitlin-taylor-ph-d/

Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, AND REVIEW THIS PODCAST.

Follow us on Instagram @morelifethereentrypodcast

Host: VanKe’via Garner, M. S.

https://uppbeat.io/t/hartzmann/good-feelings

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Mr. Harvey Galler is a 46-year-old formerly incarcerated individual and is the co-founder of the STL Reentry Collective. He served 15 years on installments and has been incarcerated in multiple states. As someone that has been in and out of prison numerous times, he is now using his lived experiences and connections in the community to change the landscape of reentry for formerly incarcerated folk in the greater STL Community. This episode is a part of a special segment highlighting Advocacy and Activism. The Advocacy & Activism segment is a special collection of episodes that highlights individuals, supporters, or organizations who are making efforts to advocate and support returning citizens and their journey back to their communities. This collection highlights the advocates passion for helping justice-involved populations, how they are helping, and many other topics. In this episode, we discussed the development, mission, and reentry efforts of the STL Reentry Collective. In addition, we discussed how people can become involved, and upcoming reentry events. Advice and recommendations were also given to individuals who are seeking involvement.

Be sure to follow the STL Reentry Collective on Instagram: @stlreentrycollective

Check out their professional website to find resources for returning citizens: https://www.stlreentryresources.org/

Please listen, subscribe, and rate/review this podcast.

Follow us on Instagram - @morelifethereentrypodcast

Host: VanKe’via Garner, M. S.

https://uppbeat.io/t/hartzmann/good-feelings

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Mr. Kardell overcame poverty, gangs, and prison to become a national speaker, 6x author, master certified empowerment coach, and Re-Entry Consultant. After doing state and federal time, Mr. Sims walked out of those prison gates with a blueprint. A blueprint that he put together while incarcerated. His story and his journey is that of Inmate to Inspiration. He shares valuable information he learned and applied to free himself from his own destruction. ​Mr. Sims is the host of The Re-Entry Journey Podcast and is also the founder of On The Inside Re-Entry Academy and N.O.R.T.H. Org. This episode is a part of our special segment highlighting Advocacy & Activism, where Mr. Kardell Sims discussed his organization On the Inside and his commitment to attacking recidivism and prevention of youth going into the carceral system.

Interested in sponsoring Mr. Kardell Sims book, Inmate to Inspiration please click the link below:

Inmate to Inspiration

Mr. Kardell Sim’s Podcast: The Re-Entry Journey: Attacking Recidivism

If you are interested in learning more about Mr. Sims and his organization, please follow his social media accounts:

Instagram: @iamkardellsims

Facebook: iamkardellsims

Tiktok @iamkardellsims

LinkedIn: Kardell Sims

Twitter: KardellSims

His professional websites are listed below:

www.kardellsims.com

www.northorg.org

Please listen, subscribe, and rate/review this podcast.

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Host: VanKe’via Garner, M. S.

https://uppbeat.io/t/hartzmann/good-feelings

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Jessica Hicklin is a founder and the CTO of UnlockedLabs, a tech nonprofit whose vision is enshrined in its company motto, “Building a better justice system from the inside out.” Jessica came to this role as a formerly incarcerated individual who spent 26 years on the inside during which time she crafted and facilitated many educational initiatives. In partnership with UnlockedLabs and other currently incarcerated individuals, Jessica’s latest project is the creation of a Learning Management System that is created by and for justice involved individuals. In this episode, we discuss her recent release from incarceration, as well as the various challenges he has encountered. Ms. Hicklin discussed her personal experiences with navigating reentry and explaining the importance of social support. She also discussed the development and creation of UnlockedLabs and its impact on formerly incarcerated individuals.

If you are interested in learning more about Ms. Jessica Hicklin or UnlockedLabs, please follow her social media platforms and visit her website:

Social media:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-hicklin-b7025a22b/

[email protected]

https://twitter.com/jessica_hicklin

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076320416168

https://www.instagram.com/jj.hicklin/

Professional website:

https://unlockedlabs.org

If you are a Resilient Reentrant and would like to be featured on our show to share your story, reach out to us at [email protected].

Please listen, subscribe, and rate/review this podcast.

Follow us on Instagram - @morelifethereentrypodcast

Host: VanKe’via Garner, M. S.

https://uppbeat.io/t/hartzmann/good-feelings

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