In 1998, Jon-Adrian Velazquez volunteered for a police line-up for a crime he knew he hadn't committed. It was the last decision he made as a free man. After serving more than two decades in prison, his sentence was commuted. While in prison, Jon-Adrian developed a unique vision: What if those who were incarcerated could use their voices to teach others - and in doing so, reclaim some of their own humanity? Today Jon-Adrian is using his sense of purpose to bridge the distance between those who are incarcerated and those on the outside, through his work with the Frederick Douglass Project.

1. Voices from Within Project
2. NBC Dateline Interview
3. Free Jon-Adrian Velazquez
4. The Frederick Douglass Project

We often enter poverty alleviation work with a goal to transform others - but may quickly realize that we ourselves need transformation. Carleen Suttman, an advocate and Think Tank board member with a long history of community service, joins the podcast to talk about her own journey of relationships with individuals from different walks of life, how her understanding of poverty has changed, and where she's found meaning and joy through a sometimes uncomfortable process.

Bishop Mark McGuire is known in his community as a bridge-builder. In much the same vein as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s work, Bishop McGuire has spent decades using his voice and his energy to not only lead the church but to lead his community toward greater justice and equity, with a special focus on incarceration and reentry. In this episode, Bishop McGuire joins John to share some of his personal story, the narratives he sees as most harmful and pervasive, and where he glimpses hope in his pursuit of justice.

Examining the story we tell about poverty also involves reexamining the story we tell about the opposite of poverty - what we might call success, or the American Dream. Today on the podcast, Brett and Christine Duncan of the Change Leader Alliance, share the story of when their own version of success crumbled into sudden situational poverty, and how that experience helped to reshape their own narrative about poverty, success, and wholeness.

Check Out Saving Cinderella: http://savingcinderella.com/index-php/the-musical/

In his book The Alternative, Mauricio Lim Miller challenges the helping industry as we know it to rethink much of how we've built our response to poverty. We were honored to have Mauricio join our Executive Director Marlo Fox to share the stories from his life and his work that have shaped his convictions. In this episode, Mauricio shares how he came to believe that well-intentioned helping could be part of the problem and that we needed a different narrative around poverty; how he's dedicated himself to shaping a new approach as a follower-learner; and the hopeful change he sees taking place.

Chech out some of Mauricio's work below:

Community Independence Initiative

"The Alternative"

Hear the story of how a church moved from "drive-through ministry" in their neighborhood, to truly partnering with their neighbors for positive change. Lynette Fields, now the Director of Poverty Solutions Group in Winter Garden, Florida, and Sebrenia Brown, a resident and community partner in the neighborhood, talk about what it looks like to build trust, to have the hard conversations, and to give up the expert seat in order to see real change take hold.

Who helped you fill out your first FAFSA? How did you get to your first campus tour? In this episode, a first-generation student from Clark State College and a dean who was once a first-generation student himself, talk about what it means for colleges not to just deliver education, but to walk alongside students who are the first in their families to navigate that significant journey.

Every day in America, the health and well-being of our most vulnerable citizens depends on a perhaps surprising segment of our population: Low-wage workers. Is it possible for caring organizations to shape their culture to care for not just their clients, but their employees who may live on the margins? Today's guest, Michele Engelbach, tells the powerful story of what that culture of care looks like in the long-term facility she leads.

Can a high-poverty school district become high-performing? Hear the story of how one California school district in a community of migrant farmworkers has reinvented education with the voices of learners and their families at the center - and gotten remarkable results.