SOLUTIONS FROM THE YARD

In the latest episode of "Solutions from the Yard," hosts Charles Hopkins and Michael Dickerson explore the impact of incarceration on fatherhood. Through personal anecdotes and special guest Darren Stephenson, Sr.'s story, they discuss how imprisoned fathers navigate their relationships with their children. This episode sheds light on the emotional complexities and long-term effects on families, offering valuable perspectives for those working in social services, criminal justice reform, and family advocacy. 

In this episode, Michael Dickerson-El, Dietrich Trent, and Charles Hopkins discuss who is responsible for blocking vital penal code reforms and emphasize the need for citizens to hold elected officials accountable. They highlight the importance of understanding political hierarchies and laws to effectively exercise voting rights. The hosts call for increased awareness

The Senate rejected the DC Crime Bill, which aimed to modernize the century-old criminal code and reduce mass incarceration. Listen to Michael Dickerson-El, Dietrich Trent, and Charles Hopkins discuss the influence of non-local politicians, pandemic law enforcement practices, and prison quotas. Despite strong local support, Congress retains final authority over DC's laws, hindering efforts to implement these reforms. 

In this episode, Charles Hopkins and Michael Dickerson-El are joined by Charles Russell from Washington, D.C., whose sentence was overturned by President Obama in 2016. Together they discuss structural racism in the prison system, Mr. Russell’s accomplishments, and the challenges he faced upon reentry into society. 

The episode opens with discussing job placement and workforce development programs reducing recidivism. The hosts discuss Title 7’s lack of protection for ex-offenders, how they’re unprepared for reentry, and the challenges presented to them. Discrimination is also discussed, as well as the intentionality of pushing returning citizens out into their communities unprepared as a means to continue the prison pipeline. The hosts end the podcast with their take on solutions for the ex-offender employment disparity.

This episode finds the gentlemen discussing job placement post-incarceration and the “stipend chase.” Michael Dickerson-El leads this conversation while the hosts discuss career training versus job programs that don’t have longevity. The positions generally offered are at or below minimum wage. The hosts discuss how these jobs can cause returning citizens to adopt a "settle for less lifestyle." Dickerson-El discusses law review critiques of Title 7 and how protected classes do not include returning citizens; this opens the reentry community up to discrimination in the workplace with little to no ability to defend themselves.

This episode discusses the DC Criminal Code and how it has not been fully updated since 1901, 123 years ago. As of 2023, the DC City Council has reviewed the DC Criminal Code and is pushing the Secure DC Omnibus update to the code through the DC legislative process as of the airing of this episode. The hosts discuss the hazards of the DC Criminal Code being over 100 years old, the overt racism of the sentencing structure, the Omnibus Act(s), and how the DC Code's ambiguity has adversely affected DC citizens charged under it.

On this episode the hosts, led by Charles Hopkins, discuss the culture of poverty as a newly released individual. They discuss the offshoots of poverty such as incarceration, recidivism, and disruptions to mental health. The gentlemen go on to discuss the cost of living in Washington, DC, and the difficulty returning citizens face in gaining financial progress and/or job stability to obtain adequate housing/general support.

The episode picks up by asking who profits from homelessness after incarceration and defining homelessness. The hosts begin to discuss the DC budget allocations for homelessness and how effective these allocations are in ceasing the problem. Discussions go further to question where the disconnect is with housing provisions in DC and reentry organizations, pre-release solutions to homelessness, and the need for a complete mental health evaluation in helping returning citizens develop a complete reentry plan.

The hosts, led by Michael Dickerson-El, discuss homelessness after reentry leading to recidivism. They begin by discussing their own journeys with returning home and finding adequate housing.  The concept of “criminalizing poverty/homelessness” and statistics relating to this concept are discussed as well. This episode is part 1 of 2.