THE HUSTLER FILES

This episode continues some additional, and important storylines we explored during our recent visit behind the wall in Episode 79. Coincidentally, it also touched upon a recent Op-Ed article on BostonGlobe.com from Professor Susan Sered, a criminal justice specialist who wrote, ‘incarcerated women are being held in overly restrictive environments despite evidence that women pose little security risk, compared to their male counterparts.’ Based on what we heard and saw behind the wall, that article and ensuing soundbites we recorded, and now share in this episode created an interesting conversation that included The Hustler Files Producer Jess Tyler.  Of the six women we met, 1 was awaiting trial for an alleged murder, 1 for assault with a dangerous weapon, and 1 for carjacking and robbery.  The other 3 were sentenced; one for manslaughter (defending herself), one for multiple DUIs, and one for ‘being in the wrong place’.  To sit and chat with them, you could close your eyes and be anywhere but behind the wall. The sad common denominator between them was abusive childhoods, no parents or lack of parental boundaries, drugs, alcohol and/or mental health challenges.  So the question to be asked is; Are these women as much the victims as they are the criminals?

Behind the wall in Chicopee Massachusetts, there are 150 women serving time.  If you’re sentenced, you wear green prison garb.  If you’re waiting to be sentenced then you’re wearing orange.  The Women’s Western Mass Regional Correctional Center is under the watch of the Hampden County Sheriff, Nick Cocchi, and thus, considered a jail. Just don’t make the mistake of calling it a prison.  Prisons are either run by the state, the feds, or private industry.    Upon arriving at the jail, submitting to our CORI reports, and being escorted through the many sliding metal doors, we are ushered into a classroom where there are six incarcerated women sitting around a table and signing release forms for their interview.   Assistant Superintendent, Colleen Stocks, who runs the jail, graciously hosted us and allowed us to chat with Maggie, Vanessa, Brenda, Auntie, Keys, and Jay.  Listen in as these women open up about life behind the wall, the daily challenges of incarceration, and what they would tell their younger selves.

This episode is the second of a two-parter featuring Eva Hamilton, MBE, CEO and Founder of the very successful re-entry program, Key4Life.  There was still so much to cover, including a very revealing conversation with Aaron White, a Senior Case Worker on the Key4Life program and a formerly incarcerated individual.  If you’re wondering about Eva’s Key4Life blended program, well it’s seven steps and involves Equine Therapy, Behavioral Support, Music Therapy, Non-physical Football and Boxing, an introduction to Mentors, Mock interviews, and a Final Action Plan but there’s so much more to learn about Eva Hamilton, MBE with her 39 years in impacting the incarceral system.

Eva Hamilton, MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire), is nothing short of a whirling dervish when it comes to seeing a challenge and then creating a solution.  For 38 years, Eva has worked with some of the U.K.’s most marginalized groups.  From her organization, Business Action on Homelessness to the program Seeing is Believing, a collaboration with HRH The Prince of Wales (now King Charles), Eva believes everyone deserves another chance.  Her current crime prevention charity Key4Life offers what she refers to as ‘blended’ Seven Step program to rehabilitate young men in prison or at risk of going to prison and reduce the cycle of crime.  Since its inception after the 2011 London riots, Key4Life has impacted over 1000 offenders and run 39 programs with more than 150 UK companies. 

We’ve all heard the quote – ‘The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.’  With more than 600,000 people being released across the U.S. each year yet more than two thirds are rearrested within three years, the prison reform wheel needs to become more innovative, and leading that charge is the California organization, Impact Justice.  Their overall mission, to get creative, change the script and rules of engagement, believe in one another, and expand what’s possible.  Aishatu Yusuf, Vice President of Innovation Programs breaks down some of the transformational projects that take the prison reform movement, head on.  Impact Justice programs run the gamut from a reentry mentorship program for formerly incarcerated, to a sharing economy model that pairs returning citizens with welcoming community housing hosts, and a first of its kind partnership to improve food quality, and provide access to fresh, nourishing, appealing food behind the wall.  As Aishatu Yusuf says, ‘at Impact Justice we are all doers’.

This milestone episode for The Hustler Files was recorded at the Hampden County Jail, in Western Massachusetts, but this conversation with Sheriff Nick Cocchi, who runs the jail and Liz Dineen, CEO of the YWCA of Western Massachusetts could take place in any city or county, USA.  Domestic violence month may be in October, but it’s not a once-a-year issue.  It’s also NOT just a female issue. 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men experience severe intimate partner violence and domestic violence does not discriminate.  It affects people of all ages, races, and backgrounds, which is why the YWCA is no longer just a place to find a pool and an exercise class.  The YWCA is now a safe haven for women and men who have experienced domestic violence.  A place where support for survivors is their top priority with no questions asked, but a shoulder is offered. To also offer support and awareness is Sheriff Cocchi, one of the most progressive Sheriffs anywhere in the U.S.  Sadly, this Sheriff had to experience the recent loss of a most beloved Assistant due to domestic violence, but that only fueled his fire to bring awareness to the domestic violence issue that can be right under our noses and thus partnering with the YWCA to amplify the message.   As Sheriff Cocchi says, “there is no shame in asking for help if you’re a victim of domestic violence, it’s not YOUR problem, it’s the abuser’s”. 

Prison Fellowship is approaching their 50th anniversary, but when Founder, Chuck Colson, President Nixon’s ‘hatchet man’ launched Prison Fellowship, he himself had just served 7 months for his involvement in Watergate. While incarcerated, Colson was inspired to help restore lives and families broken by crime and incarceration.  He thought Prison Fellowship would only last 5 years.  So, who is Prison Fellowship?  It’s a National Ministry established on the biblical belief that all people are made in God’s image with inherent dignity and potential. From Warden Exchange Programs to the Angel Tree Program for children with incarcerated parents, Prison Fellowship can reach thousands of incarcerated individuals through local churches and their volunteers who are managed by a Prison Fellowship Church Mobilization team.  While there are other ministries across the U.S., Prison Fellowship is the largest, and like President and CEO, Heather Rice-Minus says, “..once you’ve experienced a Prison Fellowship behind bars, you’ll forever be changed…”.

Launching a social entrepreneurial venture is no easy task, and for Founder, President, and CEO of EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute it was not an overnight success. Brandon conceived the EDWINS concept in 2004, with a three-fold mission: teach a skilled and in-demand trade in the culinary arts, empower willing minds through a passion for hospitality management, and prepare students for a successful transition home. The students who participate in this mission are all justice involved looking for a new life back in the community. But Rome wasn’t built in a day, and it took another three years for Brandon, a formally trained chef and sommelier, to build out the social enterprise model and then another four years before Brandon could launch the Culinary Club classes at the Grafton Correctional Institution. Brandon opened EDWINS restaurant in 2013 and here in 2024 EDWINS has a French Restaurant, Butcher Shop, Bakery, and a Second Chance Life Skills Center which itself is a campus with housing, childcare, library, fitness center, computer lab and more!  600+ have graduated from the EDWINS culinary programs and can boast that only 1% of students have recidivated. Like Brandon says, when asked, how he accomplished so much, his response, “just knock down one problem at a time”.

With a guest gap for this week's show, Creator/Host, Lisa Reilly, thought it would be fun to introduce her Hustler Files Producer Jess Tyler and chat about their favorite shows, since launching The Hustler Files in February 2023.  It’s because of Jess that The Hustler Files sounds so great each week! And it’s not a coincidence that it does! Jess has been in radio for as long as she can remember.  She’s a long-time radio Jock, producer and program director.  She’s a crime/drama junkie and so her passion for The Hustler Files platform and the guests that we have the privilege to chat with each week, is right in her wheelhouse!  This was a fun episode to make, and we hope you enjoy something a bit different for this week's show/podcast. 

Will Soper was first arrested at the age of eleven, defending himself against the man who was his stepfather. This was not the first time Will had been sexually abused, but it was the first time he fought back and sadly his mother took his stepfather’s side.  Despite the toxicity of the family, he was never given any mental health or other counseling and was continually sent back to his mother and stepfather when the foster care system failed him. Will’s abusive upbringing led to a justice involved life, culminating in the sexual assault of a person he knew.  Now at 42, Will is finally out of prison and free of parole, but his time served and a personal apology to his victim cannot wipe away his sexual assault charge from his record. In Will’s own words, ‘…all I want to do is just work, even if it means washing dishes, I don’t care…. I can’t go back to jail; I’d rather hold court in the street…’.