How many times has someone said, ‘I did the best I could with what I had…it’s not like I had a parent manual to follow’.  But, in actuality, there is a manual. Since its publication in 1988, A Nurturing Father’s Journal/Workbook by Mark Perlman, has been adopted by jails and prisons across the U.S. These workbooks are the basis for a 12-week Nurturing Father’s program that is taught by certified trainers to both incarcerated men and those men in aftercare, finding their way back into the community and a new life.  The Nurturing Father’s program is entirely voluntary, but many men who attend the program while incarcerated, attend a second time, once released from jail.  As Mark Perlman writes, “we are not condemned to repeat our father’s mistakes, we can choose to be the father we want to be”.

To understand the healing and opportunity behind the wall in the Franklin County Jail in Massachusetts, one must only sit with those who are serving time despite their confinement.  The Franklin County Jail may be a rural jail, but the programs for the incarcerated men and women, whether they be serving short- or long-term sentences, offer many stability, connection and a pathway to a brighter future when they return to the community.  It takes a village of compassionate and educated individuals to ensure that the various programs within the jail are offered to the incarcerated population based on the needs of the incarcerated individual to assist in their recovery and forward movement before reentering the community.

The quote “To the world you may be one person; but to one person you may be the world” could not be truer than for the Executive Director of the Easthampton, Massachusetts Community Center, Robin Bialecki.  Not only does Robin and her team help 3600 families a month with food and clothing, but she also provides for the children of incarcerated men at the Hampshire County Sheriff’s Office.  A definite role model for any community around the world.  And staying with the theme of children and giving, Sheriff Patrick Cahillane, of Hampshire County, was awarded the Paul Cellucci Award from the Children’s Trust of Boston, Massachusetts, for his team’s work, both behind the wall and in the community through their Nurturing Fathers Program.   

The Dalai Lama defines compassions as “a sensitivity to the suffering of others, with a commitment to do something about it”.  Cheri Garcia, a social innovator and Founder of the second chance staffing firm, Cornbread Hustle, knows all too well about addiction, recovery and the challenges those with a record face upon re-entering society.  Cheri’s trajectory to launch Cornbread Hustle, and become recognized as a leader in second chance recruiting and staffing was definitely not a straight line, and although now a seven figure company, Cheri says she still has her bad days, but she is always driven to help more people because as she says,  “…One can’t find their future success with $50 and a bus fare upon reentering society….”

The percentage of women incarcerated is minute in comparison to that of men, but their struggles to overcome the traumas that led them to drug addiction, anger or alcoholism is equal if not greater than the same wounds of their male counterparts.  Meet Ashley and Sarah, one is still behind the wall in the pre-trial treatment unit and the other is now post release and working to create the new life of becoming sober.   Both their journeys share a common thread, the determination not to slip back into their old ways of life.

As a prelude to the upcoming Episode 33, we thought we'd re-air an interview we featured a few months back to set the stage for that future episode. Twenty million Americans struggle with alcohol.  For Melissa, it was a triple threat - alcohol, drugs, and anger. From the very young age of 11 till her 37th birthday, Melissa led the worst side of hustling to keep her addictions and adrenaline fed.  In her own words, she describes the constant ‘skid bid’ as she calls it, how the tribe she surrounded herself with was literally loving her to death. and how she finally found a way out.

Back at Episode 26, Ed Hayes and Levin Schwartz of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office in Western Massachusetts stopped by to share some snippets of their work behind the wall, their travels and education of best practices to states and counties that are not as forward moving as Franklin County, and the factual research behind the high levels of incarceration.  With much left on the table, Ed and Levin return to continue the conversation and discuss the upcoming Federal Medicaid that will be available to incarcerated individuals in 14 states starting in 2025.

You might not think incarceration and entrepreneurship have a common thread, but they do.  Many who become incarcerated were arrested for illegal activities, for which, an entrepreneurial mindset was part of their ill begotten success.  Even once behind the wall, many continue with their nefarious activities.  Eli was just such a person, and thus was put on 24/7 house arrest to attempt to curb his entrepreneurial ways.  But Eli has the entrepreneurial gene, initially ignited by candy sales in grade school, and as Eli himself says, ‘with all that time locked inside at home, I had to find something to keep busy and make money…’. It was there and then that Eli created Filthy Kicks and with the help of Social Entrepreneur, Max, his entrepreneurial cohort, Greenspace, and Eli’s very supportive attorney named Kevin, Eli’s business idea and hard work has changed the trajectory of Eli’s life.

It may not be commonplace to find vocational training behind the wall, but more and more jails and prisons are bringing a variety of industries, inside, not only to generate revenue, but also to offer training to those who are incarcerated, so they have better opportunities for jobs upon returning to the community.  From culinary to welding, and building trades to sewing, local jails, like the Hampden County jail, created York Street Industries to not only train the revolving, selected few who want to make the best of their time behind the wall, but also create items that are used within the jail or commissioned from local companies within the community. 

‘To be a transformational leader and coach, you must deeply understand what you are transforming’.  This quote by an unknown author was perfectly suited to this week’s conversation with a District Attorney in Western Mass who has two counties, 47 towns, six Courts, and a myriad of worker bees under his care.  With more than 33 years of public service, DA David Sullivan is changing the prosecution model by blending smart, and fair prosecutions, crime prevention programs, law enforcement partnerships, and community collaborations to build safer communities within his jurisdiction, and that includes keeping juveniles (17 and Under) from carrying a record with them.