Support for DC's Previously Incarcerated Youth

We are thrilled to announce that seven more apprentices have recently graduated from our Job Readiness and Life Skills Apprenticeship in April! They are brimming with knowledge about college preparation, resume writing, workplace problem solving, and more!

One of our mottoes here at Free Minds is “Show, don’t tell,” advice that works for creative writing and for life! We look for mentors who can show—not just tell—our apprentices how to lead a positive life because they are living proof of their own message. We work hard to provide workshop leaders that our apprentices can relate to and look up to, people who have come from similar backgrounds and overcome great obstacles to become successful business owners and community leaders. Some of these leaders include Donald Curtis from SOUL (Student Athletes to Understand Leadership), who taught our apprentices about college prep, and Larry Carroll, Sr. from KAAOS gym who trained the apprentices in physical fitness and wellbeing.

We are also thrilled to announce a new official member of our Reentry Team. Marcus Bullock, founder of the company and app Flikshop, has been working with Free Minds for several years leading our workshop on entrepreneurship and now will be our Apprenticeship Coordinator, co-facilitating our workshops and managing all aspects of our Apprenticeship program. Each apprentice will have an opportunity to work for Perspectives, a general contracting company that does residential and commercial remodeling. Perspectives is run by Marcus Bullock and Anthony Belton, both returning citizens and role models. A former inmate turned entrepreneur himself, Marcus brings invaluable energy, encouragement, and life experience to his new role as Reentry Coordinator.

Another invaluable component of our Apprenticeship is the chance for our apprentices to interact with high level business professionals as part of our partnership with the Advisory Board Company (ABC), who facilitated job role play workshops in which their wonderful employees acted out real-life workplace scenarios that Free Minds members have encountered on the job, and demonstrated ways to handle the various challenges. In each scenario, a Free Minds member acted as the boss or co-worker, and a member of the Advisory Board team acted as the employee. The folks from ABC continue to be courageous and flexible, especially since our roleplaying Free Minds members don’t go easy on them! The best part by far was when the Advisory Board volunteers shared their own personal stories of work challenges from both past and present jobs. Hearing that everyone goes through tough job stress makes the apprentices realize they are not alone. The opportunity to see a professional office and meet folks who really care about their success is invaluable for our apprentices.

Some of our apprentices also participated in the Our City Festival, a recent celebration of DC through film, music, and literature. A crowd gathered at the MLK Library on a Sunday afternoon to view "Our Voices," our collaborative show with Chris Ousley from the folk band Bumper Jacksons. The show opened with the talented spoken word artist Bomani Armah, and then seven Free Minds Poet Ambassadors performed an original spoken word piece. Each Poet Ambassador also individually shared poems written by fellow Free Minds members who are still incarcerated, backed up by musicians from the Chuck Brown trio, DC’s legendary go-go band.

"Our Voices, Our Voices, Our Voices are the key.

Now we feel accomplished, accepted, and free."

Combining the reflective process of writing and the creative process of performing with music made the collaboration and delivery all the more powerful. As poet Bomani Armah articulated, "The more these young men can tell their stories, the better off we all are."

None of these amazing ventures would have been possible without the dedicated support of people like you. Because of your support, our Free Minds members not only have their stories told, but they have their voices heard.

Thank you again for making our work possible!

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Dear Free Minds Friend,

Thank you so much for supporting our project to provide comprehensive job readiness and life skills training for young adults returning from prison. 

Six apprentices have already completed our program in 2015 since we expanded the program to be month-long instead of week-long. Meeting 3 times a week throughout February, the apprentices participated in a variety of job-readiness workshops and trainings, including roleplaying for job interviews and learning to plan a budget. We were also honored to host several guest speakers, including Maureen Herman from the Department of Education to discuss resumes, Donald Curtis from SOUL (Student Athletes to Understand Leadership) to talk about college prep, Dr. Norah Neale to discuss stress management and mental health awareness, and Larry Carroll, Sr. from KAAOS gym to go over physical fitness.

One of the guys’ favorite sessions was hosted by Marcus Bullock, founder of the company and app Flikshop. A former inmate himself, Bullock described his own journey from a cell block to the world of business entrepreneurship, creating a company that sends postcards to inmates around the country. Bullock challenged each apprentice to articulate his own goals and to see himself as an entrepreneur in his own right. That same day, the apprentices were also treated to a surprise visit from Shaka Senghor, the author of Writing My Wrongs, which the guys read and discussed as part of their training.

Several apprentices also had the opportunity to speak at our monthly Write Night at George Washington University. Despite initial anxiousness about speaking in front of a crowd of over 100 people, apprentices Ricardo and Joshua bravely shared a few poems and their personal experiences with the group.

The apprentices also spent one morning creating vision boards with magazine clippings and colored markers, reflecting on their future goals. For 17-year-old Anthony, that meant cutting out a huge picture of vegetable lo mein to represent his aspirations of working in the food industry. He hopes to eventually learn the ropes at the DC Central Food Kitchen once he turns 18.

One afternoon, the apprentices viewed a video about famous failures, where they heard the stories of personalities like Michael Jordan, Steve Jobs, Walt Disney, and Oprah Winfrey. Reflecting on the fact that each of these success stories was once told that they would never amount to much of anything, the apprentices recalled several similar experiences in their own lives. Tavon shared that when he was 13, an older guy on the block said that he would never make it to 21. This year, he celebrated his 22^nd birthday. David M, a 26-year-old, was told he would never get an education because of his behavior issues. In 2007, however, he attained his GED, and he is now on track to full-time employment.

Truthfully, we could not do this without you. Because of your help, young men who thought they would never hold a job, nevertheless stick with a program, are beginning to experience both. We, and those we serve, deeply appreciate your generosity.

Links:

• Read more on our website
• Like us on Facebook
• Follow us on Twitter