By Sarah Mintz | Incarcerated Youth Programs Manager
Dear Free Minds Friends & Supporters,
We hope you are all doing well! It was a wonderful spring for Free Minds—many of our members returned home from federal prison, and we were thrilled to reunite with them on the outside! Thanks to your support, our reentry members are succeeding against the odds and reaching new milestones in their professional and educational goals. We couldn’t do it without you!
In May, Free Minds was honored by the Washington Mystics WNBA women’s basketball team with a Community Champion Award! The award recognizes DC residents who are making a lasting difference in their home community. Check out some of the ways Free Minds members have been creating change lately:
The Skills that Matter
Here at Free Minds, we see firsthand just how powerful books and writing can be in the life of a young inmate. A good book can be a gateway to a whole different way of thinking; a first poem can be the beginning of a lifetime of creative self-expression. However, we also know that for many of our members, training and instruction in tangible job skills can make all the difference in their reentry process.
Recently, the reentry members in our program had the opportunity to participate in two unique workshops: a public speaking session with Bradford Koles Jr. of The Advisory Board Company, and a life-coaching session with Nadjejda Chapoteau of Light of Haiti, LLC. Mr. Koles and Ms. Chapoteau both talked with our members about the importance of sharing your story and keeping a positive attitude. Free Minds Member Alisha told us how the public speaking training helped her be more effective in her community outreach:
“He told us, ‘‘remember that no matter how many times you tell a story, there’s someone in the audience who is hearing it for the first time.’ When he said that, I realized that public speaking is so important. It helps us to make a personal connection to the community we are trying to reach. It allows outsiders a glimpse into who we are and gives us a chance to make our community aware of the issues that we fight so hard to change.” –Alisha
Learning from Role Models
Last month, Free Minds reentry members took a fieldtrip to the headquarters of Flikshop, a mobile app that allows users to send postcards to incarcerated loved ones directly from their phones. Flikshop was founded by Marcus Bullock, who spent 8 years in prison for a crime he committed at the age of 15. Marcus gave our members a tour of his office and told them how he turned his past experiences into a positive, constructive, and successful business.
"Marcus inspired me. I just can't believe he served 8 years and was just like us and now he has his own company! That just amazes me. He's proof that no matter what background you come from you can make it. He told us about working backwards to make our goals. [That strategy] worked for me already in my goal of being a personal trainer, and I’m going to use it when I start my property manager classes soon.” –Anthony
The Power of Personal Stories
Our youth violence prevention program, “On the Same Page,” continues to strengthen bonds between Free Minds members and the larger DC community. This spring, we expanded our programs to include college students on alternative spring break trips, international fellows, and many more. Through “On the Same Page” programs, our members have the rare opportunity to connect with people from very different walks of life using poetry. This exchange brings the whole community closer and inspires others to make tangible changes in their own lives to stop the cycle of violence. Here is some of the feedback our Poet Ambassadors received in their outreach sessions this spring:
“Hearing personal stories is really powerful. It's one thing to read that ex-offenders are denied access to public housing. It's another to have someone look you in the eye and say ‘I can't go home.’”
“My baby sister is getting involved with a boy who is into drugs and hasn't had a strong foundation growing up. I've never met him, but I've been inspired to reach out to him any way I can the next time I'm home.”
Thanks to supporters like you, the formerly incarcerated youth in our program have the skills and resources they need to create meaningful change in their own lives and others. We cannot thank you enough!
Until Next Time,
Sarah Mintz
Incarcerated Youth Programs Manager
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