Did you know that within 3 years of their release from prison, 2 out of 3 formerly incarcerated people are rearrested and more than 50% are incarcerated again?   Many people face obstacles reintegrating into society following their release because of difficulty with:...

“Of my three older brothers, I journeyed through life most closely with Steve.  We suffered together throughout our childhood and teens, and saw each other through rough times as adults.  When Steve was about four-years-old, the doctors discovered that he had perthes disease which is a rare childhood condition that affects the hip. The doctors told my parents that the best hope for him to have a normal life where he could walk would be ongoing treatment at a children’s hospital.”

“You will spend your life barefoot and pregnant. You will never be anything better than a secretary.  I wouldn’t waste my money on you.”  That was my father’s reply when I asked him if he could help me with the finances to go to college.  Throughout my childhood, my father was an abusive alcoholic. Extreme violence, intense abuse of every kind at all hours of the day and night, rage, anger and hatred from my father was my day-to-day reality.  I lived in paralyzing fear of him.”

“These days, the word truth is thrown around a lot.  We certainly hear it in the news on a daily basis, and in my time working as a mentor of at-risk women, I often heard things like: my truth, her truth, what is the truth, tell the truth, speak the truth, HE is the truth, and like phrases.  When I Google words that are synonymous with TRUTH, I am drawn to words like genuineness, correctness, rightness, honesty, and most especially, authenticity.”