"What Chance?"

Meet Joe, a father who spent 14 years in prison and missed the childhood of his sons.Violence was part of his life before prison and continued to affect him inside prison. Joe had to consciously step away from the life he knew, he had to leave his circle of friends in order to survive and take part in his children's life.Listen to Joe talk about his journey of rehabilitation and what helped him...

Meet Edward Smith. When Edward was a young dad, he decided to join law enforcement to help keep his neighborhood safe. He spent several years as probation and parole officer, tracking down people who committed crimes, trying to support them on their journey of rehabilitation.He discovered that poverty, a lack of education and jobs often contributed to the reasons why people went to jail. He...

Imagine - you are 17, a crime is committed in your town and you want to help the police. Weeks later you end up as a suspect, are arrested and go to trial for Murder!Even though you didn't commit the crime you spend years in prison. Not Possible you thinK?Listen to Jeff tell his story, because that's what happened to him. He was wrongfully convicted and it took him many years to prove his...

You would think that defending yourself is not a crime. Well, that was not Glenn's experience. He ended up in prison for 17 years witnessing violence that traumatized him. He saw his children grow up from a distance, missing years of his freedom he can never get back.Listen to Glenn talk about how he kept himself sane and what is helping him on his healing journey. ***Some of the events are...

April's teenage son is incarcerated in an adult prison. As a mother she is doing time as well. Noel works for RAPP - Release Aging People in Prison. Her focus is on parole reform. April and Noel met through their advocacy for prison reform. In this interview they explain the challenges of dealing with the current criminal justice system, what rehabilitation could look like and why it is so...

Shawanna was born in prison, grew up in foster care, lost a brother to gang initiation violence and experienced incarceration.She is the author of "Cries for Change", the story of how she overcame her hardships.She turned tragedy into healing by forming Silent Cry, Inc a New York based nonprofit that takes a holistic approach to aftercare from mass incarceration, gun violence and trauma.Listen to...

Meet Robin Alpern who did just that.Robin tells her story from becoming aware of racism and white privilege to getting involved and becoming an anti racist activist. She is now the director of training at the Center for the Study of White American Culture, where she co-designed and co-leads a series of workshops on What White People Can Do About Racism.The 13th amendment: Neither slavery nor...

After being released from prison Cynetra struggled to get her feet back on the ground. She had lost her home and all her valuables and she really needed help. Unfortunately probation services were not enough.She wanted others in the same situation to have more support - so she founded the Mississippi Center for Re entry.She now serves several counties in northern Mississippi offering support for...

A child of immigrant parents struggles with acceptance and takes some wrong turns in adolescence. After spending some years in prison Julien finds fame as an athlete and is on his way to represent the UK at the Olympics. Unfortunately his past is not forgotten. Listen to Julien's story of success and defeat and how he turned the painful experiences of his younger years into an asset to become an...

Violence surrounded T.'s childhood and brought him to prison where he spent 25 years of his life. When he found AVP, the Alternatives to violence Project he experienced for the first time that he didn't have a disease called violence. Violence was a choice and he did not want to continue on that path.After his release he started to work with at risk youth and gang members. He now facilitates AVP...