Reggie Hola was surrounded by more than a dozen men who were touching foreheads and bumping noses with him, followed by a firm handshake and a pull-in for a close hug as Hola’s seven-year, five-month incarceration came to a close.
It was his last full day in prison and the atmosphere in the gym was typical for San Quentin State Prison. Two televisions aired the French Open, the fantasy gamers crowded around a table totally immersed in their worlds, a full-court basketball game was going on, and way back in a corner, the sound of a handball echoed as it smacked against the wall.
Hola had just finished the last of three basketball games and his team had won them all.
He and his friends were mingling and talking about the future, while bowls of rice, chicken, Chinese sausage, and beef sausage were passed around.
Before eating, prayers were offered by one of the Polynesian elders.
Speaking of Hola, Joe Demerson said, “I know that he had a different mind-set before he came in.”
Demerson had completed an entrepreneurial self-help program, The Last Mile, with Hola.
“It’s inspiration for me,” Demerson said. “For that I’m very happy for him. I know he has a lot of anxiety, but he has a lot of good people around him.”
Hola said he plans to get in contact with The Last Mile founders, Chris Redlitz and Beverly Parenti, for support and employment assistance. “They might be at the gate waiting for me,” he said.
“It’s inspiring to see Reggie leave,” Philip Melendez said. “It gives me hope. I’m going to the same place as he’s going,” referring to Sacramento. “The bond we had in here will continue when he gets to the streets.”
One of the elders of Hola’s community, Upu S. Ama, said, “We would like to observe that today is Memorial Day through a moment of silence—which is the same day as we’re celebrating Reggie’s last day in prison.”
Ama added, “Like anyone, if you don’t apply what you know, it won’t work. Just like a doctor has to apply what he’s learned in medical school to be a good doctor, Reggie has to apply what he’s learned in the programs he’s taken. I have confidence he won’t do the revolving-door thing. He got it on the first time in.”
“He learned above anything else in this penitentiary that family comes first,” Damon Cooke, another community elder, said. “When he lost his freedom, he learned that he’ll never make the same mistakes that would bring him to prison.”
“Reggie also learned that men in here can love and care for him and there’s no walls that can stop that,” Cooke said. “The value comes from watching his elders.”
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