RISE

After incarceration Tracy Brumfield did not sit back with her arms crossed when it came to her recovery and reentry: She founded RISE, a newspaper and resource guide to help Cincinnati’s returning citizens get the services they need to rebuild their lives, reported on RISE website.

Brumfield overcame drug addiction, homelessness and unemployment before running her own business. She launched RISE (Reenter Into Society Empowered) in 2017. The first edition was called the Recovery issue.

“Five years ago, I was downstairs in the holding cell after being arrested for drug possession. I didn’t know what to do, who to call or how to get help,” Brumfield wrote in the first edition. “I knew my addiction had taken over my life, and this arrest was just the first of many horrible consequences.

“I still had prison and homelessness waiting for me,” she added. Once released, Brumfield was living in her car and panhandling for money, but she knew she needed a shift in her life and found a program to get clean.

“I had to work like hell to reclaim my life. But the first thing I had to do was ask for help,” said Brumfield. “(It) seems like an easy thing to do, but for me and many others it was actually the hardest part of getting sober.”

Brumfield began to reach out to family, friends and agencies like the Salvation Army, the Center for Addiction Treatment, and the Health Resource Center. She realized that she could help other formerly incarcerated by relating to them her own experiences.

Brumfield continued to network with people and organizations. Eventually, she connected to People’s Liberty, a Cincinnati philanthropic entrepreneurial lab, from which she received a grant, reported the website.

She put together a small editorial team that consisted of a writer, a designer, a managing editor and an intern. She contracted with a vendor to print the newspaper

The newspaper then commenced its mission to provide people a pathway to new beginnings, finding purpose and hope. The RISE has published issues on recovery, housing and an issue called Community Voices.

“Every issue of RISE is about getting back up again — even at your lowest point,” said Brumfield. “Whether it’s seeking recovery, getting off the streets, or finding a job, you can rebuild your life.

“For whatever reason — we’re here to connect people with the hands of hope in the community,” she added.

The newspaper distributes more than 40,000 copies every five weeks. It’s free of charge; half are distributed to five correctional facilities in three counties between Ohio and Kentucky, according to the paper’s website.

It’s also distributed to health clinics, shelters and food banks.

“Going to jail and eventually prison was an experience I needed to have to find my humility and humanity,” Brumfield said “While inside, I realized that I was no better or worse than anyone else, and success in this life could never be defined by money or material things.

“I envied those who found peace behind bars — the ones doing real time seemed more content than those who only had a few months. It wasn’t because they had given in, but because they had found purpose,” Brumfield added.

She said she found her purpose by coming to grips with her life situations.

“I am no expert, but I found mine [purpose] through pain. The pain of living with substance use disorder — and getting arrested for it — first angered me,” said Brumfield. “I felt angry at the system and angry at myself. I couldn’t understand why I kept making the same mistakes.

“Once I began to realize I had more to do in this life, I began educating myself. For some, education might mean getting a GED or diploma. For others, it might mean going to college or trade school. But education can be just learning something new,” Brumfield added.

Brumfield is not only providing those who are system-impacted a resource guide to reentry, she continues to give back by volunteering and mentoring women in Cincinnati jails and addiction treatment centers, reported on the paper web.

“The greatest gift I can give you in these four pages is what I like to call ‘the real real,’” said Brumfield. “I go into the Hamilton County N32 G pod every Thursday and we talk about the things in life that can really change us, and how in those moments, if we listen to our gut, we can make good decisions,” said Brumfield.

“The difference in my life has been my willingness to listen to my ‘real real,’ and follow what I knew was the right thing to do,” she concluded.

Dante Callegari has announced his retirement after training hundreds of San Quentin inmates in modern construction technology (MCT).
The announcement came Aug. 28 at the graduation for the first class of the job-readiness program called RISE.
“We do a lot here at San Quentin to teach job skills,” Warden Ron Davis said at the event. “There’s Dante’s program, coding and the machine shop. There’s a lot we do here to give you guys the skills to get a job and stay out.”
RISE aims to prepare incarcerated people how to interview for vocational jobs. However, it’s instructors like Callegari who give the men the training they need to be job-ready.
Last March, Chris Deragon walked out of San Quentin to a job at Community Housing Partnership with former San Quentin residents Dave Basile and Duane Holt. All three completed Callegari’s course.
“Every day we tell ourselves we don’t want to be in prison anymore,” Deragon said. “So we do our best to stay out. It’s the work that I did inside that’s prepared me for what I’m doing right now.”

Deragon said that Callegari’s presence was “like a father,” adding, “The opportunity to learn from him has fundamentally changed my life.” Deragon spent 22 years incarcerated.
Holt paroled from San Quentin about two years ago after spending more than two decades behind bars.
“When I was in Dante’s class, I learned work ethics,” Holt said. “Now I work with an at-risk population, like the homeless. I use the tools I learned in here every day out there to make myself successful.”
Claudius Winfrey, another successful Callegari student, accompanied Holt and Deragon.
Sean Luigs, owner of ELITE Supply Co., came to San Quentin about five years ago and met Callegari to “bridge the gap from inside here to outside there.”
Luigs and his business partner, Jon Schultz, created Ready Individuals for Successful Employment (RISE.)
Darrel Smith, 57, is a RISE graduate. He’s currently enrolled in Titans of CNC Academy, a Computer Numerical Control vocational machine shop.
“I learned how to refine my interview skills,” Smith said. “The biggest thing I learned is how to be prepared and have confidence,” he said.
After completing RISE, Andrew Wadsworth said, “I learned to speak from the heart. I don’t care what words you use, if it’s not from the heart, then it’s not real. The program is about you being yourself — about being human. This curriculum is so special.”
Schultz says the most valuable thing inmates learn is a good attitude, which makes the programs worth the money invested in them “Most of the folks are average normal guys, who I’d have beer with on the weekend,” he added.
Referring to the vocational job skills the men learned, Schultz said, “It’s not what would you expect. They go from not knowing anything to practicing and using their skills.”
Chris Martini of Central Sanitary Supply in Modesto learned about the RISE program and wanted to participate.
“I keep saying that I feel like I’m learning more than I’m helping,” Martini said. “The environment is fantastic. The program is very relevant to success and transitioning. Ultimately, the people I’ve met and everyone who wants to be in the program is so eager to learn. “I would absolutely, hire some of these men.”
“Interviewing for a job and making a resume are skills just as important as the skills in the programs,” Warden Davis said.
Deragon told the inmates, “Every day I get up at 4 o’clock in the morning and work till 6 p.m. It’s hard and frustrating, but I ask myself. Would I like to be frustrated out there or in here?”
Referring to Deragon, Warden Davis said, “Keep doing good, guys and you can be sitting right here with this cat.”
The RISE graduates were Darrel Smith, Kevin Sample, Andrew Wadsworth, Marco Villa, Juan Gonzalez, Ricky Gaines, Thang Tran and Tare Beltranchuc.

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