Eighty-eight San Quentin men completed the TRUST (Teaching Responsibility Utilizing Sociological Training) program which help prisoners prepare for freedom were honored at a joint graduation ceremony.
The graduation featured keynote speaker Joe Paul and the presentation of a check for $1,000 from TRUST members to an organization that supports children with incarcerated parents.
Many of the men have been in prison for decades. Several different groups under the TRUST umbrella help these incarcerated men with their journey and preparation for success in society.
“Today is about the 12th annual graduation of TRUST class 2015,” said host Michael Thompson, a TRUST member and the Project LA Chairman.
“There are about 39 TRUST members who completed their six-month curriculum. About 30 who completed Project LA’s 24-week course and 19 people who completed Health and Wellness. They consolidated the banquet for a sense of community and to give everybody their props for their commitment,” continued Thompson.
It was Project LA’s first graduating class.
Paul told the crowd of outside and inside people in the Protestant Chapel on Feb. 4 about making the most of a second chance.
“E22842,” Paul rattled off from the podium. “That was my prison number.”
He served four years for manslaughter, paroled in 1992 and has not looked back. Now he is program manager at Jericho Vocational Service Center.
“I’ve had the privilege of hiring my crime (partner in crime),” said Paul. “That same passion we used for crime is the same passion we are using right now for good.”
Paul recommended incarcerated men do five things:
1. Start now to get tools to prepare for life after custody.
2. Direct energy to maintaining support outside of prison.
3. Trust in your ability to lead a positive, prosocial life. Challenge threats to your new sets of beliefs.
4. Become an expert on you. Your real courage is being who you are, not who people want you to be.
5. Determine to use your pain, as your power.
TRUST teaches skills on how to live, how to handle family, relationships and job skills. It has a lot to do with living life and community, said graduate Donald Davis.
Project LA prepares men for the realities of paroling back to the Los Angeles area and helps released men with vocational training and utilizing re-entry services.
Health and Wellness, which began in 2008, is a 12-week course that helps men heal from past trauma.
“It’s an in-depth exploration of how trauma impacted their choices and decisions,” said Ameeta Singh, a therapist for Health and Wellness.
The incarcerated men presented a check for $1,000 to Project WHAT (We’re Here And Talking), which is a group with the goal of raising awareness about the impact on 2.7 million children who have parents in prison and to change or improve the policies that affect them.
Jessica Calderon accepted the check. Calderon’s mother was three months pregnant when her father went to prison for 17 years. Now she comes into San Quentin to speak with TRUST members and share her experiences.
“It’s all about creating a bond and keeping it,” said Calderon. “My dad watched my favorite TV show Charmed so he’d have something to talk to me about. He wrote me, but I hardly wrote back. Even if we don’t write back, it means a lot. I keep a box of all my dad’s letters.”
Singh opened her short speech with a quote by an Aboriginal political activist group from the 1970s, “If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”
She said she believes that healing in our own lives facilitates healing in the lives of others.
Timothy Warren opened the event with a prayer and sang Amazing Grace using his own unique form of vibrato.
Then TRUST Chairman Orlando Harris walked on stage to the sound of James Brown’s This is A Man’s World.
“TRUST’s mission statement is to assist men to become leaders,” said Harris when the music stopped. “TRUST will strive to help whoever decides to change with educational tools that turn their liabilities into assets.”
Next Project LA Executive Advisers Diana Kronstadt and Helaine Melnitzer spoke.
Kronstadt, who has worked with kids for 40 years as a psychologist, mentioned she never thought she would be working with men in prison.
“I learned the powerful truth that change is possible at any stage,” said Kronstadt.
Melnitzer thanked executive sponsor Antonia Fajardo for her support, hard work in making things happen and putting up with Melnitzer’s persistence. Melnitzer says she once chased Gavin Newsom down to speak to him about Project LA.
Inside facilitator, Angelo Alvarez, danced to the podium with James Brown’s I feel Good playing.
Alvarez, who is the San Quentin News’ Ask on the Line columnist, joked with the audience before making the serious point that incarcerated men are humans with children, siblings and parents, who are trying to make amends and who matter.
Community Partnership Manager Steve Emrick congratulated the volunteers, supporters and program graduates.
The graduates and volunteers expressed how much the programs helped them all.
Bootsy Coleman said, “Joe Paul was very inspiring to me, and Michael Thompson gave great information.”
Thompson said, “Speaking for Project LA, what my men get out of it is a sense of belonging. They see that our group has their best interest at heart, and the resources they get, they can really use in society.”
Diana Williams is a volunteer who oversees the Employment Readiness Seminars. She does it “because I come out of prison and I feel happier. It’s like Ameeta’s quote. I’m not helping anybody. I feel like I get more out of it … understanding our own humanity and how we are all connected to each other.”
Kronstadt said, “Seeing these men struggling to bring out their best self brings out the best self in me.”
“Majority of people locked in U.S. have severe neglect and abuse in childhood,” said Singh. “We go over the Advise Childhood Experience study. People take this information, and it transforms their lives.”
Professor of Sociology John Ely brings his St. Mary’s College students in to TRUST to learn about class and race. His students have worked with Dr. Gary Mendez on a book about TRUST.
Project LA taught graduate Russell Bowden his employment rights. He learned responsibility and how to interview.
Antwan “Banks” Williams closed out the event by performing inspirational rap songs.
“Freedom, I am on my way. I’m in prison, but all I see is free air,” rapped Williams.
–Kevin D. Sawyer contributed to this story
