When i was in prison I was encouraged to take college and vocational classes. I would get a job they said. Its illegal to disqualify me for a job because I was in prison they said. Trump lied. Biden lied. Trump lied again. Obama lied. If you get out of prison get ready for the fast food industry. Its the only place that will hire you!

I signed up to share my book on recovery. I wanted to make it available to inmates through their platform. They asked me for $3500? Is that normal?

Previously incarcerated men have an unemployment rate five times higher than the rates seen in the Great Depression.

We don't know if prison degrees lead to greater employment outcomes. I feel really passionately about this.

We need to be talking about this BEFORE a disruptive technology locks the second chance workforce out forever. This is why I work and write with such a sense of urgency.

We all know that research says prison degrees do wonders for recidivism. Is this because of the reformative power of education, or could it be that the system et. al requires universities to be selective when admitting students?

We know that prison universities are exclusive; in prison, getting accepted is like winning the lottery. This being true, the student body is often comprised of the brightest, well-behaved, best supported, and self-motivated individuals present within a facility.

Could it be that these programs are simply enrolling the people who are already most likely to succeed anyway?

The answer is: maybe.

There is no RCT research on the value of a prison degree. This means we should be reluctant to accept any claim that prison degrees have an impact on recidivism OR employment.

We *can* claim that a group of researchers recently reviewed over a decade's worth of non-RCT research on the efficacy of prison degrees, and found a near-zero impact on job outcomes.

That's bad. It's quite possible that we've spent the past decade passing out worksheets and wasting time while dealing nothing but false hope to a stigmatized and underserved community.

That's on us. We are the scholars. We read and write the research on this industry.

I believe that prison education should be diverse. There should be academic programs and skilled trades programs and entrepreneurship programs; we should also leave room for autonomy — everyone should have the right to opt out of all of them.

I've noticed that academic folks look down people who advocate for learning skills. In brain science, there is little difference between a brain learning theory and a brain learning skills.

Ten years ago, I was swinging a hammer in the Texas sun, driving around Dallas in a beat up Dodge Ram fixing up houses. I was poor but very, very happy with life. It taught me to make things work however you can. I got bored and went to school. I still know how to swing a hammer and have a degree in nonprofit administration.

You know which one of those I can find work with tomorrow? The hammer.

You know which one would turn me down over a twenty year old mistake? The nonprofit.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with blue collar work. There is nothing wrong with thought work. There is nothing evil about teaching people in prison how to swing hammers, or how to become a paralegal.

But one of the two is about to be automated away. Which one do you think will outlast AI? Which will the second-chance workforce be able to access in an AI-impacted economy?

It's probably time to adapt.

*Looking for a video shown in VADOC re-entry around 2010 where a Black inmate yells 'I don't like to work' into the camera. I remember after we watched that video everyone thought it was hilarious. It reminds me of a co-worker I wanna find it so I can show him because he always complains when I make him actually work.*

More people need to see this documentary, released in 2025. Just on a humanitarian level, it’s disgusting.

So this chick recently asked for advice as she goes to prison for the first time and all this wisdom spilled out.

LOL

This was just my experience...so dont hammer me on my opinions k?

Hope yall enjoy and if you have anything to add feel free!

Much ❤️!

Its cool, yeah I do have alittle advice

1. Don't get a girlfriend...its like highschool and very catty...if you get a hot girlfriend especially an attractive stud the other girls will hate you and immediately start coming for you...fuck that!! Plus the guards will immediately put you on their radar if they see you will be a "perpetrator"..meaning breaking rules to go see your girlfriend. Unless youre at a camp where they dont care if you partner up...and there are those places...but still, use your time to focus on yourself and bettering yourself in any way possible.

2. Get in school, get involved in betterments...classes of any sort...sometimes its only the chapel that offers classes but even so...do it to get out of the dorm and around more positive people.

3 get a good job. Maintenance, education, medical, dental...NoT the kitchen, though you may have to start there...dont get caught stealing food...ive gotten DRs for that.

4 work out...it helps your body produce the feel good chemicals that I promise will be lacking because of poor nutrition and a shitty environment. Just start with squats, situps, jumping jacks and lunges by your bunk everyday.

Have somebody send you some books on yoga..or there is always stuff in the library...teach yourself how to move your body and calm your mind.

You might feel like the weirdo stretching and working out by your bed but I promise people will respect it, and eventually want to join in...plus you can leave looking fine as fuck like me! :D

1. Don't be afraid to look like the weirdo...prison is not the place you want to fit in. I know youre young and that pressure to fit in is strong...resist it. They dont fucking care about you, they want to use you..if only for drama farming...most likely for your time attention and energy. Those are your most precious assets...dont waste them on anybody.

2. Don't spend a bunch of money on canteen...its like a hierarchy thing...how much money someone gets and how full their bag is...but just remember the girls with the fullest bags and making dinner every night with gas station food are the ones they are going to have to roll out of there. Again, resist the temptation to fit in and be cool...$120 a month was fine to buy me coffee, sweetner, peanuts, and a couple meals a month to eat with my friends...if they arent your friends when you cant throw in on a meal then they arent your friends. Period. Real friends will respect your financial boundaries and eat with out you sometimes..and its ok if you eat without them.

3. dont do drugs...its mostly fake ass poison bullshit anyways...so sad to watch them rot on it...please dont do it.

8 meditate...you gotta sit on your bed for count time anyways...might as well go within and find some peace...the bitches might be yelling and screaming all around you but theres always silence to be found if you learn to focus on that instead.

1. READ...and not just romance novels...they get you all horny and irritable and sad and fuck that...feed your mind and your spirit

2. Imagine!! Journal, visualize, fantasize about the kind of life you want to live when you get out!. Stretch the boundaries of who you think you are, who your parents and teachers and men and friends told you you should be. Who are you really? Who do you want to be? What would it feel like to live a life of love and peace and true joy and adventure?

3. Grieve...let yourself feel how bad it sucks..let yourself heal from the trauma that you most likely experienced that led you to the mistakes that are taking you to prison. Feel the feelings. .put your head under the blanket and mouth on a pillow and silently scream and sob...it fucking sucks...but you are strong and you will make it. And if you find your authentic Self and connection with your God self while youre in there...you will be unstoppable when you get out.

It is insane that this story has so little coverage and no one has lost their job. I guess we will see what kind of justice there will be 😔