Conversations About A Brighter Way - Welcome Home

After a season of difficult but important conversations, Adam and Robin share their thoughts about what  they learned, what they felt, and what inspired them from this season.

When you get out of prison, one of your first worries is finding a way to make money. But to many, a  felony conviction is seen as a stain on a job application. We talk with employers Paul and Paul about how to find a job when you’re recently incarcerated, the value of a real workplace community, and more. Plus – a bit about what they do as employers to support their formerly incarcerated workers.

Mental illness is extremely common among those currently and recently incarcerated, and incarceration itself can be traumatizing. But what can you do to find help when you need it, and what should that help look like? We talk about dealing with mental health issues, finding the right therapist and social support, and more with mental health experts Allison, Kat, and Judy. 

Cloutia and Katie share their experiences loving someone who’s incarcerated. Cloutia talks about coming to terms with her son’s crime and 15-year sentence, and Katie talks about what it’s like to fall in love with a man behind bars. And they both share the joy of a loved one coming home.

Michael Jordan and his mentor Q join us to share what a mentor and mentee mean to each other. We hear about how Michael inspires Q with a pair of shoes and an inner tube, the community you need when you come home, and more.

adam and i wrap up the season 

with insights and thoughts 

of season 1

with gratitude and inspiration 

we give you this episode

With much light,

robin

1.5: Lawanda Hollister shares her journey navigating society after 34 years in prison – a term she started when she was just 17. She talks about processing the deep trauma left by incarceration, adjusting to technology she’d never been exposed to, and what it’s like to be a chef who was never allowed to hold a  knife. Plus – find out what she was the most excited to try when she got out (Here’s a hint: it’s a little triangle).  Lawanda also discusses her work running The Chow Hall, a prison fare-based food service that raises awareness for prison reform and the struggles of the formerly incarcerated.

1.4: More than two decades into a life sentence, Arthur Thomas decided he needed to find a way out of prison. And after spending 44 years incarcerated, he shares his journey home. He goes through the struggles of unlearning all the things prison taught him and why being out was almost as bad as being in a prison. But then he shares how that was all changed by the community he found at A Brighter Way,  and why that community is so essential to the formerly incarcerated.

1.3: Patrick Domingo shares the realities of incarceration, from being served rotten meat for dinner, to going through a pandemic in prison, to strip searches so regular it felt weird to leave them behind. But he also shares all the joys of coming home, even as life post-incarceration has its struggles.  Patrick Domingo is Conversations About A Brighter Way’s Producer and Engineer.

1.1: Adam Grant shares his journey coming home after 27 years – Just two months before the Covid-19  pandemic hit. Hear about the consequences of doing too much good in prison, the speech he gave just as he was getting out, and how the pandemic brought some hidden blessings. Plus – Our other host  Robin shares a bit about herself and her vision for the podcast.  Adam is our Executive Director here at A Brighter Way.

1.2: Just 50 days since getting out, Laquan “Q” Hill shares his story. After 16 years in prison, he’s left struggling to process how any of it can be real, and what it really means to be free. He talks about the amazing community he’s found since getting out, and how it feels to be truly welcomed home.  Q is our Program Director here at A Brighter Way.