The Re-Entry Journey: Attacking Recidivism

Andrew Hackett-Bey is a transformative figure with a profound journey. After serving 13 years in prison, he emerged with an unwavering commitment to making a positive impact. For over two decades, Andrew has dedicated his life to cognitive rehabilitation programming, embodying the essence of holistic life coaching, motivational speaking, and community activism. His enduring belief that every individual possesses a unique purpose drives his mission to guide others in discovering their own. Andrew Hackett-Bey: Empowering lives, one purpose at a time.

Making The Right Choice After 6.5 years of incarceration Mike Ruffino is blazing a trail on his reentry journey. Mike is 49 years old and the oldest of 5 children. Borrn and raised in St Louis Missouri, Mike was a X-ray technologist for 17 years and now he owns a painting business. Mike enjoys spending time outside and helping others. He also has two amazing daughters. www.ruffinospainting.com

Family preservation and reunification Cynthia Simons is the Grant Me The Wisdom Foundation (GMTW) Women's Justice Director at the Texas Center for Justice and Equity, having joined the organization in mid-2020. Her passion for civil rights and justice reform stems back to the age of 16, when she graduated from high school and attended the University of Texas at San Antonio. That passion has since been fueled by a firsthand view of the criminal punishment system: As a formerly incarcerated woman, Cynthia works to protect women’s rights and ensure that women have access to resources and rehabilitative services before, during, and after interactions with the system. This includes the critical need for strategies that promote family connection and reunification. At TCJE, Cynthia works to end mass incarceration and support women and families who have been impacted by the criminal punishment system; she coordinates the Texas Women’s Justice Coalition in support of trauma-informed programming and gender-responsive reforms. Cynthia also holds Re-Entry and Mental Health Peer Specialist Certifications.

The value of lived experience

Desmond Haneef Perry is the Co-founder & Executive Director of Peer Programs at RECTIFY, a Forensic Peer Specialist with the Maryland Office of the Public Defender, former Peer Criminal Justice Coordinator at Helping Other People Through Empowerment (HOPE), and served as the Certified Peer Recovery Specialist Navigator at 3c Recovery Support Training Institute. In his role as a Peer, Desmond is an activist and advocate for restorative justice, prison reform, trauma-informed practices, and the training of Peers behind the wall. Desmond's passion for the training of Peers who are serving time in Maryland's state facilities comes by way of his lived experience. Desmond believes in the maxim “ knowledge proceeds speech and actions”

The Cell Experience

Mr Robert E Holiday Sr. Known as DOC Holiday on the street of Flint Michigan born n raised.At 14 he lost both parents and this caused him to go to the street, he lived in the streets for 12 years. Before his last incarceration a personal encounter with Christ ( Genesee county) change his whole life. Facing life without parole as he went in , God allowed him to serve only 17 yearsHe been back home 13 years now

Bullied Behind Bars


Little did Matt Melvin know that trying to sell a stolen car would trigger a chain of events that would begin with him being tried and convicted of a felony and end with him being bullied and raped in prison.

Matt Melvin is an author and activist from Massachusetts who was incarcerated in the federal prison system in 2017 for petty crimes. He currently resides in Shelburne, Vermont. Bullied Behind Bars is Matt's first book.

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Bullied Behind Bars: A Gay Christian Trump Supporter Goes to Prison chronicles Melvin's lonely childhood, being misunderstood in large part due to his adult diagnosis of autism and being a gay, Christian Trump supporter, and the events that led him to a stint in federal prison.



Bullied Behind Bars reveals the hard truths Melvin learned in prison and how very unfair life can be. But in the end, his time spent incarcerated was not for naught. He learned to take responsibility for his actions and came out of the system a better person
www.bulliedbehindbars.com

Jay Dan Gumm is the founder and President of Forgiven Felons, a non-profit that serves the formerly incarcerated. This ministry was birthed in the heart of Jay Dan while still incarcerated. He saw first hand how recidivism is a vicious and generational cycle and wanted to be a part of the solution. Jay Dan is also the host of top-ranked Background Check Podcast, where he interviews, people who have risen above their backgrounds including CEO’s, reality TV stars, as well as people who help people with backgrounds like Judges, lawyers, and State Representatives. Going back into the prisons is also a part of the mission of Forgiven Felons. Jay Dan also owns a small business called Whatever You Need Done in which he helps men with jobs right out of prison. While Forgiven Felons is only a reentry housing program currently, the vision being planned out right now will have vocational trades, social enterprise, social services, leadership classes, and permanent housing for persons and families with felony backgrounds. The mission of Forgiven Felons is to help people with a past realize their future. When he’s not mentoring men who live in the Forgiven Felons transitional house, sharing his story in prisons, or on the phone assisting families with the intricacies of the Texas parole system, Jay Dan spends his days running Whatever You Need Done, being a chaplain for an Amazon Delivery Company, engaging in activities with his wife Jessamy and two daughters, Jessa and Jemma, or cheering on the Pittsburgh Steelers to the demise of his Dallas Cowboys loving wife. Jay Dan has also been featured on the Mike Huckabee Show and Forgiven Felons has a documentary playing on Roku and Tubi TV. Social Media: Facebook.com/forgivenfelon Instagram @forgivenfelons Twitter @forgivenfelon LinkedIn Jay Dan Gumm Website: forgivenfelons.org Podcast: Background Check Podcast. Available on Apple, Spotify, Google, Audible, Amazon Music, and Edifi TV: Featured on Mike Huckabee Show Forgiven Felons: A Documentary Series. On Roku and Tubi TV

Justin Rhedrick has one of the greatest comeback stories this generation has ever seen.  He’s the author of From Bars To Bitcoin. An autobiography that highlights his life coming from homelessness and witnessing the deadly shooting of his friend during his senior year in high school. To dropping out of North Carolina A&T University and serving three years in prison

The Awakening Transforming from the Inside out  Steven Clark is a graduate student at Life University studying Positive Psychology with a focus on coaching. He completed his undergraduate degrees at the University of Maine Augusta earning a B.A. and also a B.S. in Health and Human Services. His interests include criminal justice reform, yoga, meditation, and exploring healing modalities that will support marginalized populations. Steven serves on the board of the Maine State Prison Restorative Justice Steering Committee, is a certified recovery coach, has served with the Maine State Prison Hospice Council, and is currently active working to provide solutions in the prison system. His research interests include narrative change, improving consciousness, and peer-support. Steven is currently using his studies at Life as an opportunity to create a coaching and mentorship program for the system of mass incarceration called the Awakening: Transforming from the Inside Out. This is also the name of Steven's online Exchange he has created.  His ambition is to spread kindness, love, and connection to those who have been dislocated or deprived of their humanity by old draconian systems. My hope is to keep growing with the Xchange and learning with the community of leaders, coaches, and students.

 As Executive Director of Community Engagement with Genesee County Sheriff’s Office; As a formerly incarcerated person, Percy understands what a “real” second chance looks like. Most times, people who have a negative experience with law enforcement, they are utilized as an informant. Percy’s role is one of a community change agent and is an emphasis of the needed creativity in policing, jail and judicial reform.  As the president of FAIR Voting Alliance, Percy explores the economic ramifications for communities of color when those groups don’t vote. His life passion and purpose is to address the systemic processes that lead primarily African American to jail and prison while also creating support systems that keep all people of color from incarceration.

After being certified as an adult at the age of fifteen and incarcerated for nearly fifteen years, Keenan Hudson has since positively transformed his life. He took full advantage of educational services and self-development opportunities while incarcerated and persevered using lessons learned through education, religion, and music. As a productive citizen, Keenan aims to share now his incarceration and the people who helped him could motivate and inspire those who he encounters daily. This is particularly true for youth who may be struggling to overcome issues with which he is familiar and for which he can offer positive solutions.

Portia Louder spent 4.5 years in prison and her life was transformed. She speaks openly about her mistakes and what it took to move past them. Portia is a writer, speaker, photographer, and advocate. She enjoys the simple things in live, and is passionate about sharing the humanity of people in prison.

From 17 year old high school dropout to the San Francisco Reentry Council William’s journey has been a breakout story. Self educated he is an award winning entrepreneur and leader. He successfully took the California Board of Prison Hearings to court and won a constitutional excessive punishment ruling. This changed Youth Offenders Hearings regulations that released him and thousands of others. He’s a member of the SF Jail Justice Coalition and sits on the San Francisco Sheriff Department Oversight Board . As the Editor in Chief of the SF Bay View newspaper he plans to write the lead for Black First Unity.

Mr. Richey describes himself as: “a former drug dealer who terrorized the streets of Tuscaloosa in the late 1990’s. He faced many criminal charges in which he was later convicted, however; Dallas paid his debt to society and is now advocating for those who have made mistakes and are looking for a fresh start outside the walls

From prison to Presidential Candidate

Hakim shares his journey after 21 years of incarceration to getting his Bachelors of Science in Criminal Justice

Percy shares his journey from being incarcerated to becoming a county deputy sheriff ambassador

Titio shares his journey from being convicted and sentenced to 15 years - LIfe, being re-sentenced and making the transition back into society after 12 years in prison

Travis shares his story from incarceration to becoming a successful entrepreneur. 

Laurence shares his story of how he prepares for re-entry while doing a 45 - Life sentence

Dean Lloyd shares his journey from being privileged to incarceration and going through discrimination after doing prison time

Dr. Trout talks of her journey of incarceration to providing transitional housing for women getting out of prison.

Juanita shares her journey of human trafficking abolitionist and her false imprisonment 

Dr. Sandra Smith shares her journey of incarceration to starting a peer support program for formerly incarcerated individuals

Ron comes on to share his story and the work he does in teaching formerly incarcerated individuals coding

Cheryl shares her journey after bouncing back from a 96 year prison sentence in which she did 26 years

Kaysia shares her journey of being incarcerated to becoming a criminal defense attorney and owning her own firm

Travis shares his amazing journey of fulfillment and the process after being in the financial world then going to prison.

Quenten shares his story of join back and forth to prison. Doing a total of 27 years, Quenten talks about the changes he had to make in order to not go back to prison

Angela shares her story and her upbringing, criminal lifestyle, prison, and how she overcame it all

Joseph P Langdon shares his story from the sandbox to the cell block

Adam shares his story with us along with Journey

David shares his story of redemption

Tony shares his story of wrongfully convicted getting released and reaching back

Belle shares her story on how she bounced back after a couple trips to prison

Shaun shares his journey and finding the power in saying no