Our New Websites have Launched. Prisonist.org and GrantLaw.com. Links in Sidebar Below. : All Things are Possible for Those Who Believe, By Barry S. Diamond

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

All Things are Possible for Those Who Believe, By Barry S. Diamond - Guest Blogger & Reentry Survivor

Prisonist.org: Faith & Dignity
for the Days Ahead
Blogs, Guest Blogs & News

All Things are Possible for
Those Who Believe

By Barry S. Diamond - Guest Blogger

& Founder of the P.R.I.D.E. Program

The journey

I walked out of prison in 2012 with a box of my belongings, picked up by my wife & returned to a new life that was different. Who am I now? I know who I was when I went in. While incarcerated I learned about another society hidden from view, “THE CONVICT”. I was now a part of that society, forever. Day to day living & connections were taken care of by family & friends who welcomed me back. What was I to do with my life to make it worthwhile. What could I contribute to help my fellow felons who needed help when they returned. I went to my house of worship & asked for guidance. My spiritual leader introduced me to Dan Braccio at the Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport, who set me on a clear path that has given me hope & fulfillment. If you want to find yourself you only have to help others find themselves & in the process you find yourself.

The path

The miracle was developing a training program called P.R.I.D.E. PROGRAM (people reentering into doing entrepreneurship) exclusively training inmates , released inmates & people with a criminal background how to go into business for themselves. We are opening training sites in Bridgeport, New Haven, Hartford, Waterbury, Enfield. We also will be training Federal released prisoners as part of an existing Federal Grant recently given. Many colleges have inquired about the course being given at their institution. The course is currently being converted to an online course for possible use in prisons in other states.

For more information:
theprideprogram@gmail.com
reentrysurvivors.com

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DONATIONS

We are grateful for all donations to our Ministries that enable us to grow, reach out and serve this community for which there is far too little understanding, compassion and empathy. Donations can be made by credit card/PayPal here, at the "Donate" button on on our site, prisonist.org, or by sending your check payable to: "Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc." P.O. Box 1232, Weston, Connecticut 06883.

Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is a CT Religious Corp. with 501c3 status - all donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. Thank you for your support and generosity.

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If you, a friend or a family member are experiencing a white-collar or nonviolent incarceration issue, please contact us and we will promptly send you an information package by mail, email or via Dropbox.

The darkest days of a person's life can be a

time of renewal and hope

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Progressive Prison Project/

Innocent Spouse & Children Project

Rev. Jeff Grant, JD, M Div, Minister/Director
jgrant@prisonist.org
(o) 203-769-1096
(m) 203-339-5887
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Lynn Springer, Founding Advocate, Innocent Spouse & Children Project
lspringer@prisonist.org

(203) 536-5508

George Bresnan, Advocate, Ex-Pats
gbresnan@prisonist.org
(203) 609-5088

Jim Gabal, Development
jgabal@prisonist.org
(203) 858-2865

Babz Rawls Ivy, Media Contact
mediababz@gmail.com
(203) 645-9278

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Reuters: Jeff Grant ‘Let Go of the Outcome’, Beat Addiction and Won Back his Law License

Radio: Criminal Justice Insider w/ Babz Rawls Ivy and Jeff Grant. First & Third Fridays, 9 am

News: Our Online White Collar/Economy Exiled Support Group to Celebrate It's 200th Meeting! Apr. 13

Video: Jeff's Main-Stage Talk At The Nantucket Project

This is not your average “TED Talk.” In his talk at TNP3, Jeff publicly revealed his addiction to prescription painkillers, white-collar crime, arrest, time in a Federal prison, earning a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary, calling as Assoc. Minister in a rough Bridgeport CT neighborhood, and then co-founding the first ministry in the United States created to support individuals and families with white-collar and nonviolent incarceration issues. We are grateful to The Nantucket Project for its leadership in the justice reform movement. Click Image to view Video. (17:27)

Event: We Were Discussion Panelists at a Screening of the Movie "13th," Sat., April 8, 2017

Action Together New Haven invited us to be discussion panelists after a screening of this important movie about prison slavery in America. Moderator: Sen. Robyn Porter, CT General Assembly Panelists: Dr. Maysa Akbar, CEO, Integrated Wellness Group Orisha Ala N. Ochumare, Co-Founder, Black Lives Matter New Haven Sen. Gary Winfield, CT General Assembly Jeff Grant, JD, M Div, Executive Director, Family ReEntry David McGuire, Esq., Executive Director, ACLU Cowiya Arouna, New Haven Youth Activist, City Wide Youth Coalition Please click image for details.

Significant Outcomes: We have Served Over 200 Individuals and Families in 25 States

Since Jan. 2015, we have served white-collar/nonviolent individuals and families in twenty-five states, including: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. We typically communicate with these individuals and families before, during and upon reentry from prison in person or by phone, email, Skype, FaceTime, GoToMeeting or, if in a Federal prison, via CorrLinks. Please click image for our information package.

Challenge: To Harvard Business School Professor Eugene Soltes to Debate His Book, "Why They Do It."

I have issued a challenge to Harvard Business School Professor Eugene Soltes. I will meet him in Cambridge (or anywhere) to debate his book: "Why They Do It: Inside the Mind of the White-Collar Criminal." He can question me about my white-collar crime and ministry, and I can question him about his ethics in researching and writing his book. I hope you will attend if he accepts? This is a rallying cry against shame, stigma, and sensationalism and for criminal justice reform, compassion, empathy - and journalistic integrity. Click image for more information.

Article: Fairfield Cnty Bus Journal: Jeff Grant Takes on Leadership of Family ReEntry, Oct. 6, 2016

Fairfield County Business Journal: Grant’s elevation — he’s served on Family ReEntry’s board of directors since 2009 — marks the first time that a formerly incarcerated white-collar criminal has served as the head of a major re-entry agency. “It’s a tremendous step, and a bold decision on the board’s part,” Grant said. “This is a transformative period for Family ReEntry. I owe them my fresh start, so of course I said yes when they offered me the position.” Please click image to read Kevin Zimmerman's article.

Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc.

Missions:
Progressive Prison Project/
Innocent Spouse & Children Project

The world's first ministry created to provide confidential support to individuals, families and groups with white-collar and other nonviolent criminal justice issues.

Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 1
Woodbury, Connecticut 06798

Contact us here.

___________________________

Jeff Grant, JD, M Div, Co-Founder

203-405-6249
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Facebook
Linked In
Pinterest
Google+
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YouTube
Dropbox

Lynn Springer, Co-Founder
Innocent Spouses, Families & Children

Rev. Joseph Ciccone, Ed D, M Div
Supervising Minister

Jacqueline Polverari, MBA, MSW, Advocate,
Women's Incarceration Issues

Greg Walsh, Media Contact
Walsh Public Relations
(o) 203-292-6280

(c) 203-216-6101
If you, a friend or a family member are experiencing a white-collar or nonviolent incarceration issue, please contact us and we will promptly send you an information package by mail, email or via Dropbox. The darkest days of a person's life can be a time of renewal and hope.

Article: Forbes Article About Our Ministries: "A New Class Of White-Collar Victims, The Family."

About Lynn Springer

Lynn Springer is the Founding Advocate of the Innocent Spouse & Children Project. As the innocent partner of a white-collar criminal, and a mother, Lynn is called to this ministry with a heart of compassion and understanding. She assists women and families in finding ethical ways through faith and practical solutions to a new, sturdy, healthy way of life. Lynn’s concern for children and social justice for all people led her to several nonprofit Board and volunteer situations, including: as curriculum consultant and essay reader at Friends of Nick, a NYC faith-based foundation created to build character and integrity in underprivileged inner city youth; as a member of the Board of Directors of Pathways, Greenwich, CT, at which she advocated for the needs and care of the mentally ill; and on the Board of the International Aids Charitable Foundation, NYC. She is a long-time supporter of criminal justice/prison initiatives: Re-Entry Ministry, a faith- based halfway house for women in E. Bridgeport, CT, Family ReEntry in Bridgeport & New Haven, CT, a nonprofit serving formerly incarcerated people and their families, and Pivot Ministries, Bridgeport, CT, a faith-based halfway house for addiction recovery. As a woman of faith, Lynn was pleased to serve terms as Deacon and Senior Deacon at the Second Congregational Church of Greenwich, CT. Together with her husband Rev. Jeff Grant, Lynn co-founded the Fresh Start Garden of Hope - a Family Reentry project where ex-offenders helped to convert a blighted block in inner city Bridgeport into the largest privately owned public use park and garden in the State of Connecticut. Lynn and Jeff speak together about their ministry on a regular basis on local radio shows and in houses of worship. For more information and to reach Lynn Springer: prisonist.org, lspringer@prisonist.org.

Thank You For Your Donation To Our Ministries! Donations Are Our Only Source Of Revenue.

We are grateful for all donations made to our Ministries. Donations can be made by credit card/PayPal via the Donate link below, or by sending your check payable to: “Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc.” P.O. Box 1232, Weston, Connecticut 06883.

Progressive Prison Project/Innocent Spouse & Children Project are missions of Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. We are a CT Religious Corp. with 501(c)(3) status - all donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Thank you for your support and generosity.

News: Announcing the Successful Resolution of Our Innocent Spouse & Children Lead Case!

Imagining a new era of ministry/advocacy recognizing the spouses & children of white collar and other nonviolent criminals as victims (in appropriate cases), we led a team of national-firm professionals who gave of their time to achieve, for the first time in United States history, a resolution for an innocent spouse in which she has been compensated after her personal assets were wrongfully seized by the U.S. Government (together with her husband’s assets when he was the defendant in a financial crimes case). Click image for details.

News: We Are Meditating At The Redding Center For Meditation.

News: Help Us Spread a "Culture of Pardons" Throughout the Entire Conncticut Reentry Community

The Art of Surviving Prison Workshops

The Art of Surviving Prison Workshops offer hope and inspiration to anyone in need of a second chance in life. They are a cautionary tale to fast-paced professionals and families of what happens when we put our drive to make money before ethics and compassion. They also provide lessons in how anyone can survive and succeed the prison journey and come out the other side with a happier, more faithful life. Blended with specific and graphic details about living conditions, survival skills and spirituality learned inside modern day prisons, these lessons can and should be applied to everybody's life. Please contact us to discuss these workshops for your organization or group.

Some Scripture & Quotes That Have Called To Us

"…for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." - Matt.5:45

"...the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone." - Psalm 118 (KJV)

"Where there is no vision, people perish..." - Proverbs 29.18

"Remember those in prison as though you were in prison with them." - Hebrews 13:3

"When we are no longer able to change a situation - we are challenged to change ourselves." - Viktor Frankl

"As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. We need not wait to see what others do.” - Mahatma Gandhi

"We are all prisoners but some of us are in cells with windows and some without." - Kahlil Gibran

"Money is in some respects life's fire: it is an excellent servant, but a terrible master." - P.T. Barnum

"What you have as heritage, take now as task; for thus you will make it your own." - Goethe

"When it is dark enough, you can see the stars." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"A man is at his strongest when he is willing to be vulnerable." - Paulo Coelho

"You were sick, but now you're well, and there's work to do." - Kurt Vonnegut

"If leaders are unable to slough off yesterday, to abandon yesterday, they simply will not be able to create tomorrow." - Peter Drucker

Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” – Mark Twain

"I thanked him much for telling me the way he got his wealth, but chiefly for his wish that he might drink my noble health." - Lewis Carroll

“I knew that I would have to be brave. Not foolhardy, not in love with risk and danger, not making ridiculous exhibitions of myself to prove that I wasn't terrified--really genuinely brave. Brave enough to be quiet when quiet was called for, brave enough to observe before flinging myself into something, brave enough to not abandon my true self when someone else wanted to seduce or force me in a direction I didn't want to go, brave enough to stand my ground quietly.” - Piper Kerman

My response to this stumbling is another test and I refuse to fail it. I will not waste this crisis...I will not wallow in self-pity nor will I beat myself up over something that is behind me and I've been forgiven for doing." - Brian Jorgenson

"Everything will turn out alright in the end, and if it's not alright, then it's not the end." - from The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett

"...and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make." - Paul McCartney

"We cannot run society for the privileged and allow a significant portion of the population to be marginalized. It impacts the quality of life for all of us if we have 'throw-away' people. A justice system which tolerates injustice is doomed to collapse." - Leonard Noisette

"Hear this, young men and women everywhere, and proclaim it far and wide. The earth is yours and the fullness thereof. Be kind, but be fierce. You are needed now more than ever before. Take up the mantle of change. For this is your time." - Winston Churchill

"No amount of falls will really undo of us if we keep on picking ourselves up each time. We shall of course be very muddy and tattered children by the time we reach home. But the bathrooms are all ready, the towels put out, and the clean clothes are in the airing cupboard.... It is when we notice the dirt that God is most present to us: it is the very sign of his presence ." - C.S. Lewis

"Without community, there is no liberation...but community must not mean a shedding of our differences, nor the pathetic pretense that these differences do not exist." - Audre Lourde

“Do you see the consequences of the way we have chosen to think about success? Because we so profoundly personalize success, we miss opportunities to lift others onto the top rung...We are too much in awe of those who succeed and far too dismissive of those who fail. And most of all, we become much too passive. We overlook just how large a role we all play—and by “we” I mean society—in determining who makes it and who doesn’t.” - Malcolm Gladwell

"Never, never be afraid to do what's right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

"As long as one people sit on another and are deaf to their cry, so long will understanding and peace elude all of us."- Chinua Achebe

“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” - Nelson Mandela

“A new civil rights movement cannot be organized around the relics of the earlier system of control if it is to address meaningfully the racial realities of our time. Any racial justice movement, to be successful, must vigorously challenge the public consensus that underlies the prevailing system of control. Nooses, racial slurs, and overt bigotry are widely condemned by people across the political spectrum; they are understood to be remnants of the past, no longer reflective of the prevailing public consensus about race. Challenging these forms of racism is certainly necessary, as we must always remain vigilant, but it will do little to shake the foundations of the current system of control. The new caste system, unlike its predecessors, is officially colorblind. We must deal with it on its own terms.” - Michelle Alexander

“For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” - Nelson Mandela

"In my country we go to prison first and then become President." -Nelson Mandela

Notices

Founded in 2012, the Progressive Prison Project/Innocent Spouse & Children Project are Missions of the Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. - incorporated under the State of Connecticut Religious Corporations Law in 2014; 501c3 approval in 2015.

We hope you will join with us and help us to become all that God intends for us to be - so that we may ever provide better spiritual service, comfort and support to and for families and members of the community affected by white-collar and nonviolent incarceration issues.
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© Copyright 2021 | PROGRESSIVE PRISON MINISTRIES, INC. | All Rights Reserved. | Contains Attorney Advertising | Prior Results do not Guarantee a Similar Outcome.

Our New Websites have Launched. Prisonist.org and GrantLaw.com. Links in Sidebar Below.

Please See Below for Forwarding to FamilyReEntry.org and Prisonist.org. Thank You!

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

All Things are Possible for Those Who Believe, By Barry S. Diamond - Guest Blogger & Reentry Survivor

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