A Connecticut Yankee Kicks Butt In Texas Reentry, By Barry S. Diamond - Reentry Survivor & Guest Blogger

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A Connecticut Yankee 

Kicks Butt In Texas Reentry

By Barry S. Diamond - Reentry Survivor 

& Guest Blogger

A few months ago, I found out about a National Reentry Convention in Austin, TX called the Vision Summit.  They were looking for people anywhere in the U.S. that had an original idea or story to be told to be considered as a speaker.  I forwarded a compelling article (from the boardroom to the jail room) about my life, which was printed in the Connecticut Statewide Roundtable Newsletter.  I also included a letter about a program that I developed called the P.R.I.D.E. PROGRAM (People Reentering Into Doing Entrepreneurship).  This is a course exclusively for inmates, released inmates & people with a criminal background that trains them how to go into business for themselves.  It is unique because it is 60% Business data,  40 % Life Lessons.  It is taught in 10 sessions, one a week for 2 ½ hours.  Monthly Mentoring sessions are available for 6 months.  After completion every graduate that has a completed business plan, a good idea & a good attitude will receive funding to start their business.  The combination of having a criminal background, reentering back into my community & developing a program to help those still in the system to help themselves was a double whamo.  I was quickly accepted as a speaker & made arrangements to get to Texas.  Through the cooperation of my Probation Officer (I served prison time for a white-collar crime), I was allowed a special travel pass to go out of the state to lecture.

WHAT HAPPENED DOWN THERE

When I started my lecture I noticed the room was full.  After I spent 1 ½ hours talking about my life & my new program, I expected everyone would walk out to the next lecture.  Instead they gave me a standing ovation & wanted to speak to me more.  Everyone wanted to know how they could get my program in their state.

I learned about one stop centers where when a person is released the first place they go to is  this center.  They are greeted by Reentry people who went through the same release problems they did.   They guide them through where to go for food, clothing , shelter etc.    They have frank conversations about expectations & the time needed to adjust.  They are brought up to date on what to expect.  I also learned about cooperation between school systems & the prisons.  Trade schools as well as high schools & colleges are working together to help educate the inmates.

I experienced my fifteen minutes of fame when I went into another lecturer’s room to hear his information.  When I asked the instructor about educating the inmates in how to start their own business, I was greeted by “Oh, you must be Barry Diamond with the P.R.I.D.E. Program in Connecticut... we heard about you”.

It seems like the whole U.S. wants to do something about educating the incarcerated.  I guess they all got the memo that said:

"Make Taxpayers not tax burdens", also, "if you educate them the recidivism rate drops."

HOW IT IMPACTED THE 

P.R.I.D.E. PROGRAM

The moment I got back I started to receive inquiries about the course.  People in my own state started to want the program.  As of now, starting in 2016, in Connecticut we will have 4 training sites, one of them inside a prison.   Early in January I am scheduled for several radio interviews.  Due to requests from other prisons in other states, we are now working with IPPC Technologies (SecureLearn Platform) to computerize our course so we can bring the program into prisons across the U.S. This will allow inmates to use the internet for learning & research without being able to go where they are not allowed.  This is a new application for an old company that specializes in Parole & Probation monitoring.  Sometime in the near future your local prison may be helping inmates become good neighbors again.

We are totally funded by your donations to: "The Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport/P.R.I.D.E. PROGRAM," 1100 Boston Avenue Bldg 5A, Bridgeport, CT 06610.

For more information: 

Barry Diamond, P.R.I.D.E. PROGRAM, 

Reentry Survivors LLC, reentrysurvivors.com, reentrysurvivors@gmail.com

 __________

  

Comments from Social Media: 

Ian Russell Lowell Interesting imagery: but there is a flaw. The space shuttle has to use up its fuel to get into orbit, we however do not use up our past experiences, but build upon them. In that sense, we carry much more rather than carrying much less. It is a rather naïve imagery therefore. Our past cannot propel us forward like rocket fuel, because there is so little control — it is rather like switching off the higher brain functions and being totally dependent on the ganglia. The concept of the programme of help seems worthy, but if it is building a rehabilitation scheme on a false premise, that doesn’t bode well.

__________

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   

DONATIONS

We are grateful for donations from individuals, religious groups, charities, foundations and the like. Donations can be made by credit card/PayPal, 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 501c3 status - all donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. Thank you for your support and generosity.

If transformation and redemption matter to you, a friend or a family member with 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.

ReentrySurvivors.com: Dwight Dickerson, M.A.

Progressive Prison Project 

Innocent Spouse & Children Project 

Greenwich, Connecticut

ReentrySurvivors.com:

Dwight Dickerson, M.A.

Authenticity: Being truthful to oneself 

and others is the key to maneuvering 

through the reentry process

Dwight Dickerson, MA, Community Psychologist
President/CEO Tri-Cord LLC New Haven, CT

As there are as many days in the week, months in a year there are as many roads that lead to success each having their own bumps in the road, hills to climb and hurdles to overcome and for those of us like me, traveling upon these roads with the weight of a criminal record on our back, the journey to success become even more difficult to achieve. As I share my story, my hope is that I encourage and empower all who read it to embrace the challenge and do the work that needs to be done and refuse to allow anyone to underestimate you, undervalue you, marginalize you, and finally, dictate who and what you can become!

My journey to success did not begin after my release from jail but began when I was sitting in the holding cell waiting to be taken to prison in 1994. It was at that time I decided to make sure that I would do whatever I needed to do to assure that what behaviors and thought patterns that caused me to be sitting in that holding cell would never happen again and I also vowed that I would do whatever in my power to help empower others with the tools to be successful. So, while I was incarcerated I made a deliberate decision to participate in and finish all programs that addressed the areas in my life that needed to be addressed.

Upon my release in 1996 I began to implement a five step program that has yielded tremendous success for me and my family which I still live by today.

First, I chose to be authentic with myself foremost and everyone else that I allowed in my circle. By being honest with myself I realized that there were known and unknown unresolved issues, behaviors, thought patterns, emotions that I have been plagued with from childhood through adulthood that needed to be addressed. So for the next 8yrs I sought a qualified counselor that would help make me whole. Still, today, I have someone that I can turn to when times are warranted. I learned never be afraid to be truthful to yourself and others and never be afraid to seek out the help that you need. Authenticity is the essential key to maneuvering through the reentry process.

Secondly, I chose to be committed to do the work that needed to be done both on the inside and the outside. I made no excuses. While working on my issues with my counselor I was fully committed in doing whatever I had to do to show my love, respect, gratitude, appreciation for my family. Whatever was required of me by parole and probation, I was committed to do. I was committed to making sure that I walk the walk for sustainable change.

Thirdly, realizing that no man is an island and that success is a team effort. I developed a well established support network of people that would not be afraid to hold me accountable for my thoughts and actions, a network that is still in existence today. In the same way it takes a village to raise a child, it also takes a community to help ex-offenders to transition back into the community and live successful lives.

Fourthly, I had a burning desire to better myself economically and educationally which led me in 1997 to find an entry level job as a machinist at a company in Madison, CT. which was the catalyst to me being hired in 2003 at Sikorsky Aircraft in Stratford, CT were I am presently employed. While at Sikorsky I have had the opportunity to participate in their Employee Scholar Program that paid for my education allowing me to obtain my BA in sociology from Yale University in 2010 and my MA in Community Psychology in May of this year. It was in 2010 that my wife, daughter and I birthed Tri-Cord LLC an Empowerment Training Group, New Haven, CT dedicated to empowering the formerly incarcerated, their families and the community with the tools to be successful by offering evidence base life-skill workshops.

Finally, I took charge of my own destiny by refusing to allow society’s narrow mindedness to dictate what I can do and what I can become. For I am not defined by one event in my life for I am complicated for I am more than the sum total of my shortcomings.

For I am a:

1. Husband
2. Father
3. Brother
4. Friend
5. Uncle
6. Nephew
7. Mentor
8. Musician (Pianist, Trumpeter)
9. Scholar
10. Christian
11. Employee
12. Homeowner
13. Yale College Alumni Volunteer
14. Role Model
15. Leader
16. Community Psychologist
17. Composer
18. Writer
19. Church Member
20. Pastoral Care Minister
21. Prison Volunteer (VIP)
22. Community Activist /
23. Ex-offender

REENTRY SURVIVORS: Tell your success story. Your successful reentry from incarceration to being a contributing member of society can inspire others, change public attitudes, create more employment opportunities, provise encouragement and hope. Many in the process have also been granted pardons, putting their past records behind them. 

IF YOU HAVE A SUCCESS STORY YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE GO TO: reentrysurvivors.com, OR CONTACT US BY E-MAIL: reentrysurvivors@gmail.com.

 ____________

 
Rev. Jeff Grant, JD, M Div, Minister/Director

jgrant@prisonist.org
jg3074@columbia.edu
(o) +1203.769.1096
(m) +1203.339.5887

Lynn Springer, Advocate, Innocent Spouses & Children
lspringer@prisonist.org
(m) +1203.536.5508

George Bresnan, Advocate, Ex-Pats
gbresnan@prisonist.org

Michael Karaffa, Advocate, Disabilities
mkaraffa@prisonist.org

 ____________

Comments from Social Media:

ReentrySurvivors.com: Willie Hayes

Progressive Prison Project

Innocent Spouse & Children Project

Greenwich, Connecticut

ReentrySurvivors.com: 

Willie Hayes

"Seek to do what most aren't willing to do now, 

so that you will be able to do what most can't do later" 
- Willie Hayes

My name is Willie Hayes and I'm so pleased to take this opportunity to express the reality of change that can occur when the 
resources that are available are used. After being released from prison, I was able to become a mentor for juveniles at the 
Community Partners In Action facility. Then I received some information about New England Tractor Trailer Training School in 
Bridgeport. I enrolled and received my CDL class A licenses, 4 months after enrolling. While in school I discovered that ATR will 
help me with my out of pocket fees of $700.00. I made contact with them and after enrollng with ATR I received monthly bus 
passes to commute to school as well as a check that was sent to the admissions office at NETTTS totaling $700.00 to cover my 
entire out of pocket fees for enrollment.

As I arrived closer to my completion date at Nettts, I became heavy with the reality of not having any income and that's when The 
Step Up program was brought to my attention. I acted IMMEDIATELY to the information I was given and had the pleasure of 
meeting with Ms. Carmen Neives, who was responsible for walking me through the process. After I fulfilled the task of providing 
Carmen with ALL that she needed to get me approved, I received a grant in my name worth $12,500.00 . That grant gave me 
success with the first company I applied and used it. Blase was the company and they gave me the chance to prove myself. I 
completed school by this time and was working a minimum wage job at Blase, but remained grateful for employment. 

Even after receiving my Class A CDL, I was overcome with fear from seeing so many other ex-felons get rejected that I put myself 
on hold till I had at lest 90 days in at Blase before I even tried to apply for a driving Job. I was blessed to have good people around me that were already where I wanted to be and because of that I was able to follow up on ajob lead with the company I am now working for full time. The company I work for now is everything I could hope for in a company (driving locally) but what I need people to know is this: My desire to do something different with my life opens the door for my opportunities. It's not 
who hired me or how much I make, it is about being a man with a vision for change. The job at Blase gave me an outstanding 
reference to my new employer and the school NETTTS was able to be vital to this company getting a reference of my 
accountability and integrity that I choose to be identified by and not my inmate number.

I truly discovered that when I put the right priority on Life and freedom, I'm better able to make positive decisions. Besides 
obtaining a successful career, I've gained major successes in my home, Marriage, Church, Community, and relationships with 
individuals that need to know. Hope doesn't expire just because you can't see the results IMMEDIATELY. I will end with this, "I 
seek to do what most aren't willing to do now, so that I will be able to do what most can't do later". So in other words I do my 
best now and stay away from those that choose to do NOTHING about their situation and circumstance. That will better my 
chances of being able to do some of the things I've been blessed to do. Like receive a vacation and get paid for it. I just 
experienced this for the first time in my life last week. There are those who chose to do nothing and have no one to pay for a 
vacation due to them being unemployable. If you lack skills or abilities seek the outlets that may be available to help you develop 
them. I encourage anyone that is in a re entry situation to EXHAUST EVERY OUTLET AVAILABLE TO YOU.

In closing, I went from being in the news paper police log to being in the news paper bi weekly as one of NETTTS testimonies 
and what determination, faith, and desire can reward you with. Follow your dreams and see how possible it is to FULFILL every one of them. God Bless.

REENTRY SURVIVORS: Tell your success story. Your successful reentry from incarceration to being a contributing member of society can inspire others, change public attitudes, create more employment opportunities, provise encouragement and hope. Many in the process have also been granted pardons, putting their past records behind them. 

IF YOU HAVE A SUCCESS STORY YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE GO TO: reentrysurvivors.com, OR CONTACT US BY E-MAIL: reentrysurvivors@gmail.com 

 ____________

 
Rev. Jeff Grant, JD, M Div, Minister/Director

jgrant@prisonist.org
jg3074@columbia.edu
(o) +1203.769.1096
(m) +1203.339.5887

Lynn Springer, Advocate, Innocent Spouses & Children
lspringer@prisonist.org
(m) +1203.536.5508

George Bresnan, Advocate, Ex-Pats
gbresnan@prisonist.org

Michael Karaffa, Advocate, Disabilities
mkaraffa@prisonist.org

 ____________

Comments from Social Media:

Back to the Future, By Barry S. Diamond - Reentry Survivor & Guest Blogger

Progressive Prison Project

Innocent Spouse & Children Project

Greenwich, Connecticut

Back to the Future

By Barry S. Diamond, Reentry Survivor 

& Guest Blogger

I first met Barry when he and I were members of the SouthWest Connecticut Justice Reinvestment Initiative.
Barry was a tireless worker with terrific ideas. Recently, he and Dick Sederquist (another SWCJRI member) invited me to breakfast to discuss a project they were working on - Reentry Survivors Success Stories.  At breakfast, Barry shared with us that he was a reentry survivor, having served prison time for a white-collar crime.  I invited Barry to write a guest blog for us.  - Jeff 
 

ReentrySurvivors.com: "It gives prior convicted persons the opportunity to go back into their past life and look at it to see how and what formed their new futures."

MY STORY

My name is Barry S. Diamond. One day in June, 2010, I was having lunch with mayors and state representatives and the next day lunch with murders, rapists, child molesters and bank robbers.

I was the owner of a successful 30 year old business consulting company, started the Chamber of Commerce in my town, on the board of my town Economic Development Commission, Vice-President of my town Tax Abatement Commission, President of my town Library Foundation...as well as the President-Elect of the Better Business Bureau of the State of Connecticut.

All that ended when I was convicted of a white-collar crime & was sentenced to 6 years in prison.

After two years of following repetitive, non-thinking actions with no decision-making thoughts (now that I was going to be early released in 2012), I was going to have to think about how other released offenders successfully did it.  What stumbling blocks did they have to overcome and how did they do it?

While in prison I listened and learned a lot about the hopes and dreams of other incarcerated people.  Many wanted to return to their families, find jobs and once again become members of the society they left.  They were husbands, grandfathers, fathers, brothers, uncles and sons.

I’ve tried to put my experience in prison to good use.

I am currently teaching a job readiness course to reentry people, helping to get jobs for Project Longevity clients in Bridgeport, an active member of the Bridgeport Reentry Roundtable, and conducting clothing drives for reentry survivors for their job interviews.  I have a loving, supportive wife, three sons who are married (all of whom own their own homes), eight grandchildren (several in college and whom are future doctors and engineers), and three great-grandchildren...all of whom are now back in my life.
 

TELL YOUR STORY !

And importantly for this blog post, together with Dick Sederquist (not a reentry survivor but a dedicated freedom fighter), we are spearheading the Reentry Survivors Success Story movement in Connecticut! 

We have recently started a website called reentrysurvivors.com, where stories appear of successful reentries by real people.  It gives prior convicted persons the opportunity to go back into their past life and look at it to see how and what formed their new futures.  We who have been incarcerated and released to reenter society now have a voice and a place where hope still lives.

The web site is reentrysurvivors.com.  Our e-mail is reentrysurvivors@gmail.com

Thank you for your kind attention and for your submissions.

Sincerely,

Barry S. Diamond, Reentry Survivor 

P.S. Most released people who are reentering our communities are only asking to be treated with respect, courtesy & honesty.  Interview them for job openings in your company.  Hire them if they are the best qualified, do not hire them if other candidates are better.  If you don’t, you may be missing the opportunity to hire a great employee, who will work hard to earn your respect. Barry

______________

Progressive Prison Project/
Innocent Spouse & Children Project

at Christ Church Greenwich 254 East Putnam Avenue
Greenwich, Conecticut 06830

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1232, Weston, Connecticut 06883

Central Ministry & Office: Weston, Connecticut

Rev. Jeff Grant, JD, M Div, Minister/Director
(o) +1203.769.1096
(m) +1203.339.5887
jgrant@prisonist.org

jg3074@columbia.edu

Lynn Springer, Advocate, Innocent Spouses & Children
lspringer@prisonist.org
(m) +1203.536.5508

George Bresnan, Advocate
gbresnan@prisonist.org