Redemption and Grace

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Hello, ladies and gents, welcome to Sound United Presents, a diverse and inclusive podcast focused on local entrepreneurs, professionals and unsung community heroes.

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Within each episode, our guests will candidly share their stories filled with triumph, failures, humor, lessons learned, insight and some nuggets of wisdom.

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I'm very excited about this, and I hope you are too.

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Let's get started.

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Hey folks, once again, thank you for hitting the play button and listening to Sound United Presents, powered by Sound United Podcast Studio.

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I'm your host, d Lee Scott.

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Making it sound crispy is Kimberly Gonzalez.

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Today finally got her in.

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We had to call people and it was like maybe nine to ten different people.

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Her people had to call my people, my people called hers, but we got her here.

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She's here and I'm thankful because I learned about this organization maybe two years ago and off my I was talking to her and talking about how.

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I didn't know who ran the organization.

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I just heard about it about two years, somewhere in a year and a half.

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Our topics today is something very near and dear to me, to both from a from a family member standpoint and just from a society standpoint.

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I'm going to be talking about some reentry stuff, criminal justice, her personal story a little bit, and just, we're going to navigate, navigate her world and get some some insight and things like that.

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So with that, ladies and gentlemen, sound United presents Miss Dion Doughty Lacey.

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Welcome, the crowd goes crazy, the cannons are going off and everything.

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Welcome to the show thank you for having me yeah, couldn't listen.

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There's a whole backstory with season four, me deciding to do it and and I had plenty of time to think about who I really wanted to you, you know, cause this is an important season for me and there's there's information our trailer kind of talks about a little bit.

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So to get you on here was just very, very, very special to me because you are, you were doing something that's very amazing, many things amazing in this particular case with the organization and stuff.

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Being executive director of United Returning Citizens.

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I should probably have put that out there, but you know I'm not going to.

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I'm gonna allow you to elaborate on that a little bit.

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But no, to have you here means a lot and I truly, truly, truly, truly mean that.

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And we have some mutual friends who speak about you a lot too, who have spoken about you, like when we get into it a little bit.

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I'll say I know one of them was like she about her business, like she about her business, you know, and she going to bring you along, just do you know, just just really good stuff.

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And that's how you know it's good people when the people that they are connected to speaks of them right in rooms that they're not in, and that's incredible.

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So that's cool to know, yeah.

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So kind of briefly tell the audience about yourself a little bit yeah.

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So kind of briefly tell the audience about yourself a little bit.

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Well, I am a girl from Youngstown, Ohio, born and raised.

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I have three children.

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I have 11 grandchildren.

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I'm a community advocate, I'm a teacher, I'm a counselor, I'm a champion and I'm a healer.

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What's that Youngst, that South side?

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Ain't they working on the high school over there?

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Yeah, we went there the other day.

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They let us go inside and it was so many memories that was like 30, almost 40 years ago, but just to see, like the bathrooms we used to go into and our Spanish teacher, it was very nostalgic.

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Is the locker still there?

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Yeah, like we were touching it, I'm like look at this it was cool.

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So what are they are they trying to?

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Are they trying to make that a school, or is it just kind of?

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I think they're restoring it just like leasing rooms and you know more of like a business incubator more or less.

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Oh, that's wonderful.

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So I think so, yeah, yeah, that's wonderful, yeah yeah, it's better.

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I hope it it goes well yeah, because sometimes they'll do those schools and they'll turn them into like um residential yeah, type thing.

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So it's really nice to hear that they're gonna.

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You know and I could actually see that like businesses or nonprofits in there, you know what I mean Like a very good community incubator.

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That is a wonderful idea.

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So did you like?

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What was you thinking when you were in there?

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I know we kind of getting off track a little bit.

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You were in there and you were looking at the lockers and the restroom.

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Like would you be somewhere.

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But you know you have moments that you remember.

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You know, when you were in there, like I know it was shameful to think about this, but when I got put out of Spanish class for talking too much, I remember that one.

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I remember us racing down the hallway, you know, at lunchtime I remember us selling pencils and erasers in the hallway, you know.

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You remember.

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You know the girls hanging around the water fountain.

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You know, he's a 10, he's a two, he's a four, you know.

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So all that stuff came up.

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It was nice, you know some.

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I mean, I think that's like the last school that's still standing.

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So you know we actually got to go into the school that we went to you know other schools that have been rebuilt, you know, or just taken down completely, but that school.

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So I was like oh, I'm thankful and the architecture, and just you know the wherewithal of it just being there.

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Yeah, yeah, yeah, caught up with any?

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did you catch up with any friends you ain't seen in years?

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Yes, that's what I mean People we haven't seen in 30, 40 years.

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To see them, Then we're all in the same.

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You know some of us like we're redoing pictures that we had like with our hands on our hips and stuff.

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So it was nice.

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How was life?

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I mean growing up in Youngstown like.

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Did you spend a lot of time on the south side?

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Was all of Youngstown your playground.

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What was life like?

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Was all of Youngstown your playground?

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What was life?

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like.

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I had a great childhood.

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I had a mother and father that worked at General Motors in the post office.

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My church was right across the street, so we was very spiritually, foundationally religious, if that makes sense, perfect sense, perfect sense.

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We had a big family.

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My mother has seven sisters and three brothers, so I had cousins.

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So my cousins were my friends and they lived maybe a block or two from each other.

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So we would walk, either we would go to the park or go over to each other's house and we would just hang out.

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And then my dad was from Warren, so in the summers we would come over here to Warren or go to church over here Grace, ame or Packer Park, you know all those places.

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So it was really cool.

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You know, it was just a regular childhood Did you?

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you know what kind of stuff did you climb trees.

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I was a tomboy so I played football with the guys.

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I climbed trees, I was racing all the time.

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Our next door neighbor, he drove motorcycles so we would be on the dirt bike with him.

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Get my legs all burnt up, still get up, get back on it.

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We did like they don't play outside.

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We played outside.

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We played.

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What did we play?

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Skip hopscotch?

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We would play dodgeball Racing.

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We would just play.

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You know racing.

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We would just play.

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You know just the regular jacks, regular stuff that kids would play, did you?

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play marbles?

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Nah, I always ask people that because we grew up on marbles on the east side, here in Warren, we used to play marbles all the time.

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I was telling my son about it.

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We used to call it spansies when you went around one time you one, two times two spansies, and all that, but you didn't play marbles.

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Hmm, I know, because I don't even know what spansy is, so I know freeze tag now freeze tag yeah abc block green light, red light.

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Oh yeah, that was a classic.

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I think adults should play that like that's a good exercise game like get a bunch of adults and play that.

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So yeah, we're gonna see it on.

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We'll see it on tiktok it ain't, I said we'll probably see it on tiktok because it's fine, that's, that's an adult game.

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It is that you can play.

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You can play it in childhood.

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You play it in adult.

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I mean, if you, if you like me, it might be through a party you'd be like, well, if you get caught, you gotta have a shot of tequila.

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Yeah, and you gotta get back in the game just with some extra see, just with some extra comedy.

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Your fish out of tequila, you trying to stop yeah, that would be fun, yeah yeah, maybe I'll.

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Well, I ain't on TikTok, maybe I'll Instagram something like that.

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I'll have everybody sign a release, though, so they can come back and get it.

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Yes, even my best of friends and family.

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What do you remember most about that era?

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growing up um I adore a park, I don't know.

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I adore park fries.

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Um the cookie castle, jack rabbit having birthdays with all my cousins over sleepovers, cognac lake I've never been there.

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No.

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No, I've never been there Back then.

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That was just that was the thing, that was the spot, yeah.

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Geauga Lake, cedar Point.

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You know because General Motors always had the tickets to go there.

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So oh, yeah, yeah.

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So we were always going.

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You like the Jackrabbit?

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Yeah, yeah, man, yeah, okay, the jackrabbit was the orange right, was the orange one right, that other one was the wildcat.

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Yes, yeah, I ain't like that one at all.

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I ain't like neither one.

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But I never rode the wildcat.

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It was too close to that water no, I loved it.

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I didn't like that spider that went around.

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See, I love the spider, yeah, bumper cars, the spider and that Silver Rocket, the ones that went around.

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Anything that went around just wasn't for me.

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You know what I like the most, though the French fries.

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They were the best the French fries yeah everyone keeps trying to duplicate Like these are all Aydara fries Not.

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Nah, it was something about grabbing that spray bottle of vinegar too.

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It was Something about grabbing that spray bottle of vinegar too.

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Something about grabbing a spray bottle of vinegar and putting them on your fries.

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It just I don't know.

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I don't know.

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And the hill too, because I remember we used to roll down that hill.

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My mom, would you know.

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We would go see my grandfather.

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He stayed on Idora, was it Idora?

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He stayed.

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We would go see him.

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I remember him vividly because he would always put milk in his scotch, which I tried that once.

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That's disgusting, but we would go to our door part too.

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I know what you're talking about.

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Yeah, we would do that, and my mom had a 8-millimeter video back.

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When they first came out I was like, mom, you had the money then because she worked at Packard, so we got old footage of that and the Jeep that you could drive.

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Then we used to, when it snowed, we used to slay it down.

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Yeah, yeah, and we had Packard Park to do that.

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Yeah, we had Mill Creek, but that was just like if we was over my aunt's house we could just go slay it right in right there.

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What do you remember most?

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Like, boom, we talked about the different things you did, but when you sit back, what do you remember most about your childhood?

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Now I'm going to tell you this feeling what I remember most about my childhood is feeling like I am supposed to do something impactful here, somewhere here in the valley, here.

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So I just knew it was something that I'm supposed to do.

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Impactful, like it was something that I was supposed to do with people, because people were always like around you know me or you know I was.

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It was easy to be around people to talk to people, so it was something I knew that was just going to be impactful.

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So you didn't have like a dream career, like when I grow up I'm going to be a nurse.

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Ok, so that.

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Ok, nurse a nurse.

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Was there any reason?

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Why Was it a TV show?

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I always go back because I ask people like you know, I want to be like a police officer for a hot second because it was Hill Street Blues and starts getting hutch.

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I wanted to be a nurse because I wanted to take care of people, but I wanted to be Diane Carroll off of Dynasty because she was a co-businesswoman.

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First of all you bring it back to the nostalgic shows Dynasty and Dallas.

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But yeah, I remember Dynasty.

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Did she have the black hair?

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Yeah, yeah, I remember her.

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But yeah, I remember Dynasty.

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Did she have the black hair?

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Yeah?

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Yeah, I remember her.

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Thank you, she was the black lady with the fur, you know.

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Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.

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So that was like the first black woman I'd seen, like really doing business.

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Because there wasn't a lot of examples of that back at that time.

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No, it was Good Times, times the jeffersons don't forget sanford and son, because that's my show really well.

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I was like, was there was no one on there.

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I'm like, well, don't want to be her uh, um.

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So when we talk about school we talk about you going to, but elementary where'd you go to elementary school?

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I'm not really familiar with youngstown, but I don't.

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I don't like to pull cause.

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I asked people from Warnock's.

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You know what I mean, so it's only Monroe.

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What is that?

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It's gone.

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Gone.

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Okay, where'd you go to middle school?

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Calvary Christian Academy.

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Here Gone yeah.

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The school is gone, but the church is still over there, Mount Calvary Okay.

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And then of course, high school you was, yeah.

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So I went to Mooney and then all of my cousins were going to South and so I begged my mother, because Mooney didn't have proms.

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Then what?

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No, someone had got drunken or something and drove and killed themselves or something.

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So they didn't have proms for a long time.

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Wow yeah.

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So I wanted to go to the prom.

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So I begged my mother to let me go to South.

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Convinced her, and the rest was history yeah.

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I'm a warrior, Did you take any?

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I believe it.

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I believe it.

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Did you take any like classes where there's certain things Cause, you know, back in the day we had a plethora College prep Courses Okay.

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So no workshops, no metal shop no.

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No, no, like I was on debate team at Mooney.

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Oh, you was doing it.

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Yeah, like French class.

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Is that how you convinced because of that debate skill?

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Is that how you convinced because of that debate?

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skill.

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Is that how you convinced your mom?

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I believe so.

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Okay, yes.

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But I had to convince her that I would keep my grades up.

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That nothing would change, you know.

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So no sports, anything like that.

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No, when I was there I played softball, ran track, I did volleyball at Calvin Christian Academy and I was on a dance team.

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When I went to South, a majorette, okay.

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So what did you as you went through school?

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You get to high school.

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High school comes to an end, right?

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What did you do after high school?

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Well, I was a teen mom, okay, so at 16, I got, got pregnant and I had my oldest.

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So then when I got out I didn't go to school.

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So by 21 I was married okay and then I had two more kids.

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So then by then I was a wife with three kids by 23.

00:15:24.149 --> 00:15:30.644
So I was just uh, not just uh, I was a domestic engineer.

00:15:31.765 --> 00:15:33.268
Wait, domestic engineer.

00:15:34.551 --> 00:15:35.371
I was a domestic.

00:15:35.371 --> 00:15:39.089
I'm writing this, I'm writing all this stuff down Perhaps.

00:15:42.061 --> 00:15:53.394
So I was a domestic engineer at that time and, um, when the kids all went to school and stuff, I told my husband, like you know, I don't have anything, I need something.

00:15:53.394 --> 00:15:57.812
And so I went to massage therapist school.

00:15:57.812 --> 00:15:59.888
So I am a massage therapist.

00:15:59.888 --> 00:16:16.332
I went to take my kids one time to get their teeth cleaned and then, while they were doing that, I went next door and got a massage by Penny King and if anyone hears this, they know who she is and I said the way that she make me feel I have to have other people feel this.

00:16:16.332 --> 00:16:20.105
So I went to school to be a masto therapist.

00:16:20.486 --> 00:16:21.509
How long does that take to do?

00:16:21.970 --> 00:16:23.332
It was 18 months Okay.

00:16:23.801 --> 00:16:25.748
So you still licensed to.

00:16:25.961 --> 00:16:27.034
I still have my table.

00:16:27.034 --> 00:16:29.566
I just gave one the other day so.

00:16:30.288 --> 00:16:43.028
So you have it as a as a business too no, I don't do it as a business now yeah, okay, yeah, all right, yeah, because I don't want to be committed to that right, because you have a, you have an organization you run in.

00:16:43.208 --> 00:16:46.534
You run in an organization that we're about to talk about.

00:16:46.534 --> 00:17:00.504
But before I even get I kind of mentioned it earlier, but before we get to, like I really want to go into because when you in the field that you're in and it makes sense now that you say impactful, right, you knew you wanted to help.

00:17:00.504 --> 00:17:09.325
Yeah, make an impact and do what inspired you to open up, to, even to found that your organization- it was personal.

00:17:10.269 --> 00:17:12.405
Ok, I have two felonies.

00:17:12.405 --> 00:17:20.429
My husband went to the penitentiary, my father was in a penitentiary, my uncles, my brother went to jail.

00:17:20.429 --> 00:17:33.646
But all of these people were so intelligent, creative, innovative and so like I didn't understand, like what was the problem?

00:17:33.646 --> 00:17:41.596
Or why were we there, or they there, and what did they need not to be there or go there anymore or to recidivize?

00:17:41.596 --> 00:17:47.073
And so they told me, like you know, you know what it is, opportunities and resources.

00:17:48.279 --> 00:18:01.352
So I became a AmeriCorps VISTA and then I told them, in order to be one, you all had to let me bring United Returning Citizens with me and allow me to use that through my VISTA.

00:18:01.352 --> 00:18:02.634
And they did.

00:18:02.634 --> 00:18:14.221
And I had the first felon friendly job fair where we went to get employers that would hire felons, and so we kind of started that.

00:18:14.221 --> 00:18:25.057
And then everything else that we did as far as vistas and community stuff, I always added to the bullet point felons to the bullet point felons.

00:18:25.057 --> 00:18:33.413
So just keeping that in the conversation, you know what I mean so that they would know like we are a part of whatever that you all do in this community.

00:18:33.413 --> 00:18:43.315
And so we had to like push the narrative of what felons or what I was going to have people believe what a felon was or was not.

00:18:44.901 --> 00:18:47.589
Do you go into that?

00:18:47.589 --> 00:18:52.250
Did you have a lot of buy-in from employers to be a part of this?

00:18:52.250 --> 00:18:57.307
Because you know back in it may still be out there, I'm sure, but they had it.

00:18:57.307 --> 00:19:06.811
Was that paper, like when you know you got in trouble, you're looking for a job let's say you just got out of jail or prison or you know it could have been a child support issue and you couldn't find work.

00:19:06.811 --> 00:19:10.224
Right, they said here, here's this paper, go, you know, go, fill out.

00:19:10.224 --> 00:19:18.567
And I remember not saying just you know, just not saying Arby's does this, because I got to be careful because this day and age, but anyway, arby's was on there.

00:19:42.750 --> 00:19:56.655
It was like all these companies and they would you know, give you that, yeah, and the majority of them some that didn't why they should, because I didn't want to spend my time on like woulda, coulda, shoulda, like that's wasteful time.

00:19:56.655 --> 00:20:03.378
You know, I tell my grandkids like you get a moment, you know, into whatever that's happening, because your feelings are valid.

00:20:06.945 --> 00:20:09.518
Then the rest of that energy you got to solve the problem.

00:20:09.518 --> 00:20:10.140
Do you going back?

00:20:10.140 --> 00:20:15.492
Do you feel like it's easier now for and I say I call them return or restore citizens?

00:20:15.700 --> 00:20:18.669
I mean during my back when I worked for FHI, that's.

00:20:18.669 --> 00:20:19.411
You know that was the thing.

00:20:19.411 --> 00:20:34.012
But do you feel like opportunities are opening up more now than back then, let's say 10 years back or so or is it still kind of the same as far as, like you know, people not wanting to give an opportunity?

00:20:34.012 --> 00:20:43.107
And I give example like I remember, cause I shared what I did prior to you know, off mic, you know working with flying high and doing that stuff.

00:20:43.107 --> 00:21:01.747
But I remember cause I was trying to find out why, like, if a person does their time, whatever they did, right, they, they did their time they got they they shit in order Right, and they ain't even got a J walking ticket and they've been out for five years or something like that, and they still can't find work.

00:21:02.328 --> 00:21:02.528
Right.

00:21:02.710 --> 00:21:03.873
Nobody wants to hire them.

00:21:03.873 --> 00:21:13.320
They got a housing issues right A nuclear family, but they can't be a nuclear family because he or she has a felony so they can't move in to help raise.

00:21:13.320 --> 00:21:16.268
I mean it's just so crazy with, with, with all this stuff.

00:21:16.268 --> 00:21:22.169
But I remember someone telling me that their justification was it was a banker, like on why?

00:21:22.169 --> 00:21:23.151
And I said, well, what does that matter?

00:21:23.151 --> 00:21:24.393
Like I could understand it was a banker or something, right?

00:21:24.393 --> 00:21:25.576
I said, well, what does that matter?

00:21:25.576 --> 00:21:29.950
Like I could understand if it was a banker or something, right, okay, of course you ain't gonna work in a bank, right?

00:21:29.950 --> 00:21:31.203
I understand the banks thing, like that.

00:21:31.203 --> 00:21:33.839
But other than that, like how can you not give somebody an opportunity?

00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:35.584
They time they doing the right thing?

00:21:35.584 --> 00:21:37.028
Right and they got to survive?

00:21:37.028 --> 00:21:40.580
Has it changed a little bit for you?

00:21:40.580 --> 00:21:46.167
Like in that, in that realm, as far your organization, what you deal with the people who come in, has it changed?

00:21:46.167 --> 00:21:46.969
Is it easier now?

00:21:47.970 --> 00:21:51.032
No, it's not easier.

00:21:51.032 --> 00:22:01.020
I think that we're making more opportunities for ourselves instead of just continually asking someone to help me to keep saying no.

00:22:01.020 --> 00:22:12.115
I think our mindset now is more of like okay, if that's not working, how can we make resources and opportunities for ourselves?

00:22:12.115 --> 00:22:17.833
This is a big world and there's great opportunities out here.

00:22:17.833 --> 00:22:29.987
So maybe let's look out the box and see you know who do support returning citizens, what company or what jobs can we, you know, go to that.

00:22:30.027 --> 00:22:32.433
Don't do backgrounds or it doesn't matter.

00:22:32.433 --> 00:22:33.516
Do you have a background?

00:22:33.516 --> 00:22:39.244
Like let's concentrate on those people and those things and see how we can grow from there.

00:22:39.244 --> 00:22:52.329
That's kind of like my mindset and the mindset that most of the clients that come in, that I even have conversation, you know, I'll tell them like just look at it from that way, because they're overwhelmed and they're beat down.

00:22:52.329 --> 00:22:59.753
It's already you just we're normal or whatever, and just being rejected is bad to us.

00:22:59.753 --> 00:23:02.173
So just think of you continuously.

00:23:02.173 --> 00:23:04.534
You're already beating yourself up because you know what you've done.

00:23:04.534 --> 00:23:07.473
You know not to you yourself, your children, your mother.

00:23:07.473 --> 00:23:10.815
You know you're embarrassed, you're guilty, you feel guilty.

00:23:10.815 --> 00:23:15.856
So now you come out here and then they're telling you the same thing over and, over and over again.

00:23:15.856 --> 00:23:19.335
I've seen grown men cry because they're frustrated.

00:23:19.335 --> 00:23:25.094
It's not that they're not able or they're not capable, there's just no one's letting them be a man.

00:23:27.585 --> 00:23:32.617
To have an opportunity or to provide for the family, or you know, and always I think too, like sometimes it's hard.

00:23:32.617 --> 00:23:42.237
I say it's if you're in a relationship and you have that that situation, it's very important to have a strong relationship with your partner.

00:23:42.237 --> 00:24:07.646
It doesn't mean marriage or, you know, it could be boyfriend, because at the end of the day, when all that, when you getting beaten up out there just trying to find an opportunity, just anything, the last thing you want to do is come home and get beat up some more because you know you need to find a job and you out there trying to find a job, and now you got this, this dynamics, and not only is it insane a typhoon going inside of the house, it insane a typhoon going inside of the house, it's a typhoon going outside.

00:24:07.646 --> 00:24:15.309
And so I always say, like that, that relationship with whoever it is, is very, very, very important because, it can be uplifting as well too.

00:24:15.329 --> 00:24:23.174
You know, yeah, how has your, when you initially started the organization, the vision you had, how has it evolved?

00:24:23.174 --> 00:24:26.354
I mean, you kind of talked about a little bit on just like your position on certain things, but how has it evolved?

00:24:26.354 --> 00:24:28.201
I mean, you kind of talked about a little bit on just like your position on certain things.

00:24:28.221 --> 00:24:28.762
but how has it evolved?

00:24:28.762 --> 00:24:29.365
I really didn't have a vision.

00:24:29.365 --> 00:24:32.471
So this was really started by Wayne Huggins.

00:24:32.471 --> 00:24:39.173
I met him at a leadership I think expo or something Somebody at church gave me this and say, hey, dion, you need to go there.

00:24:39.173 --> 00:24:42.348
So when I went there, I seen him and this is what he was doing.

00:24:42.348 --> 00:24:45.414
So I was like, okay, I could do the women, you could do the men.

00:24:46.037 --> 00:24:56.069
And so he was like okay, but he, you know, he wanted to do something else and so I still wanted to do this.

00:24:56.069 --> 00:24:58.876
So I just took over and then I just continued it yeah because he was doing like memberships.

00:24:59.176 --> 00:25:00.326
You know I just wanted to.

00:25:00.326 --> 00:25:02.310
You know, do direct services.

00:25:02.310 --> 00:25:09.394
You know I wanted to touch to people and make sure that they were okay and, you know, give them plans and goals and things like that.

00:25:09.394 --> 00:25:19.930
And that's where it started and evolved with, because I used to work with Mahoney Valley Organizing, so that's like organized.

00:25:20.010 --> 00:25:21.275
Oh yeah, inbock, yeah yeah.

00:25:21.944 --> 00:25:35.270
So organizing and advocacy was like wonderful, like going out there and you know, because when I was young I was a tomboy, so I used to fight all the time, so you know.

00:25:35.270 --> 00:25:39.566
So when you get old I'm like what is all this fighting for, you know?

00:25:39.566 --> 00:26:00.336
And so now I understand, you know, with all this fighting that I was doing then, like I'm always trying to fight for the equality of people, I believe in people's well-being and human rights, you know, and a right to have everything everyone else has, you know it was founded, originally founded by Mr Huggins.

00:26:00.605 --> 00:26:00.846
Yeah.

00:26:00.865 --> 00:26:14.528
By Mr Huggins, and then y'all united like kind of like the Wonder Twins yeah, this and that, and then he kind of moved on to other things, and then you and then I just grew it from the needs of the clients.

00:26:14.868 --> 00:26:18.231
That's how I got my programming by what the needs were.

00:26:18.231 --> 00:26:21.934
When we came in, we were surveying them as they came in.

00:26:21.934 --> 00:26:24.656
That's when we, you know, we didn't know anything Like when I came in here.

00:26:24.656 --> 00:26:29.160
I was not computer savvy or anything like that.

00:26:29.160 --> 00:26:31.021
I just knew how to do the people.

00:26:31.021 --> 00:26:33.145
So we were just doing the groundwork.

00:26:33.145 --> 00:26:55.532
You know, we were having like brunches for fathers, for CCA, and then inviting their families you know what I mean so they can come and be there, you know, and giving them, even though you know, like if no one told you happy father's day, happy father's day, I gave them like a key change, just something to make them feel worthy, like I always tell them, like we're worthy, we are worthy.

00:26:55.532 --> 00:26:59.127
You know, um, we were doing expungements.

00:26:59.127 --> 00:27:00.592
We're still doing expungements.

00:27:00.592 --> 00:27:07.457
You know, to this day, the last one we had, I think it was like 37 people just being able to give people you know a second chance.

00:27:07.684 --> 00:27:08.728
You know it was like eleven hundred.

00:27:08.728 --> 00:27:11.435
You know collateral sanctions that they can't even be a part of.

00:27:11.435 --> 00:27:17.557
So now to be able to have that chance to pick passionately what you want to do as a career, I think it was cool.

00:27:17.557 --> 00:27:20.109
We used to do a lot of cleanup around.

00:27:20.109 --> 00:27:25.367
You know the neighborhood Hillman Street, that's where I live off so we were always cleaning that up.

00:27:25.367 --> 00:27:27.470
Hillman Street that's where I live off, so we were always cleaning that up.

00:27:27.470 --> 00:27:37.941
Just little things, just to connect the community with returning citizens, to see them in another way other than somebody coming through a door or, you know, selling drugs or things like that.

00:27:48.565 --> 00:27:49.527
So, what programs and initiatives do you offer?

00:27:49.527 --> 00:27:52.431
I know you mentioned some a little bit and just now you know, as of today, what type of things do you offer returning citizens?

00:27:52.431 --> 00:28:01.163
So today we do housing, workforce, resume, building, mental health, art therapy, eft, tapping, grief classes, entrepreneurship.

00:28:01.163 --> 00:28:04.809
Wow, urc grows horticulture, yeah.

00:28:05.813 --> 00:28:07.355
That's a lot.

00:28:07.576 --> 00:28:08.038
Yeah, it is.

00:28:08.625 --> 00:28:12.916
It's a lot, though, but I assure you I can almost guarantee it's all needed.

00:28:13.445 --> 00:28:18.576
It's all needed, yeah, but we're going to just bunch that together and just kind of concentrate on it.

00:28:18.576 --> 00:28:24.432
I'm changing to advocacy because I think that we can show up better if we're just in the rooms.

00:28:24.432 --> 00:28:49.773
And if we do that, because the housing problem that we have, you know, we can't change that from out here we're going to have to be in those rooms, we're going to have to go down in Columbus, we're going to have to write letters, because it is just saddened to me every time someone come and they're looking for a home, that we just can't help them, you know, and a lot of these landlords just don't want to deal with someone that just has gotten out of prison.

00:28:50.513 --> 00:28:53.135
I mean, do they in conversation with somebody?

00:28:53.135 --> 00:28:54.777
Do they just do you get?

00:28:54.777 --> 00:29:04.863
Because to me, everything you know, you can get to a pure and authentic answer with the question why Do some of these landlords, do they break down?

00:29:04.863 --> 00:29:05.303
Why?

00:29:08.765 --> 00:29:09.448
I mean, is it just for liability?

00:29:09.448 --> 00:29:10.551
Know, but that's what the most of them would say.

00:29:10.551 --> 00:29:13.666
Insurance like, that's what everyone, that's what even the employers, employers say that too.

00:29:13.747 --> 00:29:20.669
Yeah, yeah, I was gonna say yeah yeah, so that's what they say, you know, and so what could you do?

00:29:20.669 --> 00:29:27.335
But, like we said, the opportunity is a lot of people that have went to jail you know what I mean, that they was hustlers.

00:29:27.335 --> 00:29:32.317
So when they come out they still know how to hustle something else, not other than what they were hustling before.

00:29:32.317 --> 00:29:40.538
So they are buying up properties and so they already know from experience it's hard to come out here and have, you know, somewhere to live.

00:29:40.538 --> 00:29:49.220
So then they buy houses and so that we can rent for them, or they'll do apartment buildings and so they can do, you know, rent out rooms or things like that.

00:29:49.220 --> 00:29:53.773
So you know, we are trying to make opportunities within ourselves.

00:29:54.174 --> 00:29:55.878
Good, good, that's really good.

00:29:55.878 --> 00:29:57.904
Yeah, I never understood that housing thing.

00:29:57.904 --> 00:30:05.708
That's why initially from going, you know, just liability is always that thing, but then you know somebody has an F5.

00:30:05.708 --> 00:30:06.548
Liability is always that thing.

00:30:06.548 --> 00:30:07.490
But then you know somebody has an F5.

00:30:07.490 --> 00:30:11.915
They got you know, six months community service and three years probation.

00:30:11.915 --> 00:30:12.656
They got an F5.

00:30:12.656 --> 00:30:14.159
Nothing violent.

00:30:14.159 --> 00:30:16.201
They still can't find housing.

00:30:16.201 --> 00:30:18.223
You know something like that it's crazy.

00:30:18.704 --> 00:30:26.500
Listen, it's some people that came in there that don't have a background, you know, have anything and have a good job and having a hard time finding houses.

00:30:26.500 --> 00:30:30.496
So you know, housing is just bad out here period.

00:30:31.586 --> 00:30:36.756
What are some early challenges you had with the organization, like when you, you know, became yours, like what were?

00:30:36.856 --> 00:30:37.559
some early challenges.

00:30:37.559 --> 00:30:51.250
Funding support really like taking serious, you know, or underestimated, that was a lot.

00:30:52.085 --> 00:30:57.825
Is it partly because of the initiative, partly because it's very difficult sometimes?

00:30:57.825 --> 00:31:06.969
Well, we can just say people of color, women like you, have all these, and was that part of it, did you?

00:31:06.969 --> 00:31:08.634
Did you face a lot of that like?

00:31:09.988 --> 00:31:26.432
it was a little bit of both initiative because of what we're doing and people just like that's just not important to a lot of people and just being who I am, you know and not you know they don't take black women serious how you.

00:31:26.452 --> 00:31:27.476
Do you overcome that, though?

00:31:27.476 --> 00:31:28.669
Like to get away with?

00:31:28.669 --> 00:31:36.191
How did you overcome I mean, I'm not saying it's all like completely wiped away, but how have you pushed the needle forward Because you're doing amazing work?

00:31:36.191 --> 00:31:37.790
I mean, that's out there.

00:31:37.790 --> 00:31:40.092
How did you overcome some of that?

00:31:40.846 --> 00:31:42.712
I know what my purpose is and I know why I'm here.

00:31:42.712 --> 00:31:56.625
So, regardless of what you say, what you do, this is meant to be, and so he's going to give me what I need to do, what I have to do.

00:31:56.625 --> 00:32:04.285
So I just did the work and I did it well enough so they will respect me and know there's no way that you can say no.

00:32:04.285 --> 00:32:08.713
There's no way that you can say, oh, she doesn't do that or oh, they're not doing that.

00:32:10.798 --> 00:32:14.270
Yeah, when you, I think, when you know yourself and you know your purpose.

00:32:14.270 --> 00:32:18.380
It's like in the medieval days, the knights you got this shield, yeah.

00:32:18.380 --> 00:32:22.416
Shoot your bow and arrow, they ain't gonna stop me.

00:32:22.416 --> 00:32:25.852
You know, I know my purpose.

00:32:25.951 --> 00:32:31.297
Yeah, and if you're not going to help me, there is someone else in this world that will.

00:32:31.964 --> 00:32:33.590
Do you get a lot of support rallying around you?

00:32:33.590 --> 00:32:37.212
Now I do, From the time that you know, from the beginning to where it is now.

00:32:37.394 --> 00:32:41.152
I really do, I do Personal and business people and organizations and stuff.

00:32:41.152 --> 00:32:42.876
All around, all around, yeah.

00:32:43.567 --> 00:32:44.832
People definitely speak highly of you.

00:32:46.805 --> 00:32:47.144
I All around.

00:32:47.164 --> 00:32:48.165
Yeah, people definitely speak highly of you.

00:32:48.165 --> 00:32:48.767
I mentioned that earlier.

00:32:48.767 --> 00:32:48.926
They do.

00:32:48.926 --> 00:32:49.586
I hope so the organization.

00:32:49.586 --> 00:32:54.751
Do you have an impactful story of someone who's gone through the organization programming?

00:32:55.792 --> 00:32:58.115
Yeah, it's two of them.

00:32:58.115 --> 00:33:01.317
One was he just recently got killed.

00:33:01.317 --> 00:33:02.759
His name was Will Miller.

00:33:02.759 --> 00:33:03.619
His name was Shimmy.

00:33:04.701 --> 00:33:05.701
I read Okay, yeah.

00:33:08.986 --> 00:33:13.013
So when he first came out, he came to us and, um, he just did the work, we supported him.

00:33:13.013 --> 00:33:17.592
You know, I mean, like we were saying then, like he couldn't even get insurance, we had to write letters.

00:33:17.592 --> 00:33:24.009
You know, we had to um go advocate just so that he can have insurance, you know, as a returning citizen.

00:33:24.009 --> 00:33:24.830
Wait, wait, wait, wait, what?

00:33:25.171 --> 00:33:26.092
do you mean it's like car?

00:33:26.132 --> 00:33:27.595
insurance no, like life insurance.

00:33:28.155 --> 00:33:31.180
Okay, wait, wait, wait, life insurance.

00:33:33.404 --> 00:33:35.688
Life insurance, Even with his housing.

00:33:35.688 --> 00:33:37.049
We had the mayor write a letter.

00:33:37.049 --> 00:33:38.712
We still couldn't get him housing.

00:33:39.773 --> 00:33:41.856
That's wow, yeah, I didn't know life.

00:33:41.856 --> 00:33:45.487
You know what I mean Like yeah, what know life.

00:33:45.487 --> 00:33:46.631
And you know I mean like yeah, what type of?

00:33:46.631 --> 00:33:47.051
I don't know.

00:33:47.051 --> 00:33:48.395
That that's just so weird to me.

00:33:48.395 --> 00:33:52.193
That's why my eyes kind of got big like wait, did you say, was it automobile insurance?

00:33:52.213 --> 00:33:54.086
no, it was life insurance.

00:33:54.086 --> 00:34:03.051
Life insurance and just for him to be able to turn his life around and to do what he'd love to do and get to be I mean paid and for him to be able to make an impact.

00:34:03.051 --> 00:34:15.387
Because when he came he said I just want to change what I've done, you know, in the past, and to me that was just a great impact and it's still, even though you know he's not here.

00:34:15.387 --> 00:34:32.414
It's still making a great impact on the young men that's in this community because he related to them so well and he was able some things like you know, people like oh, I used to push for him to get paid, you know, and they just felt like, because he did 26 years in the penitentiary, that he shouldn't get paid.

00:34:32.414 --> 00:34:34.548
He has a skill that y'all don't have.

00:34:34.548 --> 00:34:35.452
That's insane.

00:34:35.452 --> 00:34:41.271
Yeah, can you go in that room with this guy that's about to kill these two and squash it?

00:34:41.271 --> 00:34:46.976
No, that's a skill, yeah, so you have to pay people for their skills.

00:34:46.976 --> 00:34:47.679
You know what I mean.

00:34:47.679 --> 00:34:50.472
Just because he didn't go to, you know he did.

00:34:50.472 --> 00:34:52.849
He went to college, he was in there 26 years.

00:34:52.849 --> 00:34:54.012
He went.

00:34:54.012 --> 00:34:58.088
Yeah, that's how he was able to come out here and to be able to do that, so that was impactful.

00:34:58.487 --> 00:34:59.509
Another one is Kashara.

00:34:59.509 --> 00:35:01.371
She works with me and everybody knows her.

00:35:01.371 --> 00:35:08.237
You know from her back past I mean past background of what she used to do.

00:35:08.237 --> 00:35:12.340
You know stick up and she, a girl you know hustle, all that kind of stuff.

00:35:12.340 --> 00:35:21.427
And now you know she does the same thing.

00:35:21.427 --> 00:35:25.239
She does the mentoring, she does our housing, she does a lot of personal and business development for herself, which is very important.

00:35:25.239 --> 00:35:29.376
I tell all of them it's very important to sustain where you at or what you're doing.

00:35:29.376 --> 00:35:33.893
And now you know she's just doing great things Like she has so much respect.

00:35:33.893 --> 00:35:36.342
You know so many girls.

00:35:36.342 --> 00:35:38.628
You know that's just coming out just looking up to her.

00:35:38.628 --> 00:35:39.210
You know what I mean.

00:35:39.210 --> 00:35:41.275
She's just making a difference in that way.

00:35:41.844 --> 00:36:00.355
Yeah, I think when you were talking about the skill set, the negotiation skills, right, and how you know people can go to college or take these classes or go to an academy to learn how to negotiate, but there are people who just have that given skill.

00:36:00.494 --> 00:36:00.835
Yeah.

00:36:01.186 --> 00:36:04.251
And I always give example when I talk about this.

00:36:04.251 --> 00:36:20.358
There was a lady in our neighborhood that, uh, there was some beef in our neighborhood and it was a younger group of kids and you know you always have them, you know she was 70 something maybe, but you know you have these people in the neighborhood that they say something, you do it, no matter how old you are.

00:36:20.358 --> 00:36:22.628
Miss such and such, or mr such and such, you do it.

00:36:22.628 --> 00:36:38.891
And there was some beef in this neighborhood and if that beef wasn't controlled, it was going to go from street to street to street to street Because, as I said before, you know, warren, probably like Youngstown, like people connected, you know you, you my blood cousin, but we go way back.

00:36:38.931 --> 00:36:40.052
Yeah, we go back to.

00:36:40.112 --> 00:36:45.503
Boston baked beans we good, and so that would have been a nasty situation.

00:36:45.503 --> 00:36:51.375
Yes, and this lady got them, two young men, together and it was over.

00:36:51.375 --> 00:36:52.298
I can't drink Pepsi.

00:36:52.298 --> 00:36:52.963
It's so sweet.

00:36:52.963 --> 00:37:01.715
I remember seeing seeing her because we were a neighbor and some fried whiting fish and Pepsi and told them, young brothers, to straighten that out and don't leave until it's done.

00:37:01.715 --> 00:37:04.632
And beef salt yeah, negotiation, you have to respect that.

00:37:04.632 --> 00:37:05.376
And beef salt.

00:37:05.556 --> 00:37:05.998
Yeah.

00:37:06.340 --> 00:37:06.983
Negotiation.

00:37:07.625 --> 00:37:08.188
You have to respect that.

00:37:08.188 --> 00:37:12.012
Now, hers was a little bit more threatening, yeah, you know, but however, you know what I mean.

00:37:12.134 --> 00:37:13.884
By any means yes by any means.

00:37:14.025 --> 00:37:15.311
We can't have this going on.

00:37:15.311 --> 00:37:28.369
But I think you know, when you look at the person okay, somebody who may have made a mistake or what have you, whether it's the first or second time right, like, who are we to sit and just condemn forever?

00:37:28.369 --> 00:37:29.150
I call you.

00:37:29.150 --> 00:37:32.371
Know what I call it Economic, it's like having albatross around your neck.

00:37:32.371 --> 00:37:33.612
It's just economic.

00:37:33.612 --> 00:37:34.632
It's a death sentence.

00:37:34.632 --> 00:37:37.875
Economically right, because how are you supposed to survive?

00:37:37.875 --> 00:37:39.335
How are you supposed to take care of your family?

00:37:39.856 --> 00:37:44.119
You know there's these narratives like you know these empty households and we need a man or one.

00:37:44.119 --> 00:37:45.079
You know nuclear households.

00:37:45.079 --> 00:37:48.342
Well, you ain't giving this young, you ain't giving them an opportunity to do it.

00:37:48.342 --> 00:37:49.121
They know what they're doing.

00:37:49.121 --> 00:37:51.166
So is it really Exactly so?

00:37:51.166 --> 00:37:52.329
Is it really about that?

00:37:52.329 --> 00:37:53.954
Or what is it really about?

00:37:53.954 --> 00:37:56.929
You don't want them getting the job, you don't want to employ them.

00:37:56.929 --> 00:38:01.610
I remember when we did some training at I think it was Indiana State University.

00:38:01.610 --> 00:38:11.621
We went up there for some training for programming with FHI, for, you know, restore citizens, whatever and this man had got up and said one way or another, we going to eat.

00:38:11.621 --> 00:38:14.527
Know that.

00:38:14.547 --> 00:38:17.552
And he was an OG, like before OG.00:38:17.552 --> 00:38:28.949


He got up, he was tired of the questions, you know, and he said one way or another, we going to eat and we would rather eat this way than the other way, than taking it off your plate.00:38:29.009 --> 00:38:31.858


Yeah, either you're gonna give it to me or I'm gonna take it.00:38:31.858 --> 00:38:33.405


Yeah, but I'm gonna live.00:38:33.405 --> 00:38:35.112


My family gotta eat, just like yours.00:38:35.112 --> 00:38:50.994


But if you're just holding all the apples in your basket, what I'm gonna do, either I'm gonna you're gonna give me one maslow's hierarchy of needs I say that when I'm on panels and stuff, either you're going to help them or they're going to come through your car window.00:38:52.601 --> 00:38:59.489


You know how has the support been for you know, like for you and your organization?00:38:59.771 --> 00:39:00.273


it's been great.00:39:00.273 --> 00:39:06.367


You know, from the city, from the mayor, all the way to other grassroot organizations.00:39:06.367 --> 00:39:13.869


You know from the city, from the mayor all the way to other grassroots organizations, the support here you know is good, my Rotary team.00:39:13.869 --> 00:39:14.992


I mean family.00:39:14.992 --> 00:39:18.853


They support well the city, the hood.00:39:19.965 --> 00:39:20.989


You got love from all around.00:39:20.989 --> 00:39:22.014


Yeah, all around, love from all around.00:39:22.014 --> 00:39:23.686


How do you so?00:39:23.686 --> 00:39:35.050


If you were the czar of you know, giving people opportunity to return to citizens and all that right, and your insight would help make change the laws or policies, whatever like that.00:39:35.050 --> 00:39:40.514


What do you think communities and people could do better in this, in this re-entry process, to help that population?00:39:42.846 --> 00:39:48.458


It would be judging, because if you didn't judge, you know they would have more open opportunities for them.00:39:48.458 --> 00:39:50.873


But just that, I mean, it's just simple.00:39:50.873 --> 00:39:52.789


They just should give them opportunities.00:39:52.789 --> 00:39:54.275


You know what I mean?00:39:54.275 --> 00:39:56.422


Just give them a chance, that's all.00:39:56.422 --> 00:40:02.132


Just give them a chance, and if they mess up, then OK, but you just at least give them a chance.00:40:02.132 --> 00:40:06.474


I know I think his name is Mark or something down here at the Bistro.00:40:08.067 --> 00:40:09.351


I've always messed it up.00:40:09.371 --> 00:40:32.313


He just rebranded, yeah, I remember having a conversation with him, because when he first came, you know I was trying to like contract with him so we can have people that work there, and he said most of the people that he hired was returning citizens because they showed up, Mm hmm, he said you know, this is a great opportunity for them, or they know it's an opportunity for them.00:40:32.313 --> 00:40:33.603


You know what I mean.00:40:33.603 --> 00:40:41.650


So they take it serious and they're consistent and I'm trying to tell the other workforce like that's something you know that they have to consider.00:40:41.650 --> 00:40:45.905


Like they don't want to go back to jail, they want to be able to take care of their families.00:40:45.905 --> 00:40:49.672


You know they want to feel proud of who they are and what they're doing.00:40:53.139 --> 00:40:54.981


So if you give them a chance, they'll continue that, because that's a good feeling.00:40:54.981 --> 00:40:56.043


What's the?00:40:56.043 --> 00:40:57.364


You don't have to have an accurate number.00:40:57.364 --> 00:41:00.648


I keep feeling like it was 69% back in the day.00:41:00.648 --> 00:41:01.590


The recidivism rate right now?00:41:01.590 --> 00:41:02.550


Yes, when is that at now?00:41:03.311 --> 00:41:04.211


That's, it only went up.00:41:04.211 --> 00:41:04.893


It's 73%.00:41:04.893 --> 00:41:05.914


It went up, it went up, it went up.00:41:05.914 --> 00:41:06.295


It went up.00:41:06.295 --> 00:41:07.436


It was 73%.00:41:07.436 --> 00:41:09.458


It went up, it went up, it went up.00:41:10.119 --> 00:41:12.403


Hmm, yeah, are you finding it's more?00:41:13.306 --> 00:41:15.371


Women, really Mm-hmm.00:41:15.820 --> 00:41:16.983


I was about to say young people.00:41:17.304 --> 00:41:17.445


Nope.00:41:18.509 --> 00:41:18.989


More women.00:41:19.170 --> 00:41:19.331


Yep.00:41:19.800 --> 00:41:20.240


Is there.00:41:20.240 --> 00:41:24.971


Do you have a thought process on why that is?00:41:26.554 --> 00:41:28.346


Yeah, all the men are gone.00:41:28.346 --> 00:41:37.668


So the men and the women start thinking that they're these masculine people, and so they're doing what the men were doing.00:41:38.280 --> 00:41:44.494


So, they're getting the crime in the time that the men were, you know, because they're feeling like they have to take care of their families.00:41:44.494 --> 00:41:56.255


The best thing to happen to COVID is a lot of women found out what their real skills were, that they didn't have to do a nine to five, you know, like baking, cooking, making cups, bedazzling things, you know.00:41:56.255 --> 00:42:09.710


So it brung out their entrepreneur, creative part of them and so it is shifting a little bit because they're finding their self in a new space doing new things and it's making them feel very accomplished and proud.00:42:09.710 --> 00:42:12.949


So we do a lot of support with that.00:42:12.949 --> 00:42:22.112


But we know there's a lot of women it's like 30% up of women that are going and coming out of the penitentiary.00:42:24.182 --> 00:42:24.884


Statewide.00:42:24.884 --> 00:42:29.594


Are there some states that are more friendlier to restore citizens than others.00:42:29.594 --> 00:42:34.690


I don't know where Ohio ranks in all this, but you know they're all kind of about the same.00:42:34.690 --> 00:42:39.065


Wow, that's insane to me.00:42:39.445 --> 00:42:47.114


Yeah, you know, I mean it's just a stigma of who you know, people of returning citizens or felons or people coming home from prison.00:42:47.114 --> 00:42:56.291


You know, it's just that stigma is just going to be that and you just just gotta have a relationship with your community to to help that situation be better and that's it.00:42:56.291 --> 00:43:01.070


You know people just think they're bad people just off the rip labeled.00:43:01.690 --> 00:43:07.568


You bet you did that, let me tell you I, um, was with this group of people.00:43:07.568 --> 00:43:09.311


I've been with them a long time.00:43:09.311 --> 00:43:13.730


I didn't come out say you know what I did, or anything, background or whatever.00:43:13.730 --> 00:43:18.240


So someone felt like I shouldn't be hanging around with these people, or you know.00:43:18.240 --> 00:43:22.851


So they came to tell them that I had a background, you know.00:43:22.851 --> 00:43:26.547


And so they all came to me like Deanna, oh my God, did you have a felony?00:43:26.547 --> 00:43:32.161


You're a felon and you know.00:43:32.161 --> 00:43:34.164


So I was like, oh, yeah, and they was like two.00:43:34.164 --> 00:43:34.786


I'm like yep, did it twice, yeah.00:43:34.786 --> 00:43:39.485


And they were like, well, well, we already like you, so I don't even know, you know, like so you know what I mean.00:43:39.545 --> 00:43:41.215


So that's the point I'm trying to say.00:43:41.215 --> 00:43:43.181


Like you know what I mean, that was 20 years ago.00:43:43.181 --> 00:43:44.643


You know I was an angry young girl.00:43:44.643 --> 00:43:45.304


You know what I mean.00:43:45.304 --> 00:43:57.728


I did the work to find out why, and so now that I you know, so it's a lot of people like me and that's what I wanted to show them, like this is who I am, the person that you like and that you're saying like, oh, I still want to be around.00:43:57.728 --> 00:43:58.429


You know what I mean.00:43:58.429 --> 00:44:00.527


That didn't even make a difference to you.00:44:01.721 --> 00:44:06.012


It's wild that you know you are not the same person you were then, but it's.00:44:06.012 --> 00:44:14.626


And but in this particular case, a lot of people just they stick to that.00:44:14.646 --> 00:44:14.726


What?00:44:14.746 --> 00:44:21.427


you did 20, 10, 30, you're still that same person, but any other, any other area, even people who get divorced, you know yeah, now you can change and become a you know better person.00:44:21.427 --> 00:44:28.215


Yeah, but you can't change because you, you know you you did time or you made a mistake and didn't do time.00:44:28.476 --> 00:44:35.092


You just got yeah, because I didn't do no time, but I just was, was angry like stabbing and fighting and you know all that kind of just wowing.00:44:35.092 --> 00:44:43.628


I can't see you fighting what I have to personally fool you.00:44:44.891 --> 00:44:50.150


Okay, and so you're making all this community advocacy.00:44:50.150 --> 00:44:56.652


You're doing this and it carries a lot of weight, a lot of responsibility, a lot of emotion.00:44:56.652 --> 00:45:00.422


Some days it's crack open the champagne, other days it's.00:45:00.422 --> 00:45:07.467


I quit you quit, and then you turn around and you hire yourself back.00:45:07.507 --> 00:45:09.184


Yes, Because you see someone.00:45:09.184 --> 00:45:11.905


Oh, Misty, thank you, I got my baby back.00:45:11.905 --> 00:45:12.407


Blah, blah, blah.00:45:12.407 --> 00:45:16.190


So you're like let me get my boots on, tie them back up.00:45:17.940 --> 00:45:20.402


How do you with all that, with going through all that?00:45:20.402 --> 00:45:31.474


How do you handle that work-life balance between an organization with a lot of responsibility and compassion and wanting to help, and just you like the things you want to do?00:45:31.474 --> 00:45:32.436


How do you balance all that?00:45:32.436 --> 00:45:32.817


What do you do?00:45:33.740 --> 00:45:35.027


Be intentional about that.00:45:35.027 --> 00:45:45.532


I learned to really be intentional about that and make time for that, because, if not, there's so many times that like it would make you depressed.00:45:45.532 --> 00:45:51.242


I've been depressed about it, you know, anxious, like I said, I didn't quit, like you know.00:45:51.242 --> 00:45:52.467


This is just not for me.00:45:52.467 --> 00:45:54.286


I think something else should be.00:45:54.286 --> 00:46:15.851


But when I go away, you know for a while, you know for a weekend or a week or something like that and come back when I'm rejuvenated and my family, like I'm close with my family, like we have to, there's cousins of us, about 10 of us, so we get together and it's like we fill up each other's love cup because it'd be like, all right, y'all, see y'all in like three more months.00:46:15.871 --> 00:46:18.432


You know what I mean, because we get to vent about everything.00:46:18.432 --> 00:46:19.074


You know what I mean.00:46:19.074 --> 00:46:20.215


We know each other.00:46:20.215 --> 00:46:22.496


You know we allow each other to cry, laugh.00:46:22.496 --> 00:46:26.043


There's no judgment or anything like that.00:46:26.043 --> 00:46:27.284


You know we're going to kick it.00:46:27.284 --> 00:46:30.311


You know play games, like you said, cook, eat, like those things are special.00:46:30.311 --> 00:46:31.313


Those are special times.00:46:31.313 --> 00:46:31.541


I mean.00:46:31.541 --> 00:46:34.030


Those are things that, uh, make me feel good.00:46:34.030 --> 00:46:35.175


Those are things that I love.00:46:35.175 --> 00:46:41.329


I love being around my family, um, and just making memories so family's important.00:46:41.349 --> 00:46:42.271


What kind of games are y'all?00:46:42.271 --> 00:46:46.025


Oh man you jumped up.00:46:46.025 --> 00:46:49.309


You about to get into this answer they get them all off.00:46:49.389 --> 00:46:57.827


Tiktok, it's always a drinking game, yeah, or they do.00:46:57.827 --> 00:47:01.248


We do dice games space, oh no.00:47:01.869 --> 00:47:02.452


The fun stuff.00:47:02.840 --> 00:47:05.289


Yeah, you know stuff like that.00:47:05.340 --> 00:47:08.170


You know, you can add red light, green light to that now with the tequila shots.00:47:08.170 --> 00:47:09.405


Listen, I was thinking about that.00:47:09.405 --> 00:47:22.987


I said next time we go're gonna play that yeah oh, what nugget of wisdom would you give the 18 year old you oh, believe, just believe.00:47:23.028 --> 00:47:25.532


I just didn't believe back then.00:47:25.532 --> 00:47:31.670


It wasn't that I didn't have it or wasn't there, I just didn't believe enough, you know, for me, or wasn't there?00:47:31.670 --> 00:47:34.239


I just didn't believe enough, you know, for me or for anyone.00:47:34.239 --> 00:47:42.947


So I would just be like D girl, believe that what you feeling, believe that what you seeing, believe that what you doing, believe that.00:47:44.110 --> 00:47:44.391


Okay.00:47:44.391 --> 00:47:58.371


So I'll always like to ask people this the one word thing, and if there was one word that you would use to define you or what you exude, what word would that be and why?00:48:00.715 --> 00:48:00.996


Care.00:48:02.681 --> 00:48:07.309


I know we talked about a lot of things that you do in the care, but explain care, so that's on your T-shirt.00:48:07.309 --> 00:48:07.909


That's the word.00:48:07.909 --> 00:48:09.092


Now why?00:48:09.092 --> 00:48:10.094


Let's go deeper.00:48:11.179 --> 00:48:12.722


Because it's the right thing to do.00:48:12.722 --> 00:48:19.795


We're here as people on this earth to care for one another.00:48:19.795 --> 00:48:26.632


That's why we have needs, wants, desires, and I want to be a part of that.00:48:26.632 --> 00:48:28.081


I want people to care for me.00:48:28.081 --> 00:48:29.003


I want to care for them.00:48:29.003 --> 00:48:29.485


You know what I mean.00:48:29.485 --> 00:48:30.065


I want people to care for me.00:48:30.065 --> 00:48:30.586


I want to care for them.00:48:30.586 --> 00:48:31.068


You know what I mean.00:48:31.068 --> 00:48:34.757


I want them to care for their families you know what I mean so that they could be well.00:48:34.757 --> 00:48:38.143


I just want people to be well, you know.00:48:38.143 --> 00:48:47.445


If we all go out to eat, I want everybody to pay for their own stuff don't ask me for shit, not not be like.00:48:47.465 --> 00:48:49.487


I gotta go to the bathroom.00:48:50.889 --> 00:48:54.432


You see the waitress and waiter come in and you just conveniently gotta go to the restroom.00:48:55.914 --> 00:48:57.936


I'll be right back, my phone ringing.00:48:58.059 --> 00:48:59.512


I gotta take this call real quick.00:48:59.512 --> 00:49:01.565


Yes, yes, yes.00:49:01.585 --> 00:49:01.887


Yeah.00:49:01.887 --> 00:49:07.789


So I got a random question round, this yellow piece of paper right here with some random questions.00:49:07.789 --> 00:49:09.585


See, I handwrite them too.00:49:09.585 --> 00:49:11.342


These ain't tight, I handwrite them.00:49:11.342 --> 00:49:14.840


I sit and think about that, I think about the questions I want to ask.00:49:14.840 --> 00:49:15.682


So you ready.00:49:16.244 --> 00:49:16.523


I am.00:49:16.925 --> 00:49:28.032


Okay, let's start with hmm, If your life was turned into a movie, a movie genre, what genre would it be and who would play you?00:49:30.364 --> 00:49:32.206


would it be and who would play you?00:49:32.206 --> 00:49:35.592


What genre would it be?00:49:35.592 --> 00:49:41.445


It'd be like well, I don't know what genre the grease was in.00:49:42.367 --> 00:49:42.789


Musical.00:49:42.969 --> 00:49:47.965


Yeah, okay, cause I'm a musical kind of cause, I think I'm a disco dancer.00:49:47.965 --> 00:49:49.385


That's what I was in my past life.00:49:49.385 --> 00:49:55.181


So, and who would I have play me?00:49:55.181 --> 00:50:00.507


I would do Kiki Palmer yeah, because she's an all-time.00:50:00.507 --> 00:50:05.692


Or Tiana Taylor Because they're like all-around dancers and yeah and actors.00:50:05.692 --> 00:50:10.356


Tiana Taylor yeah, because she got a little grit to her yeah, so it would be a musical.00:50:11.583 --> 00:50:12.445


Yeah, it would be a musical.00:50:12.465 --> 00:50:13.871


Definitely a musical Okay.00:50:16.523 --> 00:50:19.010


Be all kind of choreography going on in your movie.00:50:19.010 --> 00:50:33.387


If emotions could be bottled up and sold as perfume, what would your signature scent be called, and what emotion would it be?00:50:34.081 --> 00:50:35.646


What emotion would it be.00:50:35.646 --> 00:50:38.523


It would be.00:50:38.523 --> 00:50:40.126


What emotion.00:50:40.126 --> 00:50:41.692


It would be happy.00:50:45.001 --> 00:50:46.003


So it would be happy.00:50:46.003 --> 00:50:47.347


Right, that would be the emotion.00:50:47.347 --> 00:50:48.391


What would the name be?00:50:48.391 --> 00:50:54.967


Because you can't take the happy either, because you get sued what would the um?00:50:56.230 --> 00:51:00.215


what is it called um quintessence?00:51:01.998 --> 00:51:02.117


okay.00:51:02.117 --> 00:51:07.545


So if somebody got a ball of quintessence, they know that the motion is going to be happy.00:51:07.545 --> 00:51:10.126


Okay, all right.00:51:10.126 --> 00:51:22.608


So, um, what theme song would you want to play every time, like on your entrance, you go out to speak or when you walk into a room?00:51:22.608 --> 00:51:24.932


What theme song would you want?00:51:24.932 --> 00:51:25.902


I got a couple of them.00:51:25.902 --> 00:51:27.425


Okay, you can get two all All right.00:51:29.108 --> 00:51:32.173


Lovely Day, because everybody knows it's my favorite song.00:51:32.173 --> 00:51:36.905


Lovely lovely day, like when I come through it's just going to be a lovely day.00:51:36.905 --> 00:51:38.811


Y'all Lovely day, okay.00:51:38.811 --> 00:51:42.467


Then the other one is DMX.00:51:42.467 --> 00:51:43.731


Which one?00:51:45.420 --> 00:51:46.666


Who we Be is my favorite.00:51:46.666 --> 00:51:50.070


I be looking in the mirror like da-dum, da-dum, da-dum.00:51:50.661 --> 00:51:54.824


I'm like I don't know my favorite, I'd be looking in the mirror like, oh yeah, that's a DMX one.00:51:56.442 --> 00:52:00.985


Since you was busting some lyrics there a little bit, you was kind of singing a little bit.00:52:00.985 --> 00:52:01.728


Here's another one.00:52:01.728 --> 00:52:06.585


What is your go-to karaoke song and how confident are you in your singing abilities?00:52:07.516 --> 00:52:16.028


I cannot sing, but I will perform, and my favorite karaoke is what's her name?00:52:16.028 --> 00:52:18.010


Two Time, Two Time.00:52:18.010 --> 00:52:22.516


What is it Lauryn Hill Killing Me Softly?00:52:24.780 --> 00:52:25.119


Okay.00:52:25.159 --> 00:52:25.981


That's your go-to.00:52:25.981 --> 00:52:28.143


Yeah, because I'm all not like.00:52:28.143 --> 00:52:33.231


Oh you know, I'm just killing it softly.00:52:33.891 --> 00:52:35.253


Okay, see, that wasn't too bad.00:52:35.253 --> 00:52:36.235


Yeah, you could do it.00:52:36.255 --> 00:52:40.505


You say it real quick In the whisper voice, you just sing the whole time.00:52:40.505 --> 00:52:41.889


Killing me softly.00:52:41.909 --> 00:52:50.893


Yes, If you could close your eyes and, upon opening them, be anywhere you wanted to be, where would that be?00:52:50.893 --> 00:52:54.483


Como, Italy?00:52:54.483 --> 00:52:56.045


Is that a that's like?00:52:56.045 --> 00:52:57.367


Have you been there or is that?00:52:57.387 --> 00:52:59.512


just you like Italy?00:52:59.652 --> 00:53:00.853


Yeah, I'm afraid to go to Italy.00:53:04.393 --> 00:53:07.922


Yeah, it was my like.00:53:07.922 --> 00:53:15.672


It's only two places I've been in the world where, when I'm there, I'm like gosh, this could be home, north Carolina and there, okay yeah, but I don't know.00:53:15.672 --> 00:53:18.188


I'm going some places this year, so I'll see.00:53:18.922 --> 00:53:21.248


So you do travel to get away and things like that.00:53:21.829 --> 00:53:31.351


Yeah, like I'm going to go to Australia, new Zealand and Fiji and we're going to be gone like 20-something days Beautiful.00:53:31.351 --> 00:53:33.327


So when I come back I'll be ready.00:53:33.327 --> 00:53:35.186


I'll be like, did you?00:53:35.206 --> 00:53:35.527


be on.00:53:35.527 --> 00:53:37.963


It Might come back with a little accent.00:53:38.063 --> 00:53:41.731


Yeah.00:53:41.811 --> 00:53:45.061


I feel like I could ask you these forever, but I'm going to.00:53:45.061 --> 00:53:46.063


This is my last randle.00:53:46.063 --> 00:53:47.829


Fill in the blank.00:53:47.829 --> 00:53:50.351


Every young woman should own blank.00:53:50.371 --> 00:54:04.226


Every young woman should own blank A white fresh blouse, a khaki pants, a black skirt and a blue jean denim jacket.00:54:04.766 --> 00:54:13.137


Essentials yeah, those are the essentials, yeah, okay, so how can people stay connected with you, or how can people support what with you, or how can people support?00:54:13.277 --> 00:54:13.619


what you're doing.00:54:13.619 --> 00:54:14.751


They can go to.00:54:14.751 --> 00:54:20.565


Our website is United Returning Citizensorg Nice website, by the way.00:54:23.182 --> 00:54:24.168


I'm giving you a compliment.00:54:24.168 --> 00:54:25.795


Okay, nice website.00:54:25.795 --> 00:54:27.864


Yeah, I see User-friendly, vibrant.00:54:28.025 --> 00:54:29.871


Yeah, yeah, okay.00:54:29.871 --> 00:54:35.552


Or you could come to 611 Belmont, youngstown, ohio, 445-02.00:54:35.552 --> 00:54:39.349


We're there from Monday through Friday, 9 to 3.00:54:39.349 --> 00:55:02.619


Or you can hit us up at any of our social media platforms Now what they are United Returning Citizens at Facebook, instagram, tiktok, and they did say I think it's called Snapchat, or oh, snapchat, snapchat, okay, yeah oh, you're about everywhere.00:55:02.960 --> 00:55:07.014


You reaching all the demographics yeah, yeah, because we have, you know, the young guys.00:55:07.014 --> 00:55:08.440


They coming here, you know what I mean.00:55:08.440 --> 00:55:10.425


So we want them to know we're here to support you.00:55:10.425 --> 00:55:10.565


You know.00:55:10.565 --> 00:55:17.012


Yeah, because I want them to know we're here to support you, you know, yeah, yeah, because I want them to be good dads so that you know the next generation of kids could be good.00:55:17.012 --> 00:55:18.605


So we need some good in the hood.00:55:19.047 --> 00:55:19.507


Absolutely.00:55:19.507 --> 00:55:22.403


You know, do you got a closing message you'd like everybody to know?00:55:22.985 --> 00:55:26.813


Be kind, be well yeah.00:55:46.003 --> 00:55:47.867


And be nice to your returning citizens, you know.00:55:48.009 --> 00:55:49.813


I mean, show them grace, they need a little grace.00:55:49.833 --> 00:55:51.217


It's hard, it's rough for them and, of course, they for having me.00:55:51.217 --> 00:55:51.918


This was a great conversation.00:55:51.938 --> 00:55:52.260


It was a blast.00:55:53.139 --> 00:55:54.704


Listen, I knew it was going to be a blast.00:55:54.704 --> 00:56:02.599


When KG was doing the sound check and we started busting lyrics, some DMX and everything else, I was like, oh, this is going to be a good interview.00:56:03.202 --> 00:56:03.664


Yeah, yeah.00:56:03.664 --> 00:56:03.967


Yeah.00:56:03.967 --> 00:56:05.465


They said, Dan, you're a little goofy.00:56:05.465 --> 00:56:06.518


I said just a little bit.00:56:07.422 --> 00:56:08.262


No, you, no.00:56:08.262 --> 00:56:10.768


Well, folks, thank you for hitting the play button.00:56:10.768 --> 00:56:13.813


We deeply appreciate you taking time to listen to Sound United Presents.00:56:13.813 --> 00:56:16.126


This is Deshaun Scott signing out.00:56:16.126 --> 00:56:27.452


This episode was produced by the Sound United Podcast Studio led by Kimberly Gonzalez.00:56:27.452 --> 00:56:31.510


Photography and video content produced by the D5 Group.00:56:31.510 --> 00:56:40.085


And be sure to visit our website, soundunitedpresentscom, where you can catch up on all the episodes and get some behind the scenes content.00:56:40.085 --> 00:56:41.690


I'm Deshaun Scott.00:56:41.690 --> 00:56:43.081


Thank you for listening.00:56:43.081 --> 00:56:56.954


Ready to launch a podcast or create standout audio content?00:56:56.954 --> 00:57:08.179


Sound United Podcast Studio has everything you need Studio rental, consulting, content development, marketing support, and we even offer remote editing services.00:57:08.179 --> 00:57:11.710


And we can help you, whether you're local or nationwide.00:57:11.710 --> 00:57:13.422


So book your discovery.00:57:13.422 --> 00:57:16.431


Call at wwwthesounducom.00:57:16.431 --> 00:57:20.951


That is wwwthesounducom.00:57:20.951 --> 00:57:26.371


Or do it the old-fashioned way and call 330-238-7157.00:57:26.371 --> 00:57:30.460


That is 330-238-7157.00:57:30.460 --> 00:57:32.735


It's time for you to empower with sound.