1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,600 Speaker 1: An illegal alien from Guatemala charged with raping a child 2 00:00:03,680 --> 00:00:07,480 Speaker 1: in Massachusetts. An MS thirteen gang member from Al Salvador 3 00:00:07,720 --> 00:00:11,840 Speaker 1: accused of murdering a Texas man of Venezuelan charged with 4 00:00:11,920 --> 00:00:15,840 Speaker 1: filming and selling child pornography in Michigan. These are just 5 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:19,680 Speaker 1: some of the heinous migrant criminals caught because of President 6 00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:23,320 Speaker 1: Donald J. Trump's leadership. I'm Christy nom the United States 7 00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:28,120 Speaker 1: Secretary of Homeland Security. Under President Trump, attempted illegal border 8 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:31,680 Speaker 1: crossings are at the lowest levels ever recorded, and over 9 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:34,960 Speaker 1: one hundred thousand illegal aliens have been arrested. If you 10 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:38,920 Speaker 1: are here illegally, your next you will be fined nearly 11 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:43,000 Speaker 1: one thousand dollars a day, imprisoned, and deported. You will 12 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:46,680 Speaker 1: never return. But if you register using our CBP home 13 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:50,120 Speaker 1: app and leave now, you could be allowed to return legally. 14 00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 1: Do what's right. Leave now. Under President Trump, America's laws, 15 00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:57,840 Speaker 1: border and families will be protected. 16 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:00,560 Speaker 2: Sponsored by the United States Department of Homeland Security Earners. 17 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:01,160 Speaker 3: What's going on? 18 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:05,920 Speaker 4: Listen, eylu is relaunching, revamping, retooling. That's why we're creating 19 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:08,760 Speaker 4: a new educational experience that's more expansive. 20 00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:09,679 Speaker 3: Shot tell what we. 21 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:12,760 Speaker 5: Got Yes twenty twenty three, We got a lot in 22 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:14,520 Speaker 5: still a lot playing for you guys. 23 00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:17,680 Speaker 3: So you know that EYLU already includes. 24 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:20,639 Speaker 5: Monthly financial planning calls with Me, book club calls with Troy, 25 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:23,840 Speaker 5: real estate calls with MG the Mortgage Guy, access to 26 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:27,080 Speaker 5: the Home Buying Blueprint Volume one and Volume two. 27 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:27,880 Speaker 3: Part of the. 28 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:31,760 Speaker 5: Revamp will include twenty seven local chapters from across the 29 00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:35,959 Speaker 5: United States, live interactive teaching hands on not just pre 30 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:40,840 Speaker 5: recorded videos, plus fifteen brand new curriculums. 31 00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:42,440 Speaker 4: The biggest just got bigger. 32 00:01:42,959 --> 00:01:47,680 Speaker 6: Head over to EYL University dot com. That's EYL you 33 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:53,320 Speaker 6: n I V E R S I T Y dot com. 34 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 3: See you there, all right, guys, welcome back. Yeah, we 35 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:57,600 Speaker 3: are home. 36 00:01:57,600 --> 00:02:01,800 Speaker 5: And this is a special episode. We got another west 37 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:05,640 Speaker 5: Chester resident, Yeah for sure. So when I was at 38 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:09,480 Speaker 5: the State of the Union a few weeks ago and 39 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:13,160 Speaker 5: shout out to Representative Underwood who took me to she 40 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:16,280 Speaker 5: I was her guest at this stay, Jamaal Bowman, who's 41 00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:20,720 Speaker 5: our congressman from our area where we from and where 42 00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:26,560 Speaker 5: we currently live. His guest was Jonathan Albarez, and he 43 00:02:26,639 --> 00:02:31,120 Speaker 5: introduced me. So every every Congressman and every congress person 44 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:33,320 Speaker 5: and Senator gets one guest to the State of the Union. 45 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:35,320 Speaker 3: So he brought you. 46 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:38,679 Speaker 5: He introduced me to you, and he told me a 47 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:41,280 Speaker 5: little about your story. Then we connected, then we spoke 48 00:02:41,880 --> 00:02:45,400 Speaker 5: again offline. Then we actually have a mutual acquaintance as well. 49 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:48,240 Speaker 3: Shout out to Rayvaughn Boots. Boots. 50 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:48,640 Speaker 7: Yeah, I. 51 00:02:50,919 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 5: Ran it to him and he gave me some more 52 00:02:52,440 --> 00:02:54,679 Speaker 5: background on you as well. So I thought it was 53 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:59,440 Speaker 5: a good story to tell as far as redemption, entrepreneurship, 54 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:04,360 Speaker 5: figuring out a landscape after coming home from being incarcerated, 55 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:07,720 Speaker 5: something that's extremely difficult. So it's another side of the 56 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:10,240 Speaker 5: story as far as financial literacy and business that I 57 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:12,360 Speaker 5: think a lot of people can relate to, and a 58 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:14,480 Speaker 5: lot of people are, you know, trying to figure it out. 59 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:17,240 Speaker 5: So I thought it would be good to highlight your story. So, 60 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:18,600 Speaker 5: first and foremost, thank you for joining us. 61 00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:20,520 Speaker 7: Appreciate it, Appreciate that, Thank you for having me. 62 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:23,760 Speaker 5: Yeah for sure, absolutely all right, So let's get the 63 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:29,200 Speaker 5: backstory first. So you're from Yonkers south side, south side? 64 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:33,200 Speaker 3: What part? What part? What part exactly street? 65 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:35,440 Speaker 5: Okay, yeah, shout out when to raise on that side, 66 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:36,440 Speaker 5: Shout out to Yankers. 67 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:37,560 Speaker 8: It's like three landmarks. 68 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:43,080 Speaker 7: It's like the D block, nothing hand, that's the fact. 69 00:03:43,880 --> 00:03:45,160 Speaker 3: What's the square? 70 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:48,120 Speaker 7: The square square and square definitely landmark. 71 00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:50,720 Speaker 3: So shout out to yankers. 72 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:54,440 Speaker 5: So okay, so you're growing up in Yonkers and I'll 73 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:58,800 Speaker 5: let you tell a story. But unfortunate situation happened, right, 74 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:03,360 Speaker 5: and you get it incarcerated pretty much your whole entire twenties, 75 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:06,520 Speaker 5: from seventeen to thirty, right in the thirty and then 76 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:11,560 Speaker 5: you come home and you start a nonprofit organization and 77 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:16,080 Speaker 5: it's designed to keep kids off the street, to prevent 78 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:18,599 Speaker 5: gang violence, to prevent violent crimes. 79 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:18,840 Speaker 3: Right. 80 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:21,400 Speaker 5: So that's kind of the quick overview, but I want 81 00:04:21,400 --> 00:04:23,200 Speaker 5: you to kind of really tell the story in detail. 82 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:25,599 Speaker 7: No for sure, for sure. So like you said, I 83 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:27,839 Speaker 7: went away when I was seventeen for a violent crime. 84 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:31,279 Speaker 7: I was getting involved, right, I did nearly thirteen years 85 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:33,919 Speaker 7: when I came home. In fact, my interest was not 86 00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:37,279 Speaker 7: in twenty eighteen. It wasn't the nonprofit land it was 87 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:40,039 Speaker 7: fashion because what I studied for my undergrad So, like 88 00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:41,960 Speaker 7: I tell most people, when I went away, I turned 89 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:44,680 Speaker 7: my story around by getting my education. And that's the 90 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:47,240 Speaker 7: key thing, my self investment. While doing all that time. 91 00:04:47,839 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 7: I went in with a tenth grade education, came home 92 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:52,279 Speaker 7: with a bachel's degree in social studies. But what I 93 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:55,479 Speaker 7: studied was fashion trends in urban poverty and understanding the 94 00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:58,280 Speaker 7: social significance. So I came home with a desire to 95 00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:01,400 Speaker 7: like do fashion creation, right, Like, I wanted to curate 96 00:05:01,440 --> 00:05:03,400 Speaker 7: spaces to tell our story and why we wear what 97 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:07,480 Speaker 7: we wear in poor communities. So twenty eighteen, I applied 98 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:10,320 Speaker 7: to the New School, top elite fashion school in the US. 99 00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:13,120 Speaker 7: I got water nearly a full scholarship, right. So it's 100 00:05:13,160 --> 00:05:16,919 Speaker 7: really my reentry experience that inspired the nonprofit work. My 101 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:19,240 Speaker 7: first year at home, I'm still on parole. I'm living 102 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:21,799 Speaker 7: on my aunt. A lot of elements in the environment 103 00:05:21,839 --> 00:05:24,880 Speaker 7: I'm in is toxic. Me struggling trying to find my 104 00:05:24,920 --> 00:05:27,159 Speaker 7: way right. But I'm all preparing to get into the 105 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:30,640 Speaker 7: master's program. I'm told I'm serving tables in downtown and 106 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:33,360 Speaker 7: yankas in the restaurants, right Like, I'm doing all everything 107 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:36,200 Speaker 7: to make it happen. Working for a congressman in Newburg, 108 00:05:36,320 --> 00:05:38,520 Speaker 7: traveling to Newburgh into Yonkers. I'm doing it all I 109 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:40,159 Speaker 7: can to stay out the streets and figure it out. 110 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:43,839 Speaker 7: I get into school twenty nineteen, Top Fashion School. Just 111 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:47,080 Speaker 7: did thirteen years home nine months at the time, and 112 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:49,520 Speaker 7: it was in that experience that kind of woke me 113 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:51,400 Speaker 7: up or what it's like to return home and not 114 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:54,279 Speaker 7: have certain things in place, even someone to help you 115 00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:57,640 Speaker 7: guide you along your journey. So I jump right in 116 00:05:57,760 --> 00:06:00,400 Speaker 7: December twenty nineteen is when I had what I called 117 00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:04,359 Speaker 7: my first mental health breakdown, right, my first pitfall. And 118 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:07,000 Speaker 7: what I learned was I was too go focused and oriented. 119 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:09,520 Speaker 7: I never really understood the trauma that comes with after 120 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:13,359 Speaker 7: doing so much time, mind you, seventeen and thirty. So 121 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:16,400 Speaker 7: now dealing with that trauma I felt, you know, I 122 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:18,680 Speaker 7: realized I had. I was working two jobs. I was 123 00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:21,240 Speaker 7: working at a fashion production company called Spring Studios where 124 00:06:21,240 --> 00:06:24,679 Speaker 7: they launched New York Fashion Week, and I was working 125 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:27,000 Speaker 7: an odd job. I had to let the jobs go 126 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:29,760 Speaker 7: because I have to focus on school, right, But now 127 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:32,279 Speaker 7: I'm behind on school and now I'm broke in that 128 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:35,120 Speaker 7: first semester. That's all that happened two and a half months, 129 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:37,359 Speaker 7: and I think I never acknowledged that, like I was 130 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:39,359 Speaker 7: moving too fast. So a lot of us know we 131 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:40,880 Speaker 7: come home want to play catch up. Some of it 132 00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:43,120 Speaker 7: in a negative way. Some of the positive way. Mom 133 00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:45,000 Speaker 7: was like trying to play catchup to get in position 134 00:06:45,080 --> 00:06:47,479 Speaker 7: it and like kind of gain some independence. But I 135 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:51,200 Speaker 7: skipped a couple steps, right. So twenty nineteen, I tell 136 00:06:51,200 --> 00:06:53,680 Speaker 7: the story coming off the train fourteenth Street going to 137 00:06:53,680 --> 00:06:56,560 Speaker 7: school and I just started crying, like straight breakdown. I 138 00:06:56,600 --> 00:06:58,400 Speaker 7: called my brothers, you know what I'm saying. One of 139 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:00,719 Speaker 7: them is in the room in the group chat like 140 00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:02,800 Speaker 7: I let him know, like yo, you know I'm going 141 00:07:02,839 --> 00:07:05,760 Speaker 7: through it, And each one came to my aid like yeah, 142 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:07,800 Speaker 7: we're here for you, Bro, we got you. So I 143 00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:10,200 Speaker 7: was advised to go see counseling. I withdrew from the 144 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:13,000 Speaker 7: Master's program and I learned to say you know, yes 145 00:07:13,160 --> 00:07:15,920 Speaker 7: to mental health and know the education and start over 146 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:18,880 Speaker 7: in twenty twenty and that experience, like the leader in 147 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:20,960 Speaker 7: me wanted to do more for people like myself who 148 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:23,440 Speaker 7: never had a support system. So me and my BRO 149 00:07:23,600 --> 00:07:26,320 Speaker 7: co founder John Cobreva, a friend of mine for thirty years, 150 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:28,760 Speaker 7: you know, I was like, I want to organize a 151 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:31,560 Speaker 7: male support group because you're not a lone brotherhood. In 152 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:33,920 Speaker 7: twenty nineteen twenty, right in the new year, we started 153 00:07:33,920 --> 00:07:36,360 Speaker 7: a first group, a bunch of men coming together to 154 00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:38,560 Speaker 7: talk about the traumas that we deal with. Because most 155 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:42,320 Speaker 7: conversations around politics music a bunch of phyllis. I'm more 156 00:07:42,320 --> 00:07:46,080 Speaker 7: about real talk, and that inspired me to go forward. 157 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:48,880 Speaker 7: I connected with the former superintendent, doctor Gaside of the 158 00:07:48,920 --> 00:07:51,720 Speaker 7: school district. He connected me to my MBK, my brother's 159 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:54,320 Speaker 7: keeper in twenty twenty and I did my first speaking 160 00:07:54,360 --> 00:07:59,120 Speaker 7: engagement at Lincoln at the Lances Rat twenty twenty and 161 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:01,120 Speaker 7: I spoke in that that's school that I got kicked 162 00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:03,360 Speaker 7: out of at fifteen, so he brought he was the 163 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:07,120 Speaker 7: principal that actually expelled me, or so full circle, you 164 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:08,840 Speaker 7: know what I'm saying, full circle, I'm coming back from 165 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:12,520 Speaker 7: an opportunity I changed my life, and I spoke in 166 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:14,520 Speaker 7: front of a group of like for the youth, and 167 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:16,840 Speaker 7: my first time I learned how to tell my story, 168 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:18,320 Speaker 7: you know what I'm saying in terms of what I've 169 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:22,360 Speaker 7: been through gang culture, street culture, prison and now postally struggles. 170 00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:25,920 Speaker 7: And it was in that moment that I noticed that 171 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:28,720 Speaker 7: there's leaders missing like me in the community who was 172 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:31,720 Speaker 7: not coming back after so much time, and I realized 173 00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:33,760 Speaker 7: having the support I had allowed me to make it 174 00:08:33,800 --> 00:08:35,920 Speaker 7: to that point, and that was like the birth of 175 00:08:35,960 --> 00:08:38,920 Speaker 7: now on four me seeing the gap of brothers not coming, 176 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:41,840 Speaker 7: sisters coming home from prison, and not having somebody who 177 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:43,720 Speaker 7: walked that journey, who'd been there to say, yo, we 178 00:08:43,800 --> 00:08:46,520 Speaker 7: got you. So the name of the support group was 179 00:08:46,559 --> 00:08:48,320 Speaker 7: called that You're not a lone brotherhood. That's all like 180 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:51,240 Speaker 7: creed now that you're not alone. Now I'm full united. 181 00:08:52,040 --> 00:08:54,960 Speaker 7: And in four years we just blossomed, right, But you know, 182 00:08:55,200 --> 00:08:57,800 Speaker 7: the movement kept coming until I mean we kept going 183 00:08:57,800 --> 00:09:01,640 Speaker 7: into the pandemic hit right Mar twenty twenty, right, so 184 00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:04,679 Speaker 7: we already was doing the MBK work. After my speech engagement, 185 00:09:04,679 --> 00:09:06,760 Speaker 7: I'm touring all the schools before the school shut down. 186 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:09,280 Speaker 7: I'm telling my story. And then when the pandemic hit, 187 00:09:09,360 --> 00:09:12,760 Speaker 7: we have to go virtual. So the MBKS, their mission 188 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:15,760 Speaker 7: is uplifting young men of color, provided mentorship. So that's 189 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:17,640 Speaker 7: where the mentoring element of the work we do now 190 00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:20,120 Speaker 7: was developed. You know, I had three mentees at the 191 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:22,560 Speaker 7: time you were all in school giving them guidance. And 192 00:09:22,600 --> 00:09:25,200 Speaker 7: then the pandemic hit, and then that's when we kind 193 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:29,000 Speaker 7: of just pivoted into doing COVID work in the community, 194 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:32,560 Speaker 7: helping other cential workers on the front line and not 195 00:09:32,679 --> 00:09:35,120 Speaker 7: for nothing. That's when we learn to organize and learn 196 00:09:35,160 --> 00:09:37,480 Speaker 7: community work and becoming a five oh one C three 197 00:09:37,840 --> 00:09:41,120 Speaker 7: and building a nonprofit in a more structured, more formal way. 198 00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:44,160 Speaker 7: I'll go on and on them, but you know, basically 199 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:46,840 Speaker 7: that experience led me to where started the movement. 200 00:09:47,120 --> 00:09:50,760 Speaker 8: You said something very important that on that journey as 201 00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:52,839 Speaker 8: you were going, we felt like you missed a few 202 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:56,000 Speaker 8: steps a lot of times. Returning citizens is like there 203 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:57,160 Speaker 8: is no blueprint, Like, what. 204 00:09:57,440 --> 00:09:58,480 Speaker 3: Are some of those steps? 205 00:09:58,679 --> 00:10:01,440 Speaker 8: Obviously you took some that were forward to deal with 206 00:10:01,440 --> 00:10:03,440 Speaker 8: something that you've messed What are those steps that you 207 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:05,959 Speaker 8: you realize now that this is how I probably should 208 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:06,720 Speaker 8: approach it when. 209 00:10:06,559 --> 00:10:09,920 Speaker 7: I'm doing a solid foundation, right, you know, I wasn't 210 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:12,760 Speaker 7: in a financial position, so like now, I like I 211 00:10:12,840 --> 00:10:15,720 Speaker 7: operate from like a needs assessment. Everything is strategic, right 212 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:17,599 Speaker 7: if I want to you know, achieve this goal, I 213 00:10:17,640 --> 00:10:20,320 Speaker 7: got to think about the needs first, right, you know, 214 00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:22,439 Speaker 7: there's like levels to it. So I think for me, 215 00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:25,560 Speaker 7: I was trying to build my foundation but then skip 216 00:10:25,640 --> 00:10:28,240 Speaker 7: the step to getting into position. But I never had 217 00:10:28,240 --> 00:10:32,240 Speaker 7: a solid foundation. You know, I wasn't financially independent. For example, 218 00:10:32,360 --> 00:10:35,160 Speaker 7: I was saving enough money with the hopes of starting school, 219 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:37,520 Speaker 7: not knowing what school was going to actually be like, right, 220 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:39,920 Speaker 7: not knowing that trauma was going to hit me. So 221 00:10:40,400 --> 00:10:43,200 Speaker 7: it was like not understanding the foundation is so important 222 00:10:43,240 --> 00:10:44,800 Speaker 7: to actually grow something solid. 223 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:48,360 Speaker 5: So all right, we talked about prison reform a lot, 224 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:51,959 Speaker 5: and most of the time that's through laws changing or 225 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:55,520 Speaker 5: approbation and different things of that nature. But as far 226 00:10:55,559 --> 00:11:01,480 Speaker 5: as prison reform actually being able to adap into society, right, 227 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:03,760 Speaker 5: that's something that is not talked about a lot. Like 228 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:06,400 Speaker 5: talk about that for people that may not have ever 229 00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:10,880 Speaker 5: experienced incarceration. I don't know anybody that's incarcerated. Like as 230 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:14,480 Speaker 5: far as you being incarcerated pretty much your first half 231 00:11:14,520 --> 00:11:16,800 Speaker 5: of your adult life and then getting relations into the world, 232 00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:20,640 Speaker 5: how hard was that to adjust as far as you know, 233 00:11:21,120 --> 00:11:25,480 Speaker 5: having bills, credit, understanding how finances work, you know, trying 234 00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:29,200 Speaker 5: to get an apartment, and having a felony on your record, 235 00:11:29,240 --> 00:11:31,160 Speaker 5: like you know, talk about that aspect. 236 00:11:30,840 --> 00:11:33,480 Speaker 7: Though now nah, for sure, So even like opening my 237 00:11:33,520 --> 00:11:36,400 Speaker 7: first bank account, right, So again, what we do with 238 00:11:36,440 --> 00:11:38,480 Speaker 7: the work is provide somebody who knows how to take 239 00:11:38,520 --> 00:11:41,199 Speaker 7: that person where they need to go. My best friend 240 00:11:41,280 --> 00:11:43,280 Speaker 7: John Cabrever, the co founder. He was the one that 241 00:11:43,320 --> 00:11:45,120 Speaker 7: took me to get my ID. He the one that 242 00:11:45,160 --> 00:11:46,640 Speaker 7: took me to the bank account and say, oh, this 243 00:11:46,720 --> 00:11:47,880 Speaker 7: how you open up a bank account? 244 00:11:47,960 --> 00:11:48,120 Speaker 3: Right. 245 00:11:48,400 --> 00:11:50,160 Speaker 7: You know, there is a lot that goes into like 246 00:11:50,160 --> 00:11:52,800 Speaker 7: where do you want to park your finances? And like 247 00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:54,720 Speaker 7: some of us don't have that one person who's going 248 00:11:54,800 --> 00:11:56,880 Speaker 7: to take time out they you know, their busy day 249 00:11:57,120 --> 00:11:59,839 Speaker 7: to walk you through. So like that's where the gap 250 00:11:59,880 --> 00:12:02,480 Speaker 7: is that right with people who want to be in 251 00:12:02,520 --> 00:12:04,800 Speaker 7: that gap, Taking someone who don't know where to go, 252 00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:06,640 Speaker 7: but they got to learn how to park their money, right, 253 00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:10,120 Speaker 7: taking them physically just being that god to them. Right, 254 00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:13,200 Speaker 7: I had that The system is you know, the re 255 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:16,200 Speaker 7: entry landscape which we're talking about in terms of when 256 00:12:16,240 --> 00:12:19,480 Speaker 7: people come home and what's set in place. There's a 257 00:12:19,520 --> 00:12:22,400 Speaker 7: lot of lacks, specifically in Westchester. And that's why our 258 00:12:22,440 --> 00:12:25,079 Speaker 7: work is when people talk about re entry, we say, 259 00:12:25,120 --> 00:12:26,920 Speaker 7: it's not really when the first day that they come home, 260 00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:29,640 Speaker 7: it's actually the first day they arrested. Right, re Entry 261 00:12:29,679 --> 00:12:32,880 Speaker 7: starts one inside. So our work to speak on the 262 00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:36,400 Speaker 7: financial education and credit building. Right, we actually host a 263 00:12:36,400 --> 00:12:39,079 Speaker 7: financial education program in the county jail. We did it 264 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:42,040 Speaker 7: in Woodfield Detention Center as well, right. So, like our 265 00:12:42,080 --> 00:12:46,040 Speaker 7: program is its core basis mentorship, but we provide career readiness, 266 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:49,480 Speaker 7: financial education, and now recently digital equity. It's teaching people 267 00:12:49,520 --> 00:12:52,200 Speaker 7: how to navigate tech. Right. So when we go into 268 00:12:52,240 --> 00:12:56,320 Speaker 7: these institutions like Westchester County Jail, we're talking about life skills, right, 269 00:12:56,559 --> 00:12:59,120 Speaker 7: how to communicate, right, We're talking about how to develop 270 00:12:59,160 --> 00:13:01,880 Speaker 7: action plans for you self goal setting, right. But these 271 00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:04,559 Speaker 7: kids like money, they like to understand numbers. So now 272 00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:07,000 Speaker 7: we launched an eight week program in account Ejail that 273 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:09,120 Speaker 7: took them all the way from the banking and centrals 274 00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:12,560 Speaker 7: to credit building right where other people who are specialists 275 00:13:12,559 --> 00:13:15,800 Speaker 7: in this field, right, and all the way to entrepreneurship, 276 00:13:15,840 --> 00:13:17,560 Speaker 7: like how to start an LLC. A lot of them 277 00:13:17,600 --> 00:13:20,320 Speaker 7: want to do LLCs and build businesses, but there's so 278 00:13:20,440 --> 00:13:23,520 Speaker 7: much dynamics to that, right. So we had workshops teaching 279 00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:25,760 Speaker 7: them that with the hope that when they return home 280 00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:29,560 Speaker 7: they have some foundation and also someone to call and say, yoh, 281 00:13:29,559 --> 00:13:31,880 Speaker 7: now I'm ready to apply what I was just taught inside. 282 00:13:31,960 --> 00:13:32,160 Speaker 3: Right. 283 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:36,120 Speaker 7: So that aspect when we think about prison reform, I 284 00:13:36,160 --> 00:13:38,480 Speaker 7: think about how to change the landscape inside of the 285 00:13:38,520 --> 00:13:41,439 Speaker 7: institution so that when they return home that they better equipped. 286 00:13:41,720 --> 00:13:43,839 Speaker 7: You know. I was recently appointed by Andre's to a 287 00:13:43,880 --> 00:13:47,359 Speaker 7: Cousins to sit on the New York State Prison Education Committee. 288 00:13:47,559 --> 00:13:50,160 Speaker 7: One of my long term goals is to change the 289 00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:51,560 Speaker 7: landscape for state prisoners. 290 00:13:51,679 --> 00:13:51,839 Speaker 3: Right. 291 00:13:51,880 --> 00:13:55,000 Speaker 7: It's having what we call credible messengers like myself, someone 292 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:57,800 Speaker 7: who navigated the criminal legal system and is using that 293 00:13:57,840 --> 00:14:01,280 Speaker 7: lived experience to you know, leverage impact, right, going into 294 00:14:01,280 --> 00:14:03,680 Speaker 7: the institutions and shaping what program looks like in the 295 00:14:03,720 --> 00:14:07,120 Speaker 7: state because we can have curriculum like financial education teaching 296 00:14:07,160 --> 00:14:10,360 Speaker 7: people how to build budgets using their commis every money, right, Like, 297 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:12,320 Speaker 7: that's what we're doing in the county, giving them real 298 00:14:12,360 --> 00:14:14,720 Speaker 7: applicable tool so that when they come home they at 299 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:17,240 Speaker 7: least one step ahead, which ironically is one of the 300 00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:18,920 Speaker 7: name of our programs is one step ahead. 301 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:19,200 Speaker 3: Right. 302 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:23,360 Speaker 7: So my aspect of prison reform, because it's so broad, right, 303 00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:26,440 Speaker 7: it's really just changing what education and programming looks like 304 00:14:26,520 --> 00:14:28,920 Speaker 7: inside of the institution so that when they return home 305 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:30,720 Speaker 7: they could be one step ahead than I was. 306 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:32,760 Speaker 5: What's the current state of it though, Like, because like 307 00:14:32,800 --> 00:14:36,040 Speaker 5: you know, a lot of I know friends that is 308 00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:38,120 Speaker 5: in states and facts, and a lot of stories that 309 00:14:38,160 --> 00:14:41,720 Speaker 5: I hear is just like gang fights, just survival. 310 00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:45,280 Speaker 3: A lot of people's on drugs is. 311 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:49,160 Speaker 5: I don't hear a lot of stories of like the 312 00:14:49,240 --> 00:14:51,960 Speaker 5: whole point of jail should be till you can become 313 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:52,720 Speaker 5: a better person. 314 00:14:53,240 --> 00:14:55,200 Speaker 3: I know that there are programs in jail. 315 00:14:55,280 --> 00:15:00,520 Speaker 5: But from your dvantage point, what is it as far 316 00:15:00,640 --> 00:15:04,800 Speaker 5: as the day to day for a prisoner to go through, 317 00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:06,760 Speaker 5: Because it's like I look at it, like a lot 318 00:15:06,760 --> 00:15:07,360 Speaker 5: of people don't. 319 00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:09,520 Speaker 3: It gets lost in translation. 320 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:11,360 Speaker 5: Like people it's like, Okay, you do something bad, you 321 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:13,440 Speaker 5: get locked up, and then you just go to jail 322 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:16,760 Speaker 5: for a long period of time. But if it's supposed 323 00:15:16,760 --> 00:15:19,720 Speaker 5: to rehabilitate somebody, there should be mental health programs, there 324 00:15:19,720 --> 00:15:21,920 Speaker 5: should be financial literacy programs. There should be like a 325 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:23,840 Speaker 5: boot camp to stay in shape, all kinds of stuff. 326 00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:27,120 Speaker 5: And I just feel like from the people that I'm 327 00:15:27,160 --> 00:15:29,680 Speaker 5: hearing stories from, it's just a lot of free time, 328 00:15:30,040 --> 00:15:32,800 Speaker 5: or it's time that you can kind of just navigate 329 00:15:32,840 --> 00:15:34,440 Speaker 5: and just do the same thing you was doing on 330 00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:37,800 Speaker 5: the street. That's not beneficial, right, And then this is 331 00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:39,640 Speaker 5: why a lot of people fall into the trap of 332 00:15:39,640 --> 00:15:44,080 Speaker 5: becoming career criminals and career inmates. Right, So like speak 333 00:15:44,160 --> 00:15:45,440 Speaker 5: on that aspect of it, on. 334 00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:46,880 Speaker 7: Like the day to day and what it looks like 335 00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:49,240 Speaker 7: inside in terms of so just so you know, it's 336 00:15:49,240 --> 00:15:51,600 Speaker 7: mission statement. They not true it it's missing statement right, 337 00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:54,840 Speaker 7: it's corrections, right, it's not correcting nothing, right, it's actually corrupting. 338 00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:58,600 Speaker 7: You know. The rehabilitation component sounds good in theory, but 339 00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:01,880 Speaker 7: practice that's not what's happening. But what is happening is 340 00:16:01,880 --> 00:16:04,800 Speaker 7: that you do have certain movements that, just like mine, 341 00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:07,760 Speaker 7: is looking outside into the system saying this is what's 342 00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:10,200 Speaker 7: missing and they're going to fill in that gap. So 343 00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:12,160 Speaker 7: I would have to shout out the college program I 344 00:16:12,160 --> 00:16:15,120 Speaker 7: graduated from, right, Bard Prison Initiatives, Right, this is a 345 00:16:15,160 --> 00:16:18,880 Speaker 7: program providing free liberal arts education for brothers inside, sisters inside. 346 00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:21,880 Speaker 7: Right Then, like is that always there? No, because after 347 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:25,600 Speaker 7: ninety four with the Pelgram's taking away, right, yeah, they yeah, 348 00:16:25,640 --> 00:16:28,720 Speaker 7: exactly right, that wasn't available. And I'm gonna get to 349 00:16:28,720 --> 00:16:30,760 Speaker 7: the day to day stuff too to talk about. But 350 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:34,800 Speaker 7: with elements like BPI, right, which is is privately funded. 351 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:36,400 Speaker 7: This is a top liberal ar school in the US. 352 00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:38,480 Speaker 7: It cost two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to educate 353 00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:41,040 Speaker 7: one person, right, and they getting this money for free. 354 00:16:41,040 --> 00:16:45,480 Speaker 7: They've done graduate over a thousand incostrated learners what we 355 00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:45,840 Speaker 7: call them. 356 00:16:45,920 --> 00:16:46,080 Speaker 3: Right. 357 00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:50,480 Speaker 7: That program, it being in place, is really an exposure 358 00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:52,560 Speaker 7: for us to know that, oh it's the possibility. Right, 359 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:56,000 Speaker 7: some places don't have that program. So what it looks 360 00:16:56,040 --> 00:16:57,560 Speaker 7: like is it has to be really where you at 361 00:16:57,600 --> 00:16:59,360 Speaker 7: as a person. And that's the one thing I learned 362 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:01,760 Speaker 7: I want in that seven. I had my pitfalls. I 363 00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:04,440 Speaker 7: did box time, right, but I always was a curious learner. 364 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:06,400 Speaker 7: I like to read, you know what I'm saying. And 365 00:17:06,480 --> 00:17:08,280 Speaker 7: at the time I was married, I was married in 366 00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:10,760 Speaker 7: prison young got married at eighteen and my wife at 367 00:17:10,760 --> 00:17:13,720 Speaker 7: the time, she was in college, graduated early two jobs, right, 368 00:17:13,800 --> 00:17:16,960 Speaker 7: she was shaken. So I was motivated to like match energy. 369 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:19,240 Speaker 7: So I wanted to get my GED. So everything was 370 00:17:19,320 --> 00:17:22,040 Speaker 7: like self initiation, right, Like if you want to go, 371 00:17:22,040 --> 00:17:24,200 Speaker 7: get to go after it's ded. The GED program is ded, 372 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:26,440 Speaker 7: but are they really going to help you pass? It's 373 00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:30,919 Speaker 7: really up to you. Then you have like outside programs 374 00:17:30,960 --> 00:17:34,480 Speaker 7: like PACE, HIV awareness programs, all turn to violence programs, 375 00:17:34,720 --> 00:17:36,879 Speaker 7: they're there, it's good for your learning and being around 376 00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:39,119 Speaker 7: brothers like I was, who are learners and want to build. 377 00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:42,080 Speaker 7: So that like, once those safe spaces are available, is 378 00:17:42,119 --> 00:17:43,680 Speaker 7: really up to you to end to them because they're 379 00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:44,400 Speaker 7: available for all. 380 00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:44,680 Speaker 3: Right. 381 00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:50,400 Speaker 7: The mandated programs is ged because and vocation. The vocation 382 00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:55,399 Speaker 7: they have electric heating and plumbing. Yeah, but it's not effective, right, 383 00:17:55,480 --> 00:17:58,520 Speaker 7: Like you go to those programs, you could just attend 384 00:17:58,560 --> 00:18:01,879 Speaker 7: and pretend and you literally passing, right, You're satisfying for 385 00:18:01,920 --> 00:18:05,600 Speaker 7: the state, the state. It's what it's missing is intentionality, right, 386 00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:09,080 Speaker 7: Because if it's intentional, it's gonna create spaces where people 387 00:18:09,080 --> 00:18:10,720 Speaker 7: are not just gonna want to come learn, but they 388 00:18:10,840 --> 00:18:14,159 Speaker 7: really gonna learn. Right, So everything is really upon you. 389 00:18:14,320 --> 00:18:17,280 Speaker 7: So on a day to day to answer your question directly, right, 390 00:18:17,359 --> 00:18:19,520 Speaker 7: it's broken up in three modules. At least in the state, 391 00:18:19,560 --> 00:18:22,480 Speaker 7: you got the morning after their nighttime module. Each module 392 00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:24,720 Speaker 7: has a rec time available, right. You can either go 393 00:18:24,760 --> 00:18:26,680 Speaker 7: to the wreck, or you can go to school stand 394 00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:28,800 Speaker 7: you're selling read or go to the law library. Right, 395 00:18:29,200 --> 00:18:31,879 Speaker 7: So it's really where your mind is at. And I 396 00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:33,760 Speaker 7: think early on, you know, shout out to a lot 397 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:35,879 Speaker 7: of my big bros that were old school gangsters that 398 00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:40,040 Speaker 7: educated themselves and transformed their lives. Right, They made education 399 00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:42,920 Speaker 7: look good for me. Right, They still swaggy, they still 400 00:18:42,920 --> 00:18:45,600 Speaker 7: moving the yard, They well respected, but they in school. 401 00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:48,520 Speaker 7: And I think that exposure for me made me realize, like, yo, 402 00:18:48,520 --> 00:18:51,240 Speaker 7: that's the rot I want to be. So my day 403 00:18:51,280 --> 00:18:53,600 Speaker 7: to day was like, I'm gonna divide my three modules 404 00:18:53,680 --> 00:18:56,080 Speaker 7: up into ways that's gonna help me. While there's a 405 00:18:56,119 --> 00:18:59,720 Speaker 7: lot going on, it's walls going on, stabbings, gunning, knife fights. 406 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:02,520 Speaker 7: At least everything's still happening. You just got to understand 407 00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:03,439 Speaker 7: what your role is in this. 408 00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:03,760 Speaker 3: Right. 409 00:19:04,160 --> 00:19:05,880 Speaker 7: There was five things I was taught to stay away 410 00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:08,520 Speaker 7: from in prison. You know what I'm saying. Don't interact 411 00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:11,639 Speaker 7: with police, no telling, don't play with the moves, no, 412 00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:15,080 Speaker 7: no gang violence, right, and don't sell drugs. Actually there's 413 00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:17,440 Speaker 7: six and don't gamble. Those six things is going to 414 00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:20,200 Speaker 7: lead to one outcome. Right, So me, I'm like, I'm 415 00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:22,800 Speaker 7: gonna workout and keep my head in the books and 416 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:26,399 Speaker 7: just move militant. Right. So the way I viewed my 417 00:19:26,520 --> 00:19:29,399 Speaker 7: time was like investment into time and like what I 418 00:19:29,440 --> 00:19:32,080 Speaker 7: really wanted to be. Early on, I got told on 419 00:19:32,080 --> 00:19:34,239 Speaker 7: on my case, right, five people told on me so 420 00:19:34,560 --> 00:19:37,359 Speaker 7: I already knew the streets is not an option. Right. 421 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:39,040 Speaker 7: Whatever I thought it was real, it's not real for 422 00:19:39,160 --> 00:19:39,600 Speaker 7: me no more. 423 00:19:39,680 --> 00:19:39,880 Speaker 3: Right. 424 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:42,440 Speaker 7: So I start to look at my time like, god, damn, 425 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:44,400 Speaker 7: I got thirteen years to do, like you know, and 426 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:46,320 Speaker 7: I made some mistakes. I went to the box and 427 00:19:46,359 --> 00:19:49,000 Speaker 7: all that trying to like, you know, dibble and dabble. 428 00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:51,240 Speaker 7: And it was in that box time that really also 429 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:53,640 Speaker 7: woke me up, like, yo, you haven't still learned, right, 430 00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:57,560 Speaker 7: you now? Solitary confinement right, you know it's the shoot 431 00:19:57,560 --> 00:20:00,320 Speaker 7: they call it or whatnot. And you you know, just 432 00:20:00,320 --> 00:20:02,120 Speaker 7: having a lot of time to myself made me start 433 00:20:02,160 --> 00:20:03,919 Speaker 7: to see, I'm gonna break my days up like this, 434 00:20:04,040 --> 00:20:05,760 Speaker 7: you know what I'm saying. When I'm going to the yard, 435 00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:08,600 Speaker 7: I'm gonna go call my people on the phone. I'm 436 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:10,399 Speaker 7: gonna hit the shock, and I'm gonna go mingle with 437 00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:13,240 Speaker 7: the bros that I like minded. And from that structure, 438 00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:15,040 Speaker 7: it's like it looks different for everybody, you know what 439 00:20:15,040 --> 00:20:17,199 Speaker 7: I'm saying. Some some brothers are coming out there on 440 00:20:17,240 --> 00:20:19,240 Speaker 7: the phone all day. Some brothers are working out or 441 00:20:19,280 --> 00:20:21,720 Speaker 7: they're in the corner with their bros all day politic 442 00:20:21,800 --> 00:20:25,280 Speaker 7: and doing what they do, right, So with the limited 443 00:20:25,320 --> 00:20:28,880 Speaker 7: programming best successible, it's really up to you to make 444 00:20:28,880 --> 00:20:30,480 Speaker 7: it work for you, you know what I'm saying. Like 445 00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:32,840 Speaker 7: that's why they say don't do the time, you know, 446 00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:34,720 Speaker 7: don't let the time do you? You do the time? 447 00:20:34,800 --> 00:20:36,639 Speaker 7: You know what I'm saying. It's really like kind of 448 00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:38,600 Speaker 7: like giving you the position to be active with it 449 00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:40,440 Speaker 7: because you gotta do sing it for twenty years and 450 00:20:40,440 --> 00:20:42,560 Speaker 7: then get their ged. Then you gotta do sand for 451 00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:45,120 Speaker 7: twenty years, got their master's education. Right, So it's really 452 00:20:45,119 --> 00:20:46,800 Speaker 7: about what you really want to come out of it. 453 00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:47,679 Speaker 3: So what was it? 454 00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:50,840 Speaker 8: I mean it sounds like you have people to look 455 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:53,320 Speaker 8: up to in there, right while either what was the 456 00:20:53,359 --> 00:20:55,880 Speaker 8: foundation or was there a foundation on the outside because 457 00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:58,360 Speaker 8: a lot of times this family is that affected by 458 00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:01,560 Speaker 8: going to your family's affect You said that obviously your 459 00:21:01,560 --> 00:21:03,320 Speaker 8: man is here, but what was that foundation? Like when 460 00:21:03,320 --> 00:21:06,199 Speaker 8: you go in, everybody it's LEO send you writing you. 461 00:21:06,280 --> 00:21:08,320 Speaker 8: But as time was on and progressives, we see that 462 00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:11,400 Speaker 8: all the time, like it's almost like a forgotten family member. 463 00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:12,680 Speaker 3: What was that like for you? 464 00:21:12,760 --> 00:21:14,520 Speaker 7: Yeah? No, I have to shout out my ex wife 465 00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:17,400 Speaker 7: on that one, right, you know, she was the most consistent, 466 00:21:17,440 --> 00:21:19,639 Speaker 7: and I had consistency in some family members like my 467 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:22,639 Speaker 7: brother that was here and others. But you know, she 468 00:21:22,760 --> 00:21:24,480 Speaker 7: was the one kicking down the door when I was 469 00:21:24,560 --> 00:21:26,760 Speaker 7: five hours away. Right, She's the one that's sending me 470 00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:28,520 Speaker 7: cars letters every week. 471 00:21:28,600 --> 00:21:28,800 Speaker 3: Right. 472 00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:31,440 Speaker 7: So unfortunately, what you learn when you go away is 473 00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:33,919 Speaker 7: that family gonna love you, but they struggling too, you 474 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:35,800 Speaker 7: know what I'm saying. And like you just came a 475 00:21:35,840 --> 00:21:38,439 Speaker 7: whole nother bill that they didn't ask for. So like 476 00:21:38,760 --> 00:21:41,440 Speaker 7: you learn that, like you become a liability, right, So 477 00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:44,200 Speaker 7: like you know, it's really when you had a mom 478 00:21:44,359 --> 00:21:47,000 Speaker 7: or falling position, and usually it's the mall that's knocking 479 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:49,199 Speaker 7: down those doors. So my foundation was I had my 480 00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:51,639 Speaker 7: aunt you know, told my aunts that was you know, 481 00:21:51,680 --> 00:21:54,640 Speaker 7: shouting me out, some fam members checking for me here 482 00:21:54,680 --> 00:21:55,879 Speaker 7: and there. You know what I'm saying, Some of my 483 00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:58,000 Speaker 7: peoples and my bros Is coming to check me. But 484 00:21:58,040 --> 00:22:00,400 Speaker 7: my most consistences put for like my first five seven 485 00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:02,600 Speaker 7: years was my ex wife, to be honest, you know 486 00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:05,439 Speaker 7: what I mean, And it was I was fortunate to 487 00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:08,520 Speaker 7: have that. So everybody's foundation looks different too, right, Like 488 00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:10,000 Speaker 7: you might go to the visit room and you see 489 00:22:10,040 --> 00:22:13,360 Speaker 7: somebody his mom, brother, cousins, and aunt is there every week. Right, 490 00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:16,120 Speaker 7: Also depends where you at. When I was in sing Sing, 491 00:22:16,359 --> 00:22:19,760 Speaker 7: that's what twenty minutes away from the town, right, So 492 00:22:19,800 --> 00:22:21,800 Speaker 7: I'm getting more visits right than I was when I 493 00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:25,280 Speaker 7: was in Kasaki, a comstock. So it's like really about positioning. 494 00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:29,720 Speaker 7: I think my last three years is when I started 495 00:22:29,720 --> 00:22:32,760 Speaker 7: seeing my most support. But also I was also sending, like, 496 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:36,000 Speaker 7: you know, evidence of of my growth. I was graduating, 497 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:39,040 Speaker 7: I'm getting my degree now and inviting my folks to 498 00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:41,960 Speaker 7: come into the institution to come to my graduation. So 499 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:44,520 Speaker 7: it's like everything now they hear me is something positive, 500 00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:46,760 Speaker 7: which I think encourage a lot of people to like 501 00:22:46,840 --> 00:22:48,919 Speaker 7: really believe in me, you know what I'm saying. So, 502 00:22:49,600 --> 00:22:51,760 Speaker 7: but that's kind of relative, but we do look at 503 00:22:51,760 --> 00:22:54,439 Speaker 7: it in a general sense. The foundation for everybody is different. 504 00:22:55,160 --> 00:22:58,080 Speaker 3: So when you start your nonprofit, right, what was the 505 00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:00,359 Speaker 3: steps to actually get that off the ground, end up 506 00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:01,240 Speaker 3: and running. 507 00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:03,840 Speaker 7: As a formal nonprofit or just like even starting. 508 00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:07,280 Speaker 3: It like both yeah, yeah, definitely the formal side. Want 509 00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:07,800 Speaker 3: to talk about that. 510 00:23:07,880 --> 00:23:11,160 Speaker 7: No, for sure, for sure. So basically for us, again, 511 00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:13,040 Speaker 7: it was just organizing so like you kind of got 512 00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:15,400 Speaker 7: to market the work unpaid and just do the work. 513 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:19,719 Speaker 7: You're in the community doing it until you know. Actually, 514 00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:21,879 Speaker 7: a former county legislators like, yo, are you guys A 515 00:23:21,920 --> 00:23:23,840 Speaker 7: five and one C three? I didn't know what a 516 00:23:23,840 --> 00:23:25,399 Speaker 7: fither and one C three was. And for those who 517 00:23:25,440 --> 00:23:27,920 Speaker 7: don't know, that's the actual nonprofit tax bracket with you're 518 00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:30,560 Speaker 7: a tax exempt, right that's when you become an actual 519 00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:34,119 Speaker 7: public charity identified by the federal government that you are 520 00:23:34,119 --> 00:23:36,960 Speaker 7: a nonprofit. You could receive money, people could donate, and 521 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:39,480 Speaker 7: it's a tax right off. We weren't even that. We 522 00:23:39,480 --> 00:23:41,680 Speaker 7: were just organizing, like we was leading with the heart right, 523 00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:44,480 Speaker 7: so we are in the community we putting on. That 524 00:23:44,600 --> 00:23:46,920 Speaker 7: was the first question I got that made me think about, like, yo, 525 00:23:47,359 --> 00:23:50,200 Speaker 7: I have to organize. The second question was from who's 526 00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:52,240 Speaker 7: the current mayor of Mount Running. We did a food 527 00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:54,479 Speaker 7: drive of her and she's like, yo, who are y'all? 528 00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:56,080 Speaker 7: Like you know what I mean, y'all out here putting on? 529 00:23:56,160 --> 00:23:59,000 Speaker 7: But who are y'all? And we have no real organized answer. 530 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:02,240 Speaker 7: So it was me again like, nah, we gotta get 531 00:24:02,240 --> 00:24:04,080 Speaker 7: it together, like you know, And then I started thinking 532 00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:05,760 Speaker 7: about the name you know, what I mean that that's 533 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:07,639 Speaker 7: when now I'm for united kind of life started to 534 00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:11,239 Speaker 7: come about. And I was fortunate too, so like in 535 00:24:11,280 --> 00:24:14,160 Speaker 7: the at the same time that we're doing this organizing work, 536 00:24:14,359 --> 00:24:16,120 Speaker 7: one of my board members now one of my bros 537 00:24:16,119 --> 00:24:18,119 Speaker 7: from high school, the mom but Drew. He was the 538 00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:21,640 Speaker 7: current executive director of his own nonprofiting youngkers. So he 539 00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:24,200 Speaker 7: was the one that actually like helped me, sat me 540 00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:25,800 Speaker 7: down and like, yo, this is how you become a 541 00:24:25,840 --> 00:24:29,480 Speaker 7: father one c. Three And he took me to the website, right, 542 00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:31,240 Speaker 7: and Legit sent me the link and it's a step 543 00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:34,200 Speaker 7: by step right, some people can hire zoom. I mean, 544 00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:37,920 Speaker 7: what's that called the legal zoom right to do all 545 00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:40,879 Speaker 7: of that, But I Legit took it. Mind you, everybody's 546 00:24:40,920 --> 00:24:42,919 Speaker 7: at home, right it's shut down. So had all the 547 00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:45,280 Speaker 7: time in the world, and I just took the steps. 548 00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:47,480 Speaker 7: And then we did the New York tax exempt to 549 00:24:47,520 --> 00:24:50,000 Speaker 7: be like to be exempting the sales for New York 550 00:24:50,080 --> 00:24:54,800 Speaker 7: an he purchases. We did that process, and then after 551 00:24:54,840 --> 00:24:57,440 Speaker 7: that was just about your brand, right, because now you're 552 00:24:57,520 --> 00:25:00,800 Speaker 7: like on documentation you are a nonprofit, but now how 553 00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:03,280 Speaker 7: do you build your brand? And that's something I just 554 00:25:03,359 --> 00:25:06,679 Speaker 7: learned along the way. And what help was that, you know, 555 00:25:06,800 --> 00:25:09,600 Speaker 7: being a formerly incarcerated, you know, person taking the leadership 556 00:25:09,640 --> 00:25:11,560 Speaker 7: role in the community. I think that was like kind 557 00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:13,800 Speaker 7: of seen as one of one, and that's how we 558 00:25:13,800 --> 00:25:14,600 Speaker 7: were getting called. 559 00:25:14,760 --> 00:25:14,920 Speaker 3: Right. 560 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:18,280 Speaker 7: My first call was to speak at a Black Lives 561 00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:20,760 Speaker 7: Matter rally after George Floyd was you know, you know, 562 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:24,760 Speaker 7: ustified to be killed. And I spoke in front of 563 00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:27,160 Speaker 7: a community of like eight hundred white folks in Hastings 564 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:31,280 Speaker 7: for like five minutes, and I was talking about that issue, 565 00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:34,400 Speaker 7: and we raised five thousand dollars, right, And that took 566 00:25:34,440 --> 00:25:36,920 Speaker 7: that five thousand and put it back into the business, right, 567 00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:40,359 Speaker 7: And I had to develop a website, you know. From 568 00:25:40,440 --> 00:25:42,040 Speaker 7: there now I thinking about the marketing part of it. 569 00:25:42,080 --> 00:25:45,080 Speaker 7: I hired a contract and father and I'm working with 570 00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:46,840 Speaker 7: this dude from Bengali, Desh trying to figure out how 571 00:25:46,880 --> 00:25:49,399 Speaker 7: to you know, organize it and build the website. And 572 00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:52,000 Speaker 7: then I got another call Bronxville. Now these are like 573 00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:55,280 Speaker 7: affluent communities. They starting to hear about this individual in 574 00:25:55,320 --> 00:25:58,960 Speaker 7: this movement, and so it was like we became formalized 575 00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:01,720 Speaker 7: by becoming a five and one C three, but like 576 00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:04,200 Speaker 7: we really catapulted the movement was the odds that were 577 00:26:04,240 --> 00:26:06,760 Speaker 7: on us and then the opportunities that we took. And 578 00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:10,400 Speaker 7: each opportunity was like a training ground for me because 579 00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:14,000 Speaker 7: after the Bronxville speech, a real wealthy lady I didn't 580 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:16,160 Speaker 7: know was wealthy, was like, Yo, who's your board of directors? 581 00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:19,200 Speaker 7: You know, how's your findings? I'm lost, right, I don't 582 00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:22,760 Speaker 7: understand the full dynamics. Sofe's new language to me. So 583 00:26:22,840 --> 00:26:25,360 Speaker 7: now it makes me pivot go back to Lamont, like, Yo, 584 00:26:25,440 --> 00:26:27,280 Speaker 7: how do we set this up? So it was like 585 00:26:27,320 --> 00:26:29,199 Speaker 7: we kind of put the car before the horse in 586 00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:31,000 Speaker 7: a way, right, Like we kind of like jumped in 587 00:26:31,040 --> 00:26:33,000 Speaker 7: and did the work led by the heart, and then 588 00:26:33,040 --> 00:26:35,600 Speaker 7: we had to kind of dial back and organize, you know. 589 00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:38,240 Speaker 7: And then one of the things that really really helped 590 00:26:38,240 --> 00:26:40,720 Speaker 7: me was, you know, knowing that the work I wanted 591 00:26:40,760 --> 00:26:43,840 Speaker 7: to do was around gun violence prevention and positive youth development. 592 00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:47,360 Speaker 7: I was looking for a job in that industry, right, 593 00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:51,280 Speaker 7: So I applied for Yanker's Family YMCA, but with the 594 00:26:51,320 --> 00:26:53,560 Speaker 7: intent of it being my training ground, Like this is 595 00:26:53,560 --> 00:26:56,160 Speaker 7: a nonprofit business. Now I'm going to learn nonprofit business 596 00:26:56,240 --> 00:26:58,679 Speaker 7: by working for a nonprofit business, and then I got 597 00:26:58,720 --> 00:27:01,480 Speaker 7: a kind of double reward where the nonprofit I was 598 00:27:01,520 --> 00:27:04,320 Speaker 7: working for is funded by a state agency. So now 599 00:27:04,320 --> 00:27:06,800 Speaker 7: I'm getting experiences with a state agency, right, which is 600 00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:12,320 Speaker 7: a whole nother bureaucratic structure that looks different. Right, protocol, hierarchy, relationships, 601 00:27:12,320 --> 00:27:15,320 Speaker 7: how information is shared. So I'm learning things in real 602 00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:17,960 Speaker 7: time at my job. But that was my intent. I 603 00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:20,280 Speaker 7: parked myself there with the intent of like, and then 604 00:27:20,359 --> 00:27:23,560 Speaker 7: I'm still building the nonprofit. We're still organizing. You know. 605 00:27:23,640 --> 00:27:26,840 Speaker 7: I actually got my first contract through all those movements 606 00:27:26,840 --> 00:27:29,760 Speaker 7: and meeting people during COVID. I got connected to who 607 00:27:29,840 --> 00:27:32,879 Speaker 7: was the former Deputy Commissioner, Louis Molina. He's now the 608 00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:37,119 Speaker 7: deputy the deputy of New York City. It's got his position, 609 00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:40,480 Speaker 7: but he's under Eric Adams now, and he got me 610 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:43,800 Speaker 7: my first contract working inside the county jail. Right. So 611 00:27:43,840 --> 00:27:46,679 Speaker 7: now I'm going inside the institution and I'm using my 612 00:27:46,760 --> 00:27:50,080 Speaker 7: hourly contract money to run my programs in it. And 613 00:27:50,119 --> 00:27:52,320 Speaker 7: that's when everything start to come full circle. So now 614 00:27:52,320 --> 00:27:54,960 Speaker 7: I'm going the institution, I'm seeing what's missing. I'm working 615 00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:57,960 Speaker 7: for the nonprofit. I'm learning what's needed, and I'm also 616 00:27:58,040 --> 00:28:00,680 Speaker 7: doing my research on the side, understanding the dynamics I 617 00:28:00,720 --> 00:28:03,360 Speaker 7: got to pull into the nonprofit business. So it's kind 618 00:28:03,359 --> 00:28:06,360 Speaker 7: of like simultaneously three moving parts that helped us organize 619 00:28:06,359 --> 00:28:07,879 Speaker 7: and become officially a business entity. 620 00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:10,640 Speaker 8: You're building a plane and flying playing at the same time. 621 00:28:11,160 --> 00:28:13,800 Speaker 8: So this this is interesting because as you were speaking 622 00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:17,360 Speaker 8: and you're talking about branding and marketing, I'm thinking to myself, 623 00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:21,840 Speaker 8: thirteen years, if I go back, social media is not 624 00:28:22,119 --> 00:28:25,120 Speaker 8: even I mean, Facebook is probably around before you go you. 625 00:28:25,040 --> 00:28:25,679 Speaker 3: Get locked up. 626 00:28:25,800 --> 00:28:29,520 Speaker 7: I think my space space it was my sport. 627 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:32,400 Speaker 8: Facebook's probably maybe only for college sus At the time 628 00:28:32,880 --> 00:28:36,920 Speaker 8: you come home and the landscape is completely different. What 629 00:28:37,440 --> 00:28:40,440 Speaker 8: was What was that like studying social media? Right, because 630 00:28:40,440 --> 00:28:43,960 Speaker 8: now it's it's Snapchat, it's Instagram, it's all these apps, 631 00:28:44,360 --> 00:28:46,800 Speaker 8: and you're like, I mean, I can imagine what that's like. 632 00:28:46,800 --> 00:28:47,720 Speaker 8: Like this is a whole new one. 633 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:50,480 Speaker 7: Yeah, yeah, yeah, no for sure. On a personal level, 634 00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:53,240 Speaker 7: you know, my people's taught me what not to post 635 00:28:53,240 --> 00:28:56,120 Speaker 7: and to post, like, you know, I was posting stuff 636 00:28:56,160 --> 00:28:58,000 Speaker 7: I shouldn't be posting, Like I got my ID, so 637 00:28:58,040 --> 00:28:59,480 Speaker 7: think about it. I'm so excited I got my first 638 00:28:59,560 --> 00:29:02,520 Speaker 7: DAID idea and I post on agreement and bro like, yo, bro, 639 00:29:02,600 --> 00:29:05,200 Speaker 7: take that down. You got your address on it. So 640 00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:08,920 Speaker 7: we don't understand the dynamics of who's watching. So my peoples, 641 00:29:08,960 --> 00:29:11,080 Speaker 7: every time I will post something that's like the dudes 642 00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:13,640 Speaker 7: and don't, they'll pull me up and teach me informally. Right, 643 00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:16,560 Speaker 7: Also women too, right, you know, but on a personal 644 00:29:16,640 --> 00:29:18,920 Speaker 7: level when it comes to the branding part, Like I'm 645 00:29:18,920 --> 00:29:20,800 Speaker 7: not a social media expert, right, So, like I always 646 00:29:20,880 --> 00:29:23,480 Speaker 7: lean on the other experts in the field, and sometimes 647 00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:25,800 Speaker 7: we have volunteers or we have an intern. I currently 648 00:29:25,800 --> 00:29:27,880 Speaker 7: we have an intern now that's helping us without marketing 649 00:29:27,880 --> 00:29:30,880 Speaker 7: and branding or people who we contract to come help 650 00:29:30,960 --> 00:29:33,640 Speaker 7: us with certain projects. So that's how we've been able 651 00:29:33,640 --> 00:29:36,480 Speaker 7: to elevate our marketing. We're trying to enhance the website 652 00:29:36,480 --> 00:29:38,400 Speaker 7: now it looks pretty good compared to what it was. 653 00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:42,520 Speaker 7: But leaning on you know, other experts. Like I'm a 654 00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:45,080 Speaker 7: big believer in delegation, right, Like I can't do it 655 00:29:45,120 --> 00:29:48,000 Speaker 7: all right, Like I'm the vision there, I'm a strategic planner, 656 00:29:48,320 --> 00:29:52,080 Speaker 7: But delegating requires finding the right human resources, you know 657 00:29:52,120 --> 00:29:54,160 Speaker 7: what I'm saying, and then bringing them in and then 658 00:29:54,200 --> 00:29:56,920 Speaker 7: hopefully they can push your vision along. So that's how 659 00:29:56,960 --> 00:29:58,960 Speaker 7: I kind of like overtime, I just opened up a 660 00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:02,400 Speaker 7: Snapchat TikTok, right, trying to do my own thing with 661 00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:04,840 Speaker 7: my other page that I got in and it's it's tough, 662 00:30:04,840 --> 00:30:08,400 Speaker 7: it's it's a lot of like it's changing too fast. 663 00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:14,040 Speaker 5: So as far as a nonprofit, the business model behind nonprofit, 664 00:30:15,440 --> 00:30:17,560 Speaker 5: you still get to make money though, right, Like you 665 00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:18,920 Speaker 5: still got to live, right. 666 00:30:18,760 --> 00:30:20,120 Speaker 3: Of course, So how does that work? 667 00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:23,280 Speaker 5: Because people hear the work nonprofit and it's like, okay, everything, 668 00:30:23,520 --> 00:30:25,479 Speaker 5: it's like it's just a charity. Everything that comes in 669 00:30:26,040 --> 00:30:30,600 Speaker 5: goes out, but it's still a business. Yeah, yeah, explain 670 00:30:30,680 --> 00:30:33,680 Speaker 5: that as like it's easy to explain a for profit organization. 671 00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:37,280 Speaker 5: Everybody knows that. But the nonprofit, I think it's interesting. 672 00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:39,240 Speaker 5: It like it's a nonprofit but it's still a business 673 00:30:39,240 --> 00:30:39,760 Speaker 5: at the same time. 674 00:30:39,840 --> 00:30:42,040 Speaker 7: Yeah, for sure, for sure. So the business part of 675 00:30:42,080 --> 00:30:44,160 Speaker 7: it just for the viewers, right, it's about like the 676 00:30:44,520 --> 00:30:46,280 Speaker 7: way it's broken up in its taxes, right, like the 677 00:30:46,400 --> 00:30:48,479 Speaker 7: entities is about the taxes is different, right, the way 678 00:30:48,520 --> 00:30:51,160 Speaker 7: it's broken up. The structure is the same, just a 679 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:54,760 Speaker 7: different market, right. So the foot profit, I have to 680 00:30:54,760 --> 00:30:57,080 Speaker 7: say that you're selling a good to make a profit. Right, 681 00:30:57,160 --> 00:30:59,400 Speaker 7: I sell you this candyball. I make money off that 682 00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:02,480 Speaker 7: candy ball. The nonprofit is about providing a service that's 683 00:31:02,560 --> 00:31:05,920 Speaker 7: not being sold. I'm not selling you my financial literacy program. 684 00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:07,880 Speaker 7: I'm not selling you my mentorship. Right, you're in the 685 00:31:07,920 --> 00:31:11,120 Speaker 7: program for free, but it's funded by that could be 686 00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:13,960 Speaker 7: a diverse pool. Right, So we have government funding right, 687 00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:16,280 Speaker 7: primary with a lot of nonprofits are funded by government. 688 00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:19,880 Speaker 7: And interestingly enough, you don't want to be funded by government, right, 689 00:31:19,880 --> 00:31:24,440 Speaker 7: because it's not guaranteed. Political shift happen, you lose that money. Private, 690 00:31:24,720 --> 00:31:27,160 Speaker 7: you have private donors, people who own companies, people are 691 00:31:27,160 --> 00:31:29,320 Speaker 7: well wealthy that love the calls you're doing. They want 692 00:31:29,360 --> 00:31:34,640 Speaker 7: to donate, contribute. There's a diverse corporate right, fundraises, crowdfunding, 693 00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:37,640 Speaker 7: so all of that money really goes towards your budget, 694 00:31:37,720 --> 00:31:39,280 Speaker 7: the same way of foot profits are set up. 695 00:31:39,320 --> 00:31:39,400 Speaker 3: Right. 696 00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:42,280 Speaker 7: Everyone has expenses, Right, you have rent, you got utilities, 697 00:31:42,320 --> 00:31:45,520 Speaker 7: you got galery, salary. That's where the money comes in. 698 00:31:45,560 --> 00:31:47,880 Speaker 7: So I'm salaried as a CEO of my company. Right, 699 00:31:48,080 --> 00:31:50,720 Speaker 7: I started off unpaid. Right, And that's the part with 700 00:31:50,760 --> 00:31:52,680 Speaker 7: the nonprofit. Like some businesses too, that you have to 701 00:31:52,680 --> 00:31:55,720 Speaker 7: start unpaid build it. And the way we grew was 702 00:31:55,800 --> 00:31:59,560 Speaker 7: uniquely because we started like as contractors, Me and my team. Right, 703 00:32:00,080 --> 00:32:01,760 Speaker 7: I got two or three brothers that join the movement 704 00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:03,960 Speaker 7: that came home. Right half my team got over one 705 00:32:04,040 --> 00:32:06,560 Speaker 7: hundred tears in prison. FYI, Like, we all came from 706 00:32:06,560 --> 00:32:08,840 Speaker 7: the same fed state in county. So they all love 707 00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:11,840 Speaker 7: them noble movement. They jump on board. So what happened 708 00:32:11,920 --> 00:32:13,440 Speaker 7: was people starting to see us and they're like, yo, 709 00:32:13,480 --> 00:32:15,840 Speaker 7: can you run this program? Our first program was Manhood 710 00:32:16,720 --> 00:32:19,640 Speaker 7: What was it called the Manhood Training? Right? It was 711 00:32:19,640 --> 00:32:21,800 Speaker 7: an eight week program and it was focused on adulthood 712 00:32:21,800 --> 00:32:23,920 Speaker 7: and life skills and communications, and we went into the 713 00:32:23,960 --> 00:32:26,320 Speaker 7: youth Shelter of Mount Vernon. You know, shout out to 714 00:32:26,320 --> 00:32:27,880 Speaker 7: the youth shelter. They gave us one of our first 715 00:32:27,880 --> 00:32:30,840 Speaker 7: contracts to run program. That's how we started, right, what 716 00:32:30,880 --> 00:32:33,239 Speaker 7: they're paying for the program X amount of money. Al Right, 717 00:32:33,280 --> 00:32:35,760 Speaker 7: you come run, you do two workshops. I pay for 718 00:32:35,800 --> 00:32:38,640 Speaker 7: those two workshops. And we just started like building financial 719 00:32:38,640 --> 00:32:41,400 Speaker 7: systems based on contracts. Then it got a little deeper 720 00:32:41,440 --> 00:32:43,760 Speaker 7: when grants come in. She had a grant from a 721 00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:46,280 Speaker 7: government and they're like, hey, you get this X amount 722 00:32:46,320 --> 00:32:48,880 Speaker 7: of money. In this particular first experience, it was a 723 00:32:48,880 --> 00:32:51,960 Speaker 7: reimbursement grant, so you have to spend the money in 724 00:32:52,080 --> 00:32:54,880 Speaker 7: order to get it back, right. So all of that 725 00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:58,320 Speaker 7: taught me how to do budgets spreadsheets right like from 726 00:32:58,320 --> 00:33:01,160 Speaker 7: the very beginning, and it worked out because it wasn't. 727 00:33:01,240 --> 00:33:02,840 Speaker 7: I turned down a lot of money, by the way, 728 00:33:02,920 --> 00:33:05,920 Speaker 7: right in the early parts of my career because I 729 00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:07,600 Speaker 7: didn't want to do too much and then not be 730 00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:10,480 Speaker 7: able to have the infrastructure to maintain it. You collapsed 731 00:33:10,480 --> 00:33:13,160 Speaker 7: like that. So I took each opportunity intentionally if it 732 00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:15,160 Speaker 7: was aligned with my values and my mission, which is 733 00:33:15,240 --> 00:33:18,320 Speaker 7: very important with the business and nonprofit can't chase the money, 734 00:33:18,320 --> 00:33:20,920 Speaker 7: you got to chase the mission because sometimes the dollar 735 00:33:21,560 --> 00:33:24,040 Speaker 7: is tied to somebody who's not aligned with your mission 736 00:33:24,040 --> 00:33:26,600 Speaker 7: on your values, and a lot of nonprofits go wrong 737 00:33:26,640 --> 00:33:28,360 Speaker 7: with that. They're looking at the dollars they needed for 738 00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:30,720 Speaker 7: expenses and then they you know, wrap themselves up and 739 00:33:30,720 --> 00:33:33,440 Speaker 7: they can't produce. In our case, it was like we 740 00:33:33,520 --> 00:33:35,280 Speaker 7: kind of like started to not put the car before 741 00:33:35,280 --> 00:33:38,080 Speaker 7: the host started walking. You know, we crawled. Now we're walking, 742 00:33:38,320 --> 00:33:41,320 Speaker 7: and then we started slowly running and with the nonprofit 743 00:33:41,400 --> 00:33:44,640 Speaker 7: game was just understanding how to diversify your income right, 744 00:33:44,760 --> 00:33:48,320 Speaker 7: diversify your portfolio right, how to get corporate funders, how 745 00:33:48,320 --> 00:33:51,640 Speaker 7: to get foundation money, how to get you know, crowdfunding, 746 00:33:51,640 --> 00:33:54,640 Speaker 7: fundraisers money, how to get government money, and then looking 747 00:33:54,680 --> 00:33:57,040 Speaker 7: at that money that the money's coming in, tying it 748 00:33:57,080 --> 00:34:00,480 Speaker 7: to the budget. And that's where salaries, insurance build, I 749 00:34:00,520 --> 00:34:03,600 Speaker 7: mean your utilities, anything that you have as an expense 750 00:34:03,640 --> 00:34:06,400 Speaker 7: for your nonprofit. Hope, I kind of answered that. 751 00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:08,960 Speaker 8: You said you had to as a CEO. Did you 752 00:34:09,040 --> 00:34:11,160 Speaker 8: built the Border Directors? How did you go about choosing that? 753 00:34:11,200 --> 00:34:15,040 Speaker 8: And then you said that obviously the team has been incarcerated. 754 00:34:15,400 --> 00:34:17,319 Speaker 8: How you go about so that then who's going to 755 00:34:17,320 --> 00:34:19,280 Speaker 8: be a good fit to now join your own this mission? 756 00:34:19,280 --> 00:34:21,960 Speaker 7: I know for sure? For sure for the Border Directors, 757 00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:24,319 Speaker 7: it started with Laman Withdrew right, he was off because 758 00:34:24,360 --> 00:34:26,279 Speaker 7: he was our first fiscal sponsor. So that check that 759 00:34:26,320 --> 00:34:28,719 Speaker 7: we got for five thousand, we couldn't take it because 760 00:34:28,719 --> 00:34:30,880 Speaker 7: we wasn't a five O one C three yet. So fiscal 761 00:34:30,880 --> 00:34:33,759 Speaker 7: sponsors are like other more established nonprofits that to take 762 00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:36,120 Speaker 7: that money pass it through their bank account to you, 763 00:34:36,640 --> 00:34:39,200 Speaker 7: because then that check the person who wrote the check 764 00:34:39,239 --> 00:34:41,160 Speaker 7: to that it went to a nonprofit, right had to 765 00:34:41,200 --> 00:34:42,920 Speaker 7: be a five on C three. So him being our 766 00:34:42,920 --> 00:34:45,520 Speaker 7: fiscal sponsor and being somebody that was, you know, helping 767 00:34:45,600 --> 00:34:49,120 Speaker 7: us build the business. He was our first board member, right, 768 00:34:49,520 --> 00:34:51,480 Speaker 7: and then we you know, at the time, we were 769 00:34:51,480 --> 00:34:53,680 Speaker 7: selecting people who was helping us on the ground. But 770 00:34:53,760 --> 00:34:56,480 Speaker 7: it was like, I try to get people who are 771 00:34:56,680 --> 00:35:00,319 Speaker 7: are an expert in different spaces, whether in as cation, 772 00:35:00,440 --> 00:35:03,880 Speaker 7: whether in fundraising right, whether it's marketing right, operations to 773 00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:06,880 Speaker 7: contribute and pull back down into the organization. But it 774 00:35:06,920 --> 00:35:09,200 Speaker 7: never works like that. You find people that's dedicated, then 775 00:35:09,239 --> 00:35:11,040 Speaker 7: they're too busy, they got too many kids over the 776 00:35:11,080 --> 00:35:13,800 Speaker 7: family level, so they can't contribute. So we re ramped 777 00:35:13,840 --> 00:35:16,799 Speaker 7: the board in twenty twenty two going into twenty twenty 778 00:35:16,840 --> 00:35:20,359 Speaker 7: three and one person who's still we have actually five, 779 00:35:20,520 --> 00:35:23,400 Speaker 7: there's five board members right now. Me I'm the president. 780 00:35:23,520 --> 00:35:25,120 Speaker 7: The co founder is the board treasurer. 781 00:35:26,480 --> 00:35:28,720 Speaker 4: This episode is brought to you by P and C Bank. 782 00:35:29,120 --> 00:35:31,880 Speaker 4: A lot of people think podcasts about work are boring, 783 00:35:32,080 --> 00:35:35,920 Speaker 4: and sure they definitely can be, but understanding a professionals 784 00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:39,280 Speaker 4: routine shows us how they achieve their success. Little by little, 785 00:35:39,640 --> 00:35:43,279 Speaker 4: day after day. It's like banking with P and C Bank. 786 00:35:43,760 --> 00:35:46,560 Speaker 4: It might seem boring to safe plan and make calculated 787 00:35:46,600 --> 00:35:49,680 Speaker 4: decisions with your bank, but keeping your money boring is 788 00:35:49,719 --> 00:35:53,040 Speaker 4: what helps you live or more happily fulfilled life. P 789 00:35:53,160 --> 00:35:58,000 Speaker 4: and C Bank Brilliantly Boring since eighteen sixty five. Brilliantly 790 00:35:58,040 --> 00:36:00,680 Speaker 4: Boring since eighteen sixty five is a service mark of 791 00:36:00,719 --> 00:36:03,960 Speaker 4: the PNC Financial Service Group, Inc. P and C Bank 792 00:36:04,360 --> 00:36:11,000 Speaker 4: National Association member fdic Erners What's Up? You ever walk 793 00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:14,080 Speaker 4: into a small business and everything just works like the 794 00:36:14,160 --> 00:36:18,279 Speaker 4: checkout is fast, the receipts are digital, tipping is a breeze, 795 00:36:18,560 --> 00:36:20,720 Speaker 4: and you're out the door before the line even builds. 796 00:36:21,040 --> 00:36:25,319 Speaker 4: Odds are they're using Square. We love supporting businesses that 797 00:36:25,400 --> 00:36:28,040 Speaker 4: run on Square because it just feels seamless. Whether it's 798 00:36:28,080 --> 00:36:31,080 Speaker 4: a local coffee shop, a vendor at a pop up market, 799 00:36:31,280 --> 00:36:34,120 Speaker 4: or even one of our merch partners. Square makes it 800 00:36:34,280 --> 00:36:37,640 Speaker 4: easy for them to take payments, manage inventory, and run 801 00:36:37,680 --> 00:36:41,680 Speaker 4: their business with confidence, all from one simple system. If 802 00:36:41,719 --> 00:36:44,560 Speaker 4: you're a business owner or even just thinking about launching 803 00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:47,600 Speaker 4: something soon, Square is hands down one of the best 804 00:36:47,640 --> 00:36:50,760 Speaker 4: tools out there to help you start run and grow. 805 00:36:51,040 --> 00:36:54,080 Speaker 4: It's not just about payments. It's about giving you time 806 00:36:54,160 --> 00:36:57,080 Speaker 4: back so you can focus on what matters most Ready 807 00:36:57,120 --> 00:37:00,520 Speaker 4: to see how Square can transform your business, visit Square 808 00:37:00,560 --> 00:37:05,120 Speaker 4: dot com backslash go backslash eyl to learn more that 809 00:37:05,280 --> 00:37:10,720 Speaker 4: Square dot com backslash, go backslash eyl. Don't wait, don't hesitate. 810 00:37:10,880 --> 00:37:13,239 Speaker 4: Let's Square handle the back end so you can keep 811 00:37:13,280 --> 00:37:14,480 Speaker 4: pushing your vision forward. 812 00:37:16,719 --> 00:37:20,400 Speaker 1: An illegal alien from Guatemala charged with raping a child 813 00:37:20,440 --> 00:37:24,239 Speaker 1: in Massachusetts. An MS thirteen gang member from Al Salvador 814 00:37:24,480 --> 00:37:28,600 Speaker 1: accused of murdering a Texas. Man of Venezuelan charged with 815 00:37:28,680 --> 00:37:32,560 Speaker 1: filming and selling child pornography in Michigan. These are just 816 00:37:32,680 --> 00:37:36,440 Speaker 1: some of the heinous migrant criminals caught because of President 817 00:37:36,440 --> 00:37:40,000 Speaker 1: Donald J. Trump's leadership. I'm Christy nom the United States 818 00:37:40,040 --> 00:37:44,840 Speaker 1: Secretary of Homeland Security. Under President Trump, attempted illegal border 819 00:37:44,880 --> 00:37:48,439 Speaker 1: crossings are at the lowest levels ever recorded, and over 820 00:37:48,480 --> 00:37:51,719 Speaker 1: one hundred thousand illegal aliens have been arrested. If you 821 00:37:51,800 --> 00:37:55,640 Speaker 1: are here illegally, your next you will be fine nearly 822 00:37:55,719 --> 00:37:59,719 Speaker 1: one thousand dollars a day. Imprisoned and deported, you will 823 00:37:59,719 --> 00:38:03,439 Speaker 1: never return. But if you register using our CBP home 824 00:38:03,480 --> 00:38:06,360 Speaker 1: app and leave now you could be allowed to return 825 00:38:06,440 --> 00:38:11,960 Speaker 1: legally do what's right. Leave now under President Trump America's laws, 826 00:38:12,120 --> 00:38:14,200 Speaker 1: border and families. 827 00:38:13,719 --> 00:38:16,120 Speaker 2: Will be protected sponsored by the United States Department of 828 00:38:16,160 --> 00:38:16,800 Speaker 2: Homeland Security. 829 00:38:17,120 --> 00:38:21,200 Speaker 7: Then we have an advisor and two secretaries. And the 830 00:38:21,280 --> 00:38:24,480 Speaker 7: other two besides Lamont, we met them through just networking 831 00:38:24,680 --> 00:38:27,239 Speaker 7: and they had the skill set that we needed, which 832 00:38:27,280 --> 00:38:31,640 Speaker 7: is understanding nonprofit business, understanding operations right. Other ones worked 833 00:38:31,680 --> 00:38:35,440 Speaker 7: in correction facilities. You understand program and leadership development. So 834 00:38:35,520 --> 00:38:38,160 Speaker 7: we started to select people based on how are they 835 00:38:38,200 --> 00:38:39,680 Speaker 7: tied to the mission and what do they bring to 836 00:38:39,719 --> 00:38:42,919 Speaker 7: the table. And right now with that small team, we're 837 00:38:42,960 --> 00:38:47,279 Speaker 7: starting over because we're literally formalizing the board process on 838 00:38:47,320 --> 00:38:50,960 Speaker 7: what recruitment strategy looks like. Right, we had to enhance 839 00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:53,800 Speaker 7: our by laws. Right, the bylaws is the governance structure 840 00:38:53,800 --> 00:38:57,359 Speaker 7: of the nonprofit. We're literally working with three different law 841 00:38:57,440 --> 00:38:59,880 Speaker 7: firms to tighten up some of the back and doc 842 00:39:00,040 --> 00:39:03,080 Speaker 7: imentation such as the by laws. And that by laws 843 00:39:03,160 --> 00:39:06,239 Speaker 7: is going to dictate how we recruit new board members. 844 00:39:06,400 --> 00:39:09,040 Speaker 7: So while that's being developed by a legal consulting firm, 845 00:39:09,280 --> 00:39:11,560 Speaker 7: we're working with the board to make sure our strategy 846 00:39:11,600 --> 00:39:13,840 Speaker 7: is in line with the buy laws and it's really 847 00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:16,400 Speaker 7: you want to target people who's going to bring to 848 00:39:16,440 --> 00:39:19,279 Speaker 7: the organization. They're volunteering their time, but you want people 849 00:39:19,280 --> 00:39:22,840 Speaker 7: who's going to bring in money, bringing resources, bringing connections 850 00:39:22,920 --> 00:39:26,280 Speaker 7: and also information. Right, So we're still in that development phase. 851 00:39:26,719 --> 00:39:30,960 Speaker 7: When it came to the team, it happened through me 852 00:39:31,120 --> 00:39:34,840 Speaker 7: knowing individuals from serving time with them and them returning 853 00:39:34,840 --> 00:39:37,719 Speaker 7: home and reaching out asking for the opportunity, and then 854 00:39:37,840 --> 00:39:40,040 Speaker 7: it just kind of working out at the right time. 855 00:39:40,239 --> 00:39:40,399 Speaker 3: Right. 856 00:39:40,840 --> 00:39:43,920 Speaker 7: That was like an unstructured way that we recruited of 857 00:39:43,960 --> 00:39:47,920 Speaker 7: course with intention, right, like you know. Now, so now 858 00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:50,120 Speaker 7: the whole team is forming cost for only half the team. 859 00:39:50,200 --> 00:39:52,239 Speaker 7: We have women on our team that's been impacted by 860 00:39:52,239 --> 00:39:55,200 Speaker 7: the system indirectly that got you know, different careers that 861 00:39:55,239 --> 00:39:58,640 Speaker 7: contribute to the movement. But now we have a actually 862 00:39:58,800 --> 00:40:01,560 Speaker 7: HR department is in we're developing an HR system where 863 00:40:01,560 --> 00:40:04,640 Speaker 7: we're doing onboarding more for more and more corporate. But 864 00:40:04,920 --> 00:40:07,800 Speaker 7: there's a caveat that we are keeping with the organization 865 00:40:07,880 --> 00:40:10,520 Speaker 7: and that's the voting process. So I like member led 866 00:40:10,640 --> 00:40:12,920 Speaker 7: organizations right where my team has to say so on 867 00:40:12,960 --> 00:40:16,120 Speaker 7: how certain things process. Right, So one of the last 868 00:40:16,160 --> 00:40:19,319 Speaker 7: two excuse me, the last two members we had. We 869 00:40:19,360 --> 00:40:22,160 Speaker 7: did a panel discussion, right, so, and it's somebody I 870 00:40:22,200 --> 00:40:27,319 Speaker 7: was up north with, master grad bilingual, solid brother, well intellectual. 871 00:40:27,360 --> 00:40:29,839 Speaker 7: He brought so much to the table, but I knew 872 00:40:29,880 --> 00:40:31,799 Speaker 7: he just came home. We got to kind of groom him, 873 00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:33,560 Speaker 7: and that's how we start to do it. We like 874 00:40:33,600 --> 00:40:36,440 Speaker 7: his take an opportunity at Woodfield. They'll build their like 875 00:40:36,560 --> 00:40:39,279 Speaker 7: kind of experiences working with the population. We kind of 876 00:40:39,320 --> 00:40:41,320 Speaker 7: observe them, We put them in spaces to kind of 877 00:40:41,320 --> 00:40:43,799 Speaker 7: get them a job of the team, and then we like, Yo, 878 00:40:44,080 --> 00:40:46,520 Speaker 7: this person's dedicated. This person actually brings a lot to 879 00:40:46,560 --> 00:40:49,960 Speaker 7: the table, and they bring diversity. That's the other key, diversity. 880 00:40:50,040 --> 00:40:50,239 Speaker 3: Right. 881 00:40:50,719 --> 00:40:53,480 Speaker 7: So then from there, if we feel like, yeah, we 882 00:40:53,480 --> 00:40:55,360 Speaker 7: want to vote them in, we'll do a panel meeting 883 00:40:55,360 --> 00:40:57,879 Speaker 7: with the person and I'll have the whole team. Could 884 00:40:57,880 --> 00:40:59,560 Speaker 7: be a little intimid dating, but it's more like just 885 00:40:59,640 --> 00:41:03,000 Speaker 7: really interviewing you about your interests in this movement, right, 886 00:41:03,040 --> 00:41:05,480 Speaker 7: because we don't call it a nonprofit or a company 887 00:41:05,520 --> 00:41:08,440 Speaker 7: or job. We a movement. So there's you know, company 888 00:41:08,520 --> 00:41:10,600 Speaker 7: values and cultures that we have to talk about and 889 00:41:10,640 --> 00:41:12,920 Speaker 7: how do you like assimilate into that is what we 890 00:41:12,960 --> 00:41:16,160 Speaker 7: try to figure out. And fortunately, you know, we have 891 00:41:16,239 --> 00:41:19,520 Speaker 7: a team of thirteen right now. You know, again I 892 00:41:19,520 --> 00:41:21,719 Speaker 7: said half my team did a lot of time. Five 893 00:41:21,760 --> 00:41:24,560 Speaker 7: of them have former gang experience from Cribs, Bloods Line 894 00:41:24,600 --> 00:41:28,640 Speaker 7: and Kingston th Adios to you know, I think no Blood, 895 00:41:28,960 --> 00:41:31,080 Speaker 7: so like they all were gang leaders in their own way. 896 00:41:31,200 --> 00:41:33,279 Speaker 7: So now they use that to go back into the 897 00:41:33,440 --> 00:41:35,880 Speaker 7: institutions working with the young kids who are gang banging. 898 00:41:36,160 --> 00:41:39,440 Speaker 7: So the diversity kind of worked out, but the cherry 899 00:41:39,440 --> 00:41:41,839 Speaker 7: picking comes in with who were bringing in and why. 900 00:41:42,760 --> 00:41:45,160 Speaker 7: And now we're just going to implement the more like 901 00:41:45,320 --> 00:41:47,759 Speaker 7: formal process of it because you need a HR. I 902 00:41:47,800 --> 00:41:50,640 Speaker 7: have to remove myself from also the interviewing process just 903 00:41:50,680 --> 00:41:53,520 Speaker 7: to some degree to offset any liabilities, you know what 904 00:41:53,520 --> 00:41:56,799 Speaker 7: I'm saying. So it's more member led, but now we're 905 00:41:56,800 --> 00:41:58,080 Speaker 7: bringing them more corporate structure. 906 00:41:58,719 --> 00:42:02,919 Speaker 5: So you said, like nonprofit, the lifeline is fundraising, right, 907 00:42:03,200 --> 00:42:04,680 Speaker 5: you have to be able to get money, and you 908 00:42:04,719 --> 00:42:06,680 Speaker 5: said government is not the best source to get money, 909 00:42:06,719 --> 00:42:10,200 Speaker 5: so it's private donors. But that's also very challenging, right 910 00:42:10,280 --> 00:42:13,040 Speaker 5: to kind of like always it's not not guaranteed either 911 00:42:13,080 --> 00:42:15,200 Speaker 5: that you want to get a stream. So how has 912 00:42:15,280 --> 00:42:17,840 Speaker 5: it been for you as far as fundraising? What are 913 00:42:17,920 --> 00:42:20,839 Speaker 5: some challenges and what are some best practices that you learn? 914 00:42:20,920 --> 00:42:24,600 Speaker 7: For sure? For sure? So right now we have a strategy, 915 00:42:24,640 --> 00:42:28,439 Speaker 7: So I started implementing strategic planning. Right. The strategic plan, 916 00:42:28,520 --> 00:42:30,839 Speaker 7: like I said earlier, is based on your needs assessment, right, 917 00:42:31,120 --> 00:42:32,560 Speaker 7: so we look at what do we need in the 918 00:42:32,640 --> 00:42:34,680 Speaker 7: organization and then okay, we need this and how we're 919 00:42:34,680 --> 00:42:37,239 Speaker 7: going to get it right. So what we did was 920 00:42:37,280 --> 00:42:41,239 Speaker 7: this year we have three approaches. So we have a 921 00:42:41,239 --> 00:42:44,200 Speaker 7: grant writer that we contract. So this grant writer spends 922 00:42:44,200 --> 00:42:47,000 Speaker 7: time in the library because they have a source called 923 00:42:47,040 --> 00:42:50,719 Speaker 7: Foundational Directory, and it's a free database that tells you 924 00:42:50,920 --> 00:42:53,680 Speaker 7: all the grants are that companies pay for that but 925 00:42:53,800 --> 00:42:56,880 Speaker 7: at the libraries for free. Right, So he'll spend hours 926 00:42:56,880 --> 00:42:59,760 Speaker 7: there and research and finding grants that align with our mission. 927 00:42:59,800 --> 00:43:01,799 Speaker 7: He presented to me and say, yo, this is a 928 00:43:01,840 --> 00:43:04,440 Speaker 7: good grant to go after. We'll have several meetings on 929 00:43:04,480 --> 00:43:07,280 Speaker 7: it talking about budgets, how'sing aligned with my current mission 930 00:43:07,280 --> 00:43:10,319 Speaker 7: and budget, and then he's going after them. Right. So 931 00:43:10,360 --> 00:43:12,640 Speaker 7: that's one approach. The other approach is more like a 932 00:43:12,680 --> 00:43:14,440 Speaker 7: traditional model corporate outreach. 933 00:43:14,560 --> 00:43:14,719 Speaker 3: Right. 934 00:43:15,080 --> 00:43:17,040 Speaker 7: So I was fortunately through one of my donors, so 935 00:43:17,080 --> 00:43:19,439 Speaker 7: we have some secure donuts from last year that gave 936 00:43:19,480 --> 00:43:22,000 Speaker 7: us a lot of money. He gave me a list 937 00:43:22,000 --> 00:43:24,799 Speaker 7: of like over five hundred companies throughout the US worth 938 00:43:24,880 --> 00:43:28,400 Speaker 7: up to seven billion dollars. Right. His company is based 939 00:43:28,400 --> 00:43:30,560 Speaker 7: on cold calling. That's what we're doing, right. We have 940 00:43:30,600 --> 00:43:32,880 Speaker 7: a team. My team is dedicated some of their hours 941 00:43:32,880 --> 00:43:35,399 Speaker 7: a week to cod calling those companies to introduce us, 942 00:43:35,680 --> 00:43:38,680 Speaker 7: share our mission and hopefully build relationships. So when it 943 00:43:38,680 --> 00:43:41,440 Speaker 7: comes to money and outreach, it's about relationship building, as 944 00:43:41,480 --> 00:43:44,480 Speaker 7: y'all know, right, So that's what that That's one approach 945 00:43:44,520 --> 00:43:46,080 Speaker 7: that we want to measure too to see if it's 946 00:43:46,080 --> 00:43:48,160 Speaker 7: even effective. Is the waste of time? Is it working? 947 00:43:49,120 --> 00:43:51,560 Speaker 7: So we're doing that to raise money. And then crowdfunding, 948 00:43:51,880 --> 00:43:55,279 Speaker 7: right is another thing through online campaigns, social media, right, 949 00:43:55,360 --> 00:43:57,880 Speaker 7: go fund me and things like that for specific things. 950 00:43:58,360 --> 00:44:00,440 Speaker 7: And then on what we did last year which was 951 00:44:00,520 --> 00:44:03,200 Speaker 7: really really interesting. It was our first one, which was 952 00:44:03,239 --> 00:44:06,280 Speaker 7: our first fundraiser gala. Right, the goal was fifty thousand. 953 00:44:06,320 --> 00:44:08,520 Speaker 7: We walked away with sixty eight thousand dollars in the 954 00:44:08,560 --> 00:44:10,640 Speaker 7: first night, you know, shout out the styles p came 955 00:44:10,680 --> 00:44:13,160 Speaker 7: as a guest speaker. We had four hundred and thirty 956 00:44:13,200 --> 00:44:17,279 Speaker 7: two people in the building. First fundraiser, right, and that's 957 00:44:17,320 --> 00:44:19,880 Speaker 7: how you raise money. You sell tickets, you get you 958 00:44:19,880 --> 00:44:22,319 Speaker 7: get a venue space, right, you market the tickets. You 959 00:44:22,440 --> 00:44:25,200 Speaker 7: use the money for non profit, but to invest back 960 00:44:25,239 --> 00:44:28,120 Speaker 7: into the company. The money that we raised for that fundraiser. 961 00:44:28,200 --> 00:44:30,880 Speaker 7: The goal was our first office, and we just you know, 962 00:44:30,920 --> 00:44:33,479 Speaker 7: signed the commercial lease in February and we finally moved 963 00:44:33,480 --> 00:44:36,040 Speaker 7: in and up and running. So those are the ways 964 00:44:36,040 --> 00:44:37,919 Speaker 7: in which now you have to think about getting money 965 00:44:37,960 --> 00:44:41,080 Speaker 7: for the nonprofit because if you the goal for every 966 00:44:41,080 --> 00:44:44,879 Speaker 7: nonprofit is to try to secure consistent donors. Even if 967 00:44:44,880 --> 00:44:46,680 Speaker 7: one person give me five hundred a week, I mean 968 00:44:46,760 --> 00:44:49,480 Speaker 7: a year, one persce giving fifty thousand a year, you 969 00:44:49,520 --> 00:44:51,520 Speaker 7: got to count all of that money, right, while still 970 00:44:51,560 --> 00:44:54,799 Speaker 7: going after grants, you still need government funding, right, And 971 00:44:54,840 --> 00:44:57,520 Speaker 7: then what kind of put me in position was a 972 00:44:57,640 --> 00:45:01,759 Speaker 7: unique opportunity. So Executive Order two eleven by Governor hoku 973 00:45:01,960 --> 00:45:04,640 Speaker 7: uh you know, it was announced in twenty twenty two 974 00:45:04,680 --> 00:45:07,320 Speaker 7: as a result of gun violence. So a lot of money. 975 00:45:07,360 --> 00:45:10,319 Speaker 7: GVP is a buzzword right now, gun violence prevention, Right, 976 00:45:10,680 --> 00:45:12,319 Speaker 7: you know a lot of people going after it. That 977 00:45:12,400 --> 00:45:14,600 Speaker 7: money was a lot of money. About twenty million dollars 978 00:45:14,600 --> 00:45:18,440 Speaker 7: was pulled into an initiative called Project Rids. So Project 979 00:45:18,480 --> 00:45:22,400 Speaker 7: Rise was a new approach to funding nonprofits from the state. 980 00:45:23,120 --> 00:45:25,799 Speaker 7: It was never done this way right, where they was 981 00:45:25,800 --> 00:45:28,839 Speaker 7: giving you the money upfront. Right, So we applied, we 982 00:45:28,880 --> 00:45:31,759 Speaker 7: got accepted. We were like one of like five nonprofits 983 00:45:31,760 --> 00:45:34,040 Speaker 7: in Yonkers that got it, and we got a nice chunk, 984 00:45:34,040 --> 00:45:37,000 Speaker 7: which played a major role in me going full time. Right, 985 00:45:37,080 --> 00:45:40,120 Speaker 7: So now we got part time staff members, I got 986 00:45:40,160 --> 00:45:42,680 Speaker 7: I'm a full time staff member. I got volunteers, and 987 00:45:42,719 --> 00:45:45,839 Speaker 7: I got paid per DM. So that's as I need them. Right, 988 00:45:45,880 --> 00:45:49,080 Speaker 7: you go into a per contract. So we've diversified our 989 00:45:49,120 --> 00:45:52,640 Speaker 7: money by using the state money, the contract money, the crowdfunding, 990 00:45:52,719 --> 00:45:55,920 Speaker 7: the fundraiser to now pay all the stuff that we 991 00:45:55,920 --> 00:45:56,520 Speaker 7: need for the company. 992 00:45:56,800 --> 00:45:58,399 Speaker 5: Your question, so it's like, is there like a test 993 00:45:58,480 --> 00:46:00,480 Speaker 5: or like a limit, Like is there a rule because 994 00:46:00,560 --> 00:46:01,600 Speaker 5: let's say hyperthink they. 995 00:46:01,520 --> 00:46:04,200 Speaker 3: Have a nonprofit. I raised five million dollars, right. 996 00:46:05,360 --> 00:46:09,200 Speaker 5: I have to use because like somebody could just depositive 997 00:46:09,239 --> 00:46:11,160 Speaker 5: in their bank account. Right, So it's like, is there 998 00:46:11,200 --> 00:46:13,440 Speaker 5: a rule to be like Okay, if eighty percent of 999 00:46:13,440 --> 00:46:17,960 Speaker 5: the money that you raise, you have to deploy in 1000 00:46:18,000 --> 00:46:19,440 Speaker 5: the course of eighteen months. 1001 00:46:19,480 --> 00:46:20,959 Speaker 3: Like how did they track that? Yeah? 1002 00:46:21,040 --> 00:46:23,000 Speaker 7: No, So when you do your own fund raiser, you 1003 00:46:23,080 --> 00:46:25,840 Speaker 7: determine that, right unless a donor that's giving you x 1004 00:46:25,880 --> 00:46:28,360 Speaker 7: amount of money says, this money's for this, So the 1005 00:46:28,440 --> 00:46:30,759 Speaker 7: donor could determine like this is for your rent only. 1006 00:46:30,960 --> 00:46:33,319 Speaker 7: You can't spend this on program expenses, for example, you 1007 00:46:33,320 --> 00:46:36,160 Speaker 7: can't spend it on food for the office. Right. So 1008 00:46:36,200 --> 00:46:39,719 Speaker 7: that's how one stipulation comes in with the project. Like 1009 00:46:39,760 --> 00:46:42,520 Speaker 7: when it comes to state funding, is ready controlling, right, 1010 00:46:42,760 --> 00:46:45,319 Speaker 7: you have a budget, a proposed budget that you have 1011 00:46:45,360 --> 00:46:48,560 Speaker 7: to actually adhere to, right, so that money is controlled 1012 00:46:48,600 --> 00:46:50,319 Speaker 7: in the timeline that you said you're going to spend 1013 00:46:50,320 --> 00:46:53,359 Speaker 7: this money. They monitoring like whatever the case is when 1014 00:46:53,400 --> 00:46:55,640 Speaker 7: you do your own fundraiser, like, you know, you got 1015 00:46:55,680 --> 00:46:58,000 Speaker 7: to be authentic to your you know, your supporters, right. 1016 00:46:58,040 --> 00:47:01,640 Speaker 7: Our goal was an off space, right, So when we 1017 00:47:01,719 --> 00:47:04,239 Speaker 7: got the money, right, we didn't have no stipulations like 1018 00:47:04,400 --> 00:47:06,759 Speaker 7: you gotta spend this money on the but we like 1019 00:47:06,840 --> 00:47:08,759 Speaker 7: now y'all helped us raise money for the location. We're 1020 00:47:08,760 --> 00:47:11,680 Speaker 7: going to get the location because we actually needed the location. Right, 1021 00:47:11,800 --> 00:47:14,799 Speaker 7: So the stipulation varied depending on the grant that you're 1022 00:47:14,800 --> 00:47:18,520 Speaker 7: going after. Right, some grants are unrestricted. So shout out 1023 00:47:18,560 --> 00:47:21,040 Speaker 7: to Jay Jeff Bezos's wife. Hopefully she sees this man. 1024 00:47:21,040 --> 00:47:26,120 Speaker 7: She's been running around dumping millions of dollars into nonprofits 1025 00:47:26,160 --> 00:47:29,880 Speaker 7: unrestrictedly though, Like unrestricted is like, yo, do what you 1026 00:47:29,920 --> 00:47:32,680 Speaker 7: need to do with it. There's no police reporting on it, right, 1027 00:47:32,760 --> 00:47:35,440 Speaker 7: Like that's a nonprofit dream, you know. 1028 00:47:35,600 --> 00:47:38,240 Speaker 8: So she just announced that like six. 1029 00:47:38,080 --> 00:47:40,600 Speaker 7: Billion she's yeah, she's putting on right now. 1030 00:47:40,600 --> 00:47:42,359 Speaker 8: She's I think New York State was the first place 1031 00:47:42,400 --> 00:47:45,040 Speaker 8: she looked first, and it was I think she's looking 1032 00:47:45,080 --> 00:47:48,480 Speaker 8: for like something crazy number of nonprofits. 1033 00:47:48,880 --> 00:47:51,160 Speaker 7: Yeah, no, and her process is hard to even find 1034 00:47:51,200 --> 00:47:52,839 Speaker 7: she did. They have to find you. So hopefully they 1035 00:47:52,840 --> 00:47:56,359 Speaker 7: find out one for United but no for sure for sure. 1036 00:47:56,400 --> 00:47:59,239 Speaker 7: But the unrestricted comes from you know, noble individuals with 1037 00:47:59,280 --> 00:48:00,759 Speaker 7: a lot of money that it's like, y'all love what 1038 00:48:00,800 --> 00:48:03,560 Speaker 7: you're doing, We trust your work, but this is something 1039 00:48:03,640 --> 00:48:05,680 Speaker 7: good for all business owners. Right, your finances have to 1040 00:48:05,719 --> 00:48:07,799 Speaker 7: be in order, right, Like part of what got us 1041 00:48:07,840 --> 00:48:09,799 Speaker 7: the location, part of us what got us into these 1042 00:48:09,840 --> 00:48:12,880 Speaker 7: A lot of these deals. Grant writers, I mean grant providers, 1043 00:48:12,880 --> 00:48:15,399 Speaker 7: they want to see your finances sometimes. Right, there's something 1044 00:48:15,440 --> 00:48:18,080 Speaker 7: called god Star. They have the IRS website that they 1045 00:48:18,160 --> 00:48:20,720 Speaker 7: go look at and check how much went to program 1046 00:48:20,719 --> 00:48:22,560 Speaker 7: and how much went to salaries. Right, some of them 1047 00:48:22,600 --> 00:48:27,120 Speaker 7: care about those like little details. But your books, your 1048 00:48:27,160 --> 00:48:30,080 Speaker 7: financial story is your engine for the organization, specifically for 1049 00:48:30,120 --> 00:48:33,000 Speaker 7: a nonproduct because people are giving you money. Right. So, 1050 00:48:33,120 --> 00:48:35,560 Speaker 7: like what we've been working on, which is a financial project, 1051 00:48:35,920 --> 00:48:38,400 Speaker 7: is getting audit ready. That's what we call it, right, 1052 00:48:38,480 --> 00:48:42,000 Speaker 7: getting audit ready, making sure that when any funder, hopefully 1053 00:48:42,000 --> 00:48:44,320 Speaker 7: real wealthy fund that wants to see our financial story, 1054 00:48:44,360 --> 00:48:46,560 Speaker 7: it aligns. Right, there's no disconnect. 1055 00:48:46,920 --> 00:48:48,879 Speaker 3: So that's that's what I'm getting at. 1056 00:48:49,320 --> 00:48:52,879 Speaker 5: So all right, you audit ready, so if somebody wants 1057 00:48:52,960 --> 00:48:56,760 Speaker 5: to pull your records, they can see, okay, just amount 1058 00:48:56,760 --> 00:48:58,640 Speaker 5: of money when here? This amount of money when exactly, 1059 00:48:58,680 --> 00:49:01,640 Speaker 5: So if you're doing through diligence, even for the public 1060 00:49:01,680 --> 00:49:03,279 Speaker 5: to know, like if they if they want to give 1061 00:49:03,320 --> 00:49:07,480 Speaker 5: money to a nonprofit but they're not sure about if 1062 00:49:07,480 --> 00:49:11,799 Speaker 5: the money's actually going to go to help people, like 1063 00:49:11,880 --> 00:49:15,040 Speaker 5: they can actually look to see financial records. 1064 00:49:14,760 --> 00:49:18,800 Speaker 7: Yeah the IRS. If not the irs. There's something called Godstar. 1065 00:49:19,320 --> 00:49:23,400 Speaker 7: So Godstar has like certain seals like platinum gold bronds. 1066 00:49:24,600 --> 00:49:27,080 Speaker 7: The more transparent you are on god Star, the higher 1067 00:49:27,160 --> 00:49:29,080 Speaker 7: the seal you get. So if you show them like 1068 00:49:29,120 --> 00:49:32,000 Speaker 7: your breakdown of your board, the ethnical breakdown, who you serve, 1069 00:49:32,080 --> 00:49:34,759 Speaker 7: your team, your finances, you gotta publish your ten ninety, 1070 00:49:34,800 --> 00:49:36,960 Speaker 7: I mean your nine nineties every year. You have to 1071 00:49:37,000 --> 00:49:39,960 Speaker 7: publish that, right so they can see your finances, so 1072 00:49:40,040 --> 00:49:41,799 Speaker 7: that you know, and if they don't, Like I had 1073 00:49:41,840 --> 00:49:43,640 Speaker 7: a funder who in the shout outs to Bronze with 1074 00:49:43,719 --> 00:49:46,120 Speaker 7: Rotary Club, you know, they was on it, like looking 1075 00:49:46,239 --> 00:49:47,840 Speaker 7: to the finance. Let me see with this why you 1076 00:49:47,840 --> 00:49:49,480 Speaker 7: don't have this on god Star. It was some like 1077 00:49:49,480 --> 00:49:52,000 Speaker 7: steps that we overlooked and he was like intentional and 1078 00:49:52,040 --> 00:49:53,640 Speaker 7: he's like, yo, you guys are doing the right thing. 1079 00:49:54,000 --> 00:49:57,000 Speaker 7: So once you build that trust with your finances, everything 1080 00:49:57,040 --> 00:49:58,600 Speaker 7: else is like just you know. 1081 00:49:58,760 --> 00:50:01,800 Speaker 8: What are some of the big challenges obviously the money 1082 00:50:01,840 --> 00:50:03,680 Speaker 8: raising the money figuring out how to get it, But 1083 00:50:03,760 --> 00:50:05,960 Speaker 8: what are some of those challenges that people who are 1084 00:50:06,000 --> 00:50:08,560 Speaker 8: not familiar with the space, What are the things that 1085 00:50:08,560 --> 00:50:10,360 Speaker 8: they should know that you face, right, Like that that 1086 00:50:10,840 --> 00:50:12,600 Speaker 8: is something that somebody puts you on. What are some 1087 00:50:12,640 --> 00:50:15,160 Speaker 8: other challenges if we get into the space. 1088 00:50:16,760 --> 00:50:21,799 Speaker 7: Put the politics right? The politics is tough, right, and 1089 00:50:21,880 --> 00:50:23,360 Speaker 7: I just want to touch on something. You're action the 1090 00:50:23,360 --> 00:50:25,880 Speaker 7: answer to the challenging part, right, So me being a 1091 00:50:25,880 --> 00:50:28,160 Speaker 7: full time CEO, right, just to talk about the executive 1092 00:50:28,160 --> 00:50:30,919 Speaker 7: two eleven, they're talking about taking it off the table, right, 1093 00:50:30,960 --> 00:50:33,520 Speaker 7: So imagine a fund is like here for three is 1094 00:50:33,520 --> 00:50:35,640 Speaker 7: you good in your first shit? They're like, oh, hold on, 1095 00:50:35,719 --> 00:50:37,319 Speaker 7: some political things are going on. Gotta take it off 1096 00:50:37,360 --> 00:50:39,560 Speaker 7: the table. Now. I got to think about how mama 1097 00:50:39,560 --> 00:50:41,719 Speaker 7: cover my salary. Now, I gotta like pivot and I 1098 00:50:41,719 --> 00:50:44,319 Speaker 7: gotta work over time because you know, June come, I 1099 00:50:44,400 --> 00:50:45,440 Speaker 7: might not have a salary. 1100 00:50:45,640 --> 00:50:45,839 Speaker 3: Right. 1101 00:50:46,200 --> 00:50:48,880 Speaker 7: So those challenges are about having a strategy in place 1102 00:50:48,920 --> 00:50:51,239 Speaker 7: to pivot the things that you don't see, and that's 1103 00:50:51,280 --> 00:50:54,960 Speaker 7: always hard, right. But there's many challenges with this work. 1104 00:50:55,000 --> 00:50:57,400 Speaker 7: When it comes to fundraising, it's about how you build 1105 00:50:57,400 --> 00:51:00,719 Speaker 7: relationships and with who. So that's the political part of it, right, 1106 00:51:00,840 --> 00:51:04,680 Speaker 7: Like you know this campaign season, so even like some 1107 00:51:04,920 --> 00:51:07,680 Speaker 7: partners of mine that I really job with, you know, politically, 1108 00:51:07,719 --> 00:51:10,000 Speaker 7: I can't take open stances with you because the five 1109 00:51:10,000 --> 00:51:12,240 Speaker 7: oh one C three guidelines is that if I endorse 1110 00:51:12,920 --> 00:51:16,960 Speaker 7: a politician, we get dissolved, right, And what does endorsement 1111 00:51:17,040 --> 00:51:19,239 Speaker 7: look like? It could be them taking your swag and 1112 00:51:19,239 --> 00:51:21,200 Speaker 7: posting on their page that they was at your event. 1113 00:51:21,400 --> 00:51:24,080 Speaker 7: It could be you taking a picture with them and 1114 00:51:24,120 --> 00:51:26,880 Speaker 7: it's you know, framed a certain way. So you have 1115 00:51:26,920 --> 00:51:29,160 Speaker 7: to be real careful, right. So and then it's like 1116 00:51:29,600 --> 00:51:31,440 Speaker 7: a lot of the challenge you see is that you 1117 00:51:31,520 --> 00:51:34,840 Speaker 7: cannot separate community service from the political sphere. They go 1118 00:51:34,960 --> 00:51:37,120 Speaker 7: hand in hand. So now you got to deal with 1119 00:51:37,160 --> 00:51:40,200 Speaker 7: politicians who really don't believe in what you believe in, right, 1120 00:51:40,239 --> 00:51:41,880 Speaker 7: And that's some of the things I'm working on, like 1121 00:51:41,920 --> 00:51:45,120 Speaker 7: emotional intelligence, right, like how to navigate these spaces, you know, 1122 00:51:45,160 --> 00:51:47,200 Speaker 7: because I got that rebel in me, but I'm also 1123 00:51:47,280 --> 00:51:49,160 Speaker 7: going through refinement. I ain't got a little figured out, 1124 00:51:49,320 --> 00:51:50,920 Speaker 7: and there's times that I'm in a space and it's 1125 00:51:50,960 --> 00:51:52,480 Speaker 7: like I really want to talk how I feel, but 1126 00:51:52,560 --> 00:51:56,160 Speaker 7: I can't. And leadership is about your brand ambassadorship, right, 1127 00:51:56,239 --> 00:51:59,320 Speaker 7: Like what are you representing online and offline because people 1128 00:51:59,360 --> 00:52:03,520 Speaker 7: are watching, you know, And so those challenges about policing yourself, 1129 00:52:03,600 --> 00:52:05,480 Speaker 7: you know, being careful where you hanging out, at how 1130 00:52:05,520 --> 00:52:08,839 Speaker 7: you moving offline and online, but who you really deal 1131 00:52:08,920 --> 00:52:11,879 Speaker 7: with because your brand can be separate from who you are, 1132 00:52:12,440 --> 00:52:15,040 Speaker 7: you know what I'm saying, So if again have to 1133 00:52:15,120 --> 00:52:17,400 Speaker 7: navigate those Even now I'm doing my grand opening for 1134 00:52:17,480 --> 00:52:20,240 Speaker 7: the NOMAL for Space and I'm like, who do I invite? 1135 00:52:20,280 --> 00:52:20,440 Speaker 3: Right? 1136 00:52:20,440 --> 00:52:22,200 Speaker 7: Like, it gets tricky because you don't want to feel 1137 00:52:22,200 --> 00:52:24,040 Speaker 7: like your favorite time. You know you're showing favoritism to 1138 00:52:24,080 --> 00:52:26,880 Speaker 7: one politician or another, you know, because that might just 1139 00:52:26,920 --> 00:52:28,839 Speaker 7: be you got a close relationship with this person, but 1140 00:52:29,120 --> 00:52:31,160 Speaker 7: they don't understand that because they runt against each other. 1141 00:52:31,239 --> 00:52:33,320 Speaker 7: So now if he gets here, she gets a position, 1142 00:52:33,520 --> 00:52:35,160 Speaker 7: they like, yeah, we ection you out of this money 1143 00:52:35,160 --> 00:52:36,840 Speaker 7: that we you know, you could have had had you 1144 00:52:36,920 --> 00:52:39,239 Speaker 7: voted for us or you to show to support. So 1145 00:52:39,400 --> 00:52:42,480 Speaker 7: like being intentional with who you support and how you support, 1146 00:52:43,160 --> 00:52:45,920 Speaker 7: which leads to another problem and challenge is how do 1147 00:52:45,960 --> 00:52:49,560 Speaker 7: you focus on internally and externally the internal part of 1148 00:52:49,560 --> 00:52:52,640 Speaker 7: the organization learning finance, management, learning how to manage a 1149 00:52:52,680 --> 00:52:55,160 Speaker 7: team as you grow, learning how to manage new systems 1150 00:52:55,160 --> 00:52:58,400 Speaker 7: that you need, HR consultants, learning all of that, and 1151 00:52:58,440 --> 00:53:00,839 Speaker 7: then the external pressures of we had this event, can 1152 00:53:00,840 --> 00:53:02,759 Speaker 7: you come support? Oh, Hey, can you do this or 1153 00:53:02,760 --> 00:53:04,640 Speaker 7: we want to do a collaboration or can you come 1154 00:53:04,680 --> 00:53:06,960 Speaker 7: to this? Like it's a lot of like just being 1155 00:53:07,000 --> 00:53:10,000 Speaker 7: pulled tuggle wall from two different directions, you know, and 1156 00:53:11,200 --> 00:53:13,520 Speaker 7: those challenges are ready exhausting. But I think if you 1157 00:53:13,560 --> 00:53:17,160 Speaker 7: stay true to your needs right and your mission, everything 1158 00:53:17,160 --> 00:53:18,040 Speaker 7: else is going to follow. 1159 00:53:18,239 --> 00:53:23,319 Speaker 8: What about the challenge of alluded to emotional intelligence? You're 1160 00:53:23,320 --> 00:53:26,160 Speaker 8: a full time entrepreneur, You're in an organization, but you 1161 00:53:26,200 --> 00:53:28,680 Speaker 8: also have a personal side, right, So like, how are 1162 00:53:28,719 --> 00:53:29,560 Speaker 8: you managing that? 1163 00:53:29,719 --> 00:53:29,759 Speaker 2: Is? 1164 00:53:30,120 --> 00:53:31,280 Speaker 3: I know you mentioned therapy. 1165 00:53:31,840 --> 00:53:33,920 Speaker 8: Is that something that goes on a continuing basis? Like, 1166 00:53:33,960 --> 00:53:36,359 Speaker 8: how are you managing this? Because I mean it's new 1167 00:53:37,040 --> 00:53:39,879 Speaker 8: a lot of people. Entrepreneurship is new for sure, and 1168 00:53:40,040 --> 00:53:42,120 Speaker 8: there's no book on how to handle it, right, there's 1169 00:53:42,200 --> 00:53:43,800 Speaker 8: ups and downs. How would you manage it? 1170 00:53:44,239 --> 00:53:47,359 Speaker 7: Yeah? No, for sure. Well I'm literally seeing therapy right 1171 00:53:47,520 --> 00:53:50,439 Speaker 7: every Monday, every Monday evening. I got a good brother 1172 00:53:50,520 --> 00:53:52,840 Speaker 7: that you know, gives me great perspective on my life. 1173 00:53:53,200 --> 00:53:55,759 Speaker 7: So therapy is one of my outlets. Also a lot 1174 00:53:55,760 --> 00:53:59,279 Speaker 7: of trainings right even for me and my team, we 1175 00:53:59,320 --> 00:54:03,080 Speaker 7: actually are implementing. Uh, it's something that we do for 1176 00:54:03,120 --> 00:54:05,560 Speaker 7: the youth when they're in distress. We're doing something for 1177 00:54:05,600 --> 00:54:08,400 Speaker 7: the team, right to provide a safe space so that 1178 00:54:08,520 --> 00:54:10,480 Speaker 7: when they come into this space, they have the village 1179 00:54:10,520 --> 00:54:13,600 Speaker 7: to support them. Because as you said, right, like life 1180 00:54:13,640 --> 00:54:15,960 Speaker 7: is lifing, Right, you got family, got loved ones. I 1181 00:54:16,000 --> 00:54:17,440 Speaker 7: lost a lot of people. We lost a lot of 1182 00:54:17,440 --> 00:54:19,400 Speaker 7: people in the last two year seven in counting. You 1183 00:54:19,400 --> 00:54:22,160 Speaker 7: know what I'm saying, something to gun violence. So dealing 1184 00:54:22,160 --> 00:54:24,000 Speaker 7: with those traumas, right, you need to just find a 1185 00:54:24,000 --> 00:54:25,880 Speaker 7: way to outlet, like you need an outlet, right, So 1186 00:54:26,280 --> 00:54:30,000 Speaker 7: beside us leaning on each other, therapy, and also learning 1187 00:54:30,040 --> 00:54:33,040 Speaker 7: to just focus on my self care like slowing my 1188 00:54:33,080 --> 00:54:35,440 Speaker 7: life down. I'm going to school full time right now. 1189 00:54:35,440 --> 00:54:37,719 Speaker 7: That's another thing. Right, I'm in school full time and 1190 00:54:37,800 --> 00:54:41,040 Speaker 7: running the organization, and life is lifing. So what I'm 1191 00:54:41,120 --> 00:54:43,520 Speaker 7: learning is to try to find balance and just taking 1192 00:54:43,600 --> 00:54:47,640 Speaker 7: time to myself, turn off my phone and just staying still. 1193 00:54:48,200 --> 00:54:51,239 Speaker 7: So sometimes that helps, right, And then the other things 1194 00:54:51,280 --> 00:54:54,600 Speaker 7: I mentioned, and just being a student of the game 1195 00:54:54,640 --> 00:54:56,400 Speaker 7: and being humbled about it. 1196 00:54:56,440 --> 00:54:56,600 Speaker 3: Man. 1197 00:54:57,320 --> 00:55:01,440 Speaker 5: So as far as said, you had a nervous breakdown 1198 00:55:01,640 --> 00:55:03,520 Speaker 5: or mental breakdown something. 1199 00:55:03,400 --> 00:55:06,080 Speaker 7: Right, with nervous breakdown, a mental breakdown breakdown, but. 1200 00:55:06,120 --> 00:55:09,279 Speaker 5: We never really compounded upon that. So, all right, as 1201 00:55:09,320 --> 00:55:12,200 Speaker 5: far as that is concerned, right, talk about that. As 1202 00:55:12,200 --> 00:55:14,920 Speaker 5: far as being incarcerated, what does that do to your 1203 00:55:14,920 --> 00:55:17,840 Speaker 5: mental health? Like even being in solitary confinement, There's been 1204 00:55:18,040 --> 00:55:20,600 Speaker 5: research said that I think like after like a couple 1205 00:55:20,640 --> 00:55:25,760 Speaker 5: of days, like you kind of clinically start to deteriorate mentally, 1206 00:55:25,800 --> 00:55:28,040 Speaker 5: like especially some people being the whole for six months, 1207 00:55:28,120 --> 00:55:29,680 Speaker 5: like three months at a time, Like you know, it's 1208 00:55:29,680 --> 00:55:34,560 Speaker 5: just like a lot of mental illness that comes from 1209 00:55:34,640 --> 00:55:38,680 Speaker 5: isolation that comes from just being around men all day, 1210 00:55:38,719 --> 00:55:41,880 Speaker 5: that comes from having trauma of seeing people killed in 1211 00:55:41,920 --> 00:55:43,960 Speaker 5: front of you, stabbed in front of you, dealing with 1212 00:55:44,040 --> 00:55:48,719 Speaker 5: CEOs that you know, abuse prisoners. It's a whole mental. 1213 00:55:48,400 --> 00:55:49,120 Speaker 3: Aspect of this. 1214 00:55:49,520 --> 00:55:54,000 Speaker 5: So we'll talk about the mental side effects of being incarcerated. 1215 00:55:54,440 --> 00:55:57,200 Speaker 7: Yeah, So interestingly, segrais into what I was talking about 1216 00:55:57,200 --> 00:56:01,560 Speaker 7: with the team with actually for those who serve time, right, 1217 00:56:01,560 --> 00:56:04,799 Speaker 7: there's an article about the psychological impacts of prison, and 1218 00:56:04,840 --> 00:56:07,759 Speaker 7: we're all dissecting that article and identifying ourselves in it. 1219 00:56:08,160 --> 00:56:10,319 Speaker 7: So we're trying to build awareness of our trauma in 1220 00:56:10,360 --> 00:56:13,640 Speaker 7: order to overcome it. That's another thing, right, but the 1221 00:56:13,680 --> 00:56:15,120 Speaker 7: psychological impacts is deep. 1222 00:56:15,200 --> 00:56:15,359 Speaker 3: Right. 1223 00:56:15,600 --> 00:56:18,200 Speaker 7: I could go on and on, right, but for me, 1224 00:56:18,640 --> 00:56:24,320 Speaker 7: you know, part of what just feeling like, the feeling 1225 00:56:24,400 --> 00:56:34,160 Speaker 7: like its way so feeling like. So one of the 1226 00:56:34,200 --> 00:56:37,640 Speaker 7: concepts is that like when you have served so much time, right, 1227 00:56:37,680 --> 00:56:40,920 Speaker 7: you feel abnormal, Right, you come out into this world. 1228 00:56:41,320 --> 00:56:43,880 Speaker 7: And I think part of my urge with building the 1229 00:56:43,920 --> 00:56:46,160 Speaker 7: support group was to try to like be around like 1230 00:56:46,200 --> 00:56:49,960 Speaker 7: minded people because there's this like otherness, this this concept 1231 00:56:50,040 --> 00:56:50,560 Speaker 7: of the other. 1232 00:56:50,840 --> 00:56:51,040 Speaker 4: Right. 1233 00:56:51,440 --> 00:56:53,759 Speaker 7: You know, it's a lot of Afrile American scholars talked 1234 00:56:53,760 --> 00:56:55,920 Speaker 7: about being the other in the white man's space, feeling 1235 00:56:55,960 --> 00:56:58,960 Speaker 7: like the outside of the stranger. So the stranger concept 1236 00:56:59,000 --> 00:57:00,920 Speaker 7: is that I walked with that a lot, right, you know, 1237 00:57:01,040 --> 00:57:03,839 Speaker 7: being in spaces where I did thirteen years, someone around 1238 00:57:03,880 --> 00:57:06,640 Speaker 7: men talking about traveling and they're like, I just can't dubai. 1239 00:57:07,120 --> 00:57:09,440 Speaker 3: You feel like so uncomfortable. 1240 00:57:09,040 --> 00:57:12,520 Speaker 7: Uncomfortable, you can't partake in the conversation, you can't relate, right, 1241 00:57:12,600 --> 00:57:14,680 Speaker 7: you don't like you just did your whole thirteen years 1242 00:57:14,719 --> 00:57:18,120 Speaker 7: and your adult years in prison, right, So is. 1243 00:57:18,120 --> 00:57:20,480 Speaker 5: It some level of embarrassment, like you don't even want 1244 00:57:20,480 --> 00:57:22,800 Speaker 5: to tell people that you were incarcerated type like. 1245 00:57:23,080 --> 00:57:25,240 Speaker 7: Well, for me, some people do have that. They have 1246 00:57:25,360 --> 00:57:28,080 Speaker 7: this shame of the identity. I owned it from this gate, 1247 00:57:28,160 --> 00:57:30,400 Speaker 7: like it became my advantage. Actually, right, it became my 1248 00:57:30,480 --> 00:57:33,600 Speaker 7: currency because some people didn't know I served time. Right, 1249 00:57:33,600 --> 00:57:35,080 Speaker 7: I might've been working when I was at the fashion 1250 00:57:35,080 --> 00:57:37,040 Speaker 7: production company. People were like, oh, you know you did 1251 00:57:37,080 --> 00:57:39,120 Speaker 7: thirteen years. I would have never knew. So, like I 1252 00:57:39,160 --> 00:57:41,480 Speaker 7: always didn't mind it. But some people are ashamed of 1253 00:57:41,520 --> 00:57:44,160 Speaker 7: where they came from, so they keep it deep down inside, 1254 00:57:44,440 --> 00:57:44,640 Speaker 7: you know. 1255 00:57:45,240 --> 00:57:46,760 Speaker 5: But you know the guy that not to cut you off, 1256 00:57:46,760 --> 00:57:49,640 Speaker 5: the guy that runs Jordan Brand, no history. 1257 00:57:50,120 --> 00:57:50,760 Speaker 7: Nah. 1258 00:57:50,800 --> 00:57:54,680 Speaker 5: So the guy that runs Jordan Brand, he he killed 1259 00:57:54,680 --> 00:57:57,680 Speaker 5: somebody years ago and he went to jail for it. 1260 00:57:58,120 --> 00:57:59,919 Speaker 5: But it was like a thing that nobody knew about. 1261 00:58:00,080 --> 00:58:03,080 Speaker 5: So he worked his way obviously a very intelligent person, 1262 00:58:03,240 --> 00:58:05,360 Speaker 5: he worked his way up the corporate ladder to the 1263 00:58:05,400 --> 00:58:10,080 Speaker 5: point where the CEO of Jordan Brand, and it was 1264 00:58:10,120 --> 00:58:13,640 Speaker 5: something that it haunted him not having. 1265 00:58:13,480 --> 00:58:15,880 Speaker 3: Nobody knew about it. It was like a secret that nobody knew. 1266 00:58:16,440 --> 00:58:19,880 Speaker 5: And he like recently, like last year, two years ago, 1267 00:58:20,120 --> 00:58:23,360 Speaker 5: he wrote an article and that was like him coming 1268 00:58:23,360 --> 00:58:27,280 Speaker 5: out and telling his past. But for twenty years nobody 1269 00:58:27,360 --> 00:58:30,560 Speaker 5: knew his past history, so it was one of these things. 1270 00:58:30,600 --> 00:58:32,120 Speaker 5: And like I said, he probably could have went to 1271 00:58:32,160 --> 00:58:33,960 Speaker 5: the grave with it, right. I guess it was before 1272 00:58:34,600 --> 00:58:36,920 Speaker 5: laws was so transparent where everything was you know, it 1273 00:58:36,960 --> 00:58:39,680 Speaker 5: was probably like in the sixties or something. But he 1274 00:58:40,800 --> 00:58:43,360 Speaker 5: didn't feel comfortable living a double life. He felt like 1275 00:58:43,400 --> 00:58:46,560 Speaker 5: he just you know, like he had suppressed it and 1276 00:58:46,640 --> 00:58:49,480 Speaker 5: he was just hiding it for so long that even 1277 00:58:49,520 --> 00:58:52,280 Speaker 5: though nobody knew about it, it just was causing him 1278 00:58:52,320 --> 00:58:55,400 Speaker 5: anxiety because he knew about it and he wanted it 1279 00:58:55,400 --> 00:58:56,560 Speaker 5: to kind of get it off his chest. 1280 00:58:57,040 --> 00:59:00,600 Speaker 7: Yeah. No, no, it's is deep on somehow, I'm blessed, 1281 00:59:00,720 --> 00:59:02,360 Speaker 7: you know, by the grace of God in that way 1282 00:59:02,400 --> 00:59:05,960 Speaker 7: where I was always okay with being vulnerable. You know 1283 00:59:06,000 --> 00:59:07,800 Speaker 7: what I'm saying. I think that we're so guarded when 1284 00:59:07,800 --> 00:59:11,000 Speaker 7: we come out that we want to like protect this 1285 00:59:11,160 --> 00:59:13,840 Speaker 7: narrative and it's like, now, let people know who you are. Right. 1286 00:59:14,240 --> 00:59:16,280 Speaker 7: So for me, I came home open to that, but 1287 00:59:16,680 --> 00:59:19,640 Speaker 7: I never really felt like my people's understood me. Right, 1288 00:59:19,680 --> 00:59:22,280 Speaker 7: So being the stranger, you know, there's times where like 1289 00:59:22,640 --> 00:59:25,120 Speaker 7: I don't play with the hands. I was called too serious, 1290 00:59:25,280 --> 00:59:27,400 Speaker 7: Oh you know, loosen up man, Like, you know what 1291 00:59:27,400 --> 00:59:29,080 Speaker 7: I mean, you mad like on something, and it's like, 1292 00:59:29,160 --> 00:59:32,400 Speaker 7: I just came from a hyper violent environment, right, so 1293 00:59:32,520 --> 00:59:35,520 Speaker 7: like I can't just be flexible, and it took me 1294 00:59:35,600 --> 00:59:38,840 Speaker 7: time to like loosen up to new faces trust issues. 1295 00:59:38,960 --> 00:59:39,160 Speaker 3: Right. 1296 00:59:39,440 --> 00:59:41,919 Speaker 7: I was questioning everybody in my bros to circle like nah, 1297 00:59:41,960 --> 00:59:43,840 Speaker 7: like you know because of my own trauma people telling 1298 00:59:44,680 --> 00:59:47,240 Speaker 7: So you start to generalize, and that's delusion, right, You 1299 00:59:47,280 --> 00:59:49,760 Speaker 7: start to think everyone is who you experienced. That's like 1300 00:59:49,800 --> 00:59:53,040 Speaker 7: literally delusion. And one of the biggest experiences I've remember 1301 00:59:53,160 --> 00:59:55,560 Speaker 7: was being in barbershops, right, you know what I'm saying. 1302 00:59:55,560 --> 00:59:58,680 Speaker 7: You behind the chair again, a lineup and one dude 1303 00:59:58,760 --> 01:00:00,680 Speaker 7: pulled up. He was a former cop, that's the funny part, 1304 01:00:00,720 --> 01:00:02,360 Speaker 7: pulled it with a hoodie on his hands in his pocket. 1305 01:00:02,400 --> 01:00:04,400 Speaker 7: I jumped up dumbfast, you know what I mean. I 1306 01:00:04,440 --> 01:00:05,760 Speaker 7: just came home to a town that I took a 1307 01:00:05,800 --> 01:00:08,680 Speaker 7: life from. Right. So those type of things where people 1308 01:00:08,680 --> 01:00:11,200 Speaker 7: do understand your anxiety. Is the first time I hit 1309 01:00:11,240 --> 01:00:13,120 Speaker 7: in New York City to go to a contract, I 1310 01:00:13,160 --> 01:00:15,600 Speaker 7: seen like a heard of people and it's reminded me 1311 01:00:15,640 --> 01:00:18,640 Speaker 7: of the yard, Like people won't know what you're walking through. 1312 01:00:18,640 --> 01:00:21,800 Speaker 7: People walking past you you like yo, you on super edge. 1313 01:00:22,200 --> 01:00:24,840 Speaker 7: So those moments made you feel abnormal, Like it made 1314 01:00:24,880 --> 01:00:27,040 Speaker 7: you feel broken, you know what I'm saying. And it's 1315 01:00:27,160 --> 01:00:29,760 Speaker 7: like what I learned was like accepting it that that's 1316 01:00:29,800 --> 01:00:32,520 Speaker 7: a I'm scarred in that way. Right, It's not really 1317 01:00:32,560 --> 01:00:35,080 Speaker 7: what happened, it's how I react to it because I 1318 01:00:35,080 --> 01:00:37,360 Speaker 7: can't change the past now, right, It's how I move forward. 1319 01:00:38,000 --> 01:00:40,640 Speaker 7: But those type of things, man are constantly walking with us. 1320 01:00:40,680 --> 01:00:43,520 Speaker 7: And I was just speaking at on Pacer University yesterday 1321 01:00:43,520 --> 01:00:46,120 Speaker 7: for the law school there, and I talked about the 1322 01:00:46,160 --> 01:00:49,280 Speaker 7: symbolic baggage of trauma that we all walk with on 1323 01:00:49,320 --> 01:00:52,000 Speaker 7: our backs, right, And I felt the heaviness of that 1324 01:00:52,040 --> 01:00:53,800 Speaker 7: trauma when I was in the school. You know what 1325 01:00:53,800 --> 01:00:55,800 Speaker 7: I'm saying. There was mad times I was in that school, 1326 01:00:55,880 --> 01:00:58,800 Speaker 7: Brugie Elite school, and I felt like didn't I ain't 1327 01:00:58,800 --> 01:01:00,720 Speaker 7: belong you know what I'm saying. It's like you feel 1328 01:01:00,720 --> 01:01:02,960 Speaker 7: like the stranger. And that feeling is an internal thing, 1329 01:01:03,360 --> 01:01:05,120 Speaker 7: you know what I'm saying. And to get even deeper, 1330 01:01:05,680 --> 01:01:08,280 Speaker 7: you know, with your relationships, right, you know, some of 1331 01:01:08,360 --> 01:01:10,680 Speaker 7: us got like you know, issues with our family, our 1332 01:01:10,720 --> 01:01:13,320 Speaker 7: fathers or moms right, And if you know, I served 1333 01:01:13,360 --> 01:01:15,640 Speaker 7: so much time as a kid, so like I learned 1334 01:01:15,680 --> 01:01:17,880 Speaker 7: that the impact that prison had on me was like 1335 01:01:17,920 --> 01:01:20,440 Speaker 7: the abandonment issue, right, you know, I ain't see people 1336 01:01:20,440 --> 01:01:23,280 Speaker 7: for so long, so you have trust issues, you know, 1337 01:01:23,680 --> 01:01:26,760 Speaker 7: in relationships, you see it come out right, and that's 1338 01:01:26,800 --> 01:01:28,920 Speaker 7: where you need to understand the partner and you need 1339 01:01:28,960 --> 01:01:30,920 Speaker 7: to be aware of your own triggers, you know. And 1340 01:01:30,960 --> 01:01:32,800 Speaker 7: the good thing when I was working with the Why 1341 01:01:32,920 --> 01:01:36,000 Speaker 7: on the DCJS, like I got to understand trauma informed 1342 01:01:36,040 --> 01:01:39,520 Speaker 7: practices and how to like really like let go some 1343 01:01:39,640 --> 01:01:42,320 Speaker 7: of the issues I was holding on too. So a 1344 01:01:42,360 --> 01:01:45,040 Speaker 7: lot of it is just letting go and understanding that 1345 01:01:45,120 --> 01:01:45,520 Speaker 7: it's there. 1346 01:01:45,800 --> 01:01:45,960 Speaker 3: Right. 1347 01:01:46,480 --> 01:01:48,480 Speaker 7: A lot of us move into avoidance. A lot of men, 1348 01:01:48,560 --> 01:01:50,920 Speaker 7: I know, even on my team, like you become so 1349 01:01:51,000 --> 01:01:53,120 Speaker 7: self sufficient in prison that you come out here think 1350 01:01:53,160 --> 01:01:55,680 Speaker 7: I do everything by yourself. And I'm like, that's a 1351 01:01:55,720 --> 01:01:58,520 Speaker 7: trauma response, right, you don't realize you're not in prison 1352 01:01:58,560 --> 01:02:00,400 Speaker 7: no more. Bro, You got the world out here, You 1353 01:02:00,440 --> 01:02:02,360 Speaker 7: got people to call, you know what I'm saying. We 1354 01:02:02,400 --> 01:02:04,760 Speaker 7: had a deep conversation the other day with a brother 1355 01:02:04,800 --> 01:02:09,000 Speaker 7: that just did from sixteen to thirty nine years old right, 1356 01:02:09,560 --> 01:02:11,920 Speaker 7: one of my guys. Again, he identified somebody as a 1357 01:02:11,960 --> 01:02:15,280 Speaker 7: prospect for the organization. He's a Muslim brother. Again, diversity 1358 01:02:15,320 --> 01:02:17,720 Speaker 7: were looking to diversify the team. He just did all 1359 01:02:17,720 --> 01:02:20,440 Speaker 7: this time. Solid brother up North. I actually know him, 1360 01:02:20,680 --> 01:02:24,480 Speaker 7: and Yo, beautiful experience was that he was not a 1361 01:02:24,520 --> 01:02:27,520 Speaker 7: prospect to serve. He needs to be receiver. He needs 1362 01:02:27,520 --> 01:02:29,320 Speaker 7: to be a recipient. He's like, Yo, I've been on 1363 01:02:29,440 --> 01:02:31,760 Speaker 7: five months and I'm like, you know, struggling. I'm like 1364 01:02:31,880 --> 01:02:33,760 Speaker 7: trying to figure it out. He's like, I need help. 1365 01:02:34,480 --> 01:02:36,280 Speaker 7: And that might have been the first time he said 1366 01:02:36,320 --> 01:02:38,640 Speaker 7: that because for five months he's like, I got to 1367 01:02:38,640 --> 01:02:40,560 Speaker 7: do this on my own. Like, this is mindset that 1368 01:02:40,600 --> 01:02:43,240 Speaker 7: we have coming home from so and it's because prison, 1369 01:02:43,560 --> 01:02:46,480 Speaker 7: you know, makes you have to protect yourself from allowing yourself. 1370 01:02:47,000 --> 01:02:49,600 Speaker 7: I talk about three battles that we experience in prison. 1371 01:02:49,920 --> 01:02:53,120 Speaker 7: You battling against the correction officers. That's a whole other culture, right, 1372 01:02:53,200 --> 01:02:55,480 Speaker 7: especially up North aut no white boys up North. That 1373 01:02:55,640 --> 01:02:59,320 Speaker 7: coach is mad conservative. Right. Then you're battling with yours, right, 1374 01:02:59,800 --> 01:03:04,400 Speaker 7: the just the segregation, the doggy dog world, the back door, right, 1375 01:03:05,080 --> 01:03:07,200 Speaker 7: and then you battle them with your own internal demons. 1376 01:03:07,560 --> 01:03:09,560 Speaker 7: You know what those three fights every day feel like. 1377 01:03:09,640 --> 01:03:12,120 Speaker 7: After many years, you come home and look at people different, 1378 01:03:12,160 --> 01:03:14,720 Speaker 7: your friendships, you define them differently. You know a lot 1379 01:03:14,760 --> 01:03:17,040 Speaker 7: of my brothers that I like, really feel my brothers 1380 01:03:17,080 --> 01:03:19,120 Speaker 7: is brothers who I did time with that's home now 1381 01:03:19,160 --> 01:03:21,920 Speaker 7: celebrating life for me, you know, despite my real brothers. 1382 01:03:21,920 --> 01:03:24,560 Speaker 7: But you know, so it's like it changes your dynamic 1383 01:03:24,640 --> 01:03:26,040 Speaker 7: with people, you know what I mean. 1384 01:03:26,440 --> 01:03:30,240 Speaker 8: Part part of the growth is not only helping those 1385 01:03:30,240 --> 01:03:34,320 Speaker 8: are returning, but preventing those from actually becoming incarcerators. I know, 1386 01:03:34,360 --> 01:03:38,240 Speaker 8: obviously spoke about the why talk about impact and speaking 1387 01:03:38,240 --> 01:03:41,440 Speaker 8: to the youth because as we've see especially in New 1388 01:03:41,520 --> 01:03:44,440 Speaker 8: York City and I mean I mean picker in the 1389 01:03:44,520 --> 01:03:46,960 Speaker 8: city like Kang Grounds, is that the ald time facts, 1390 01:03:47,800 --> 01:03:51,000 Speaker 8: So talk about the mission that you're on in that aspect, 1391 01:03:51,040 --> 01:03:53,040 Speaker 8: because I mean that's not even. 1392 01:03:52,880 --> 01:03:55,400 Speaker 7: More important for sure, for sure. So you know, part 1393 01:03:55,440 --> 01:03:58,040 Speaker 7: of we kind of categorize our work in two ways, 1394 01:03:58,080 --> 01:04:00,560 Speaker 7: right the preventative services is what I'm a lean on 1395 01:04:00,560 --> 01:04:02,920 Speaker 7: in the second and then the transformative work. So the 1396 01:04:02,960 --> 01:04:06,160 Speaker 7: transformatives work is when we're going inside the correctional facilities. 1397 01:04:06,160 --> 01:04:08,440 Speaker 7: So right now we're in Woodfield County jail and working 1398 01:04:08,480 --> 01:04:11,280 Speaker 7: with youth coming out of OCFS state detention centers. The 1399 01:04:11,320 --> 01:04:13,760 Speaker 7: work that we do is to try to inspire transformative 1400 01:04:13,840 --> 01:04:17,320 Speaker 7: taking through programming like I mentioned financial educations. Wanted them right, 1401 01:04:17,400 --> 01:04:20,200 Speaker 7: you know, giving them just one a person to connect 1402 01:04:20,240 --> 01:04:22,120 Speaker 7: with who know that we're going to support them, showing 1403 01:04:22,200 --> 01:04:24,320 Speaker 7: up the court with them and all that, helping them like, yo, 1404 01:04:24,360 --> 01:04:26,120 Speaker 7: we want to see you when you get out of here. 1405 01:04:26,240 --> 01:04:28,920 Speaker 7: Change that thinking because some of them never had that. 1406 01:04:28,920 --> 01:04:31,400 Speaker 7: They don't know what love is, like it's that deep, right, So, 1407 01:04:31,480 --> 01:04:33,720 Speaker 7: like we're trying to change how they view their relationships 1408 01:04:33,760 --> 01:04:35,680 Speaker 7: with people because they traumatized being in the hood or 1409 01:04:35,720 --> 01:04:37,640 Speaker 7: they see and violence, So going up in there and 1410 01:04:37,640 --> 01:04:39,440 Speaker 7: trying to change that narrative so that when they return 1411 01:04:39,520 --> 01:04:41,960 Speaker 7: home they tap into our community. And that leads to 1412 01:04:42,000 --> 01:04:43,920 Speaker 7: the other program, the one Step Ahead part, and it's 1413 01:04:43,960 --> 01:04:45,600 Speaker 7: preventive in the sense that we're trying to prevent them 1414 01:04:45,600 --> 01:04:48,000 Speaker 7: from going back. So that's giving them all the aspects 1415 01:04:48,040 --> 01:04:52,760 Speaker 7: of training from career readiness, education, financial, digital, and being 1416 01:04:52,800 --> 01:04:56,320 Speaker 7: a mentor to them while they transition, right, so any 1417 01:04:56,440 --> 01:04:58,920 Speaker 7: needs that they have upon their return. We are my 1418 01:04:59,040 --> 01:05:02,040 Speaker 7: team and myself working on supporting those needs just again 1419 01:05:02,120 --> 01:05:06,280 Speaker 7: so that they don't revert back. The preventative part is 1420 01:05:06,600 --> 01:05:09,439 Speaker 7: disrupting the school to prison pipeline, right, disrupting the child 1421 01:05:09,480 --> 01:05:12,800 Speaker 7: welfare in prison pipeline right. And when we looking at 1422 01:05:12,800 --> 01:05:14,880 Speaker 7: the kids in the school, right, we're talking about these 1423 01:05:14,920 --> 01:05:17,680 Speaker 7: kids that are either gang influenced because they're not really active, 1424 01:05:17,720 --> 01:05:20,360 Speaker 7: they just influenced. Then you got gang involved. Those are 1425 01:05:20,400 --> 01:05:22,520 Speaker 7: the hitters, right, or the want to be hitters because 1426 01:05:22,520 --> 01:05:25,000 Speaker 7: some of them are involved. And you know, so our 1427 01:05:25,040 --> 01:05:27,160 Speaker 7: programming with the school is the preventative part. And what 1428 01:05:27,200 --> 01:05:29,520 Speaker 7: we've been doing is sending in a team to these 1429 01:05:29,520 --> 01:05:32,280 Speaker 7: different schools. We introduce the work that we do and 1430 01:05:32,320 --> 01:05:35,800 Speaker 7: then if most times the youth show actual interests and 1431 01:05:35,800 --> 01:05:38,600 Speaker 7: they want to sign up, and the teachers are always baffled, 1432 01:05:38,600 --> 01:05:40,960 Speaker 7: like yo HOI y'all get them to be interested, I'm like, 1433 01:05:41,000 --> 01:05:43,320 Speaker 7: because they never met somebody did thirteen years that kids 1434 01:05:43,320 --> 01:05:45,520 Speaker 7: about them, right, they see like, oh this is who 1435 01:05:45,640 --> 01:05:47,240 Speaker 7: my uncle did. Time. Now we relate to them in 1436 01:05:47,280 --> 01:05:49,439 Speaker 7: a different way. And then what we do with them 1437 01:05:49,560 --> 01:05:52,720 Speaker 7: is we try to work with the guardians, right, provide 1438 01:05:52,720 --> 01:05:55,040 Speaker 7: the parents' support, and then work with the youth and 1439 01:05:55,080 --> 01:05:58,000 Speaker 7: getting them into programming, right, whether it's a workshop, whether 1440 01:05:58,040 --> 01:06:00,600 Speaker 7: it's a coaching session around something that they want to learn. 1441 01:06:00,840 --> 01:06:03,560 Speaker 7: Sometimes we sponsor programs if they like, we give them 1442 01:06:03,920 --> 01:06:07,040 Speaker 7: an incentive like, look, you like music. My brother owns 1443 01:06:07,080 --> 01:06:09,360 Speaker 7: a studio right called the Hub Studio in Yonkers, right, 1444 01:06:09,640 --> 01:06:11,919 Speaker 7: So we sent kids there on our dollar to pay 1445 01:06:11,920 --> 01:06:13,960 Speaker 7: for their studio time. Keep them off the streets. But 1446 01:06:14,000 --> 01:06:16,040 Speaker 7: while we're end there, we educating and working with them, 1447 01:06:16,080 --> 01:06:18,200 Speaker 7: building with them right and showing them that we can 1448 01:06:18,280 --> 01:06:21,240 Speaker 7: then working with the guardian. The goal is that our 1449 01:06:21,280 --> 01:06:25,840 Speaker 7: community right underserved under resource lacks that support mechanism from 1450 01:06:25,880 --> 01:06:28,280 Speaker 7: people that look like them. That's where the one in 1451 01:06:28,360 --> 01:06:30,880 Speaker 7: one of us coming in at right. I'm with Grassroots, 1452 01:06:31,000 --> 01:06:33,960 Speaker 7: So as a nonprofit, we're born from the community, come 1453 01:06:33,960 --> 01:06:36,040 Speaker 7: from the community. So people understand this. They know my 1454 01:06:36,120 --> 01:06:38,280 Speaker 7: story a lot of people you know, and they know 1455 01:06:38,360 --> 01:06:40,920 Speaker 7: my team story. So when we show up at your doorstep, 1456 01:06:41,320 --> 01:06:44,280 Speaker 7: it's like a different situation, right than CPS showing at 1457 01:06:44,280 --> 01:06:46,560 Speaker 7: your doorstep, you know what I'm saying. So the preventative 1458 01:06:46,560 --> 01:06:48,680 Speaker 7: part is again just trying to work with them, getting 1459 01:06:48,720 --> 01:06:50,840 Speaker 7: them out of gang culture, you know what I'm saying. 1460 01:06:50,880 --> 01:06:53,920 Speaker 7: We're working on keeping them out of the streets. Sometimes 1461 01:06:53,960 --> 01:06:56,200 Speaker 7: it's not that easy and clean. Sometimes they one for 1462 01:06:56,400 --> 01:06:59,120 Speaker 7: all the way in and all into our world. Right 1463 01:06:59,120 --> 01:07:01,240 Speaker 7: we're trying to like that that's the battle, because they're 1464 01:07:01,280 --> 01:07:04,360 Speaker 7: really caught up, right, So our work is to be consistent, 1465 01:07:04,440 --> 01:07:06,840 Speaker 7: be authentic and walk along their journey one day at 1466 01:07:06,880 --> 01:07:09,840 Speaker 7: a time and with the hope that we continue showing 1467 01:07:09,880 --> 01:07:12,880 Speaker 7: them options and exposure to resources that that could take 1468 01:07:12,920 --> 01:07:15,680 Speaker 7: him away. You know. So our thing is and then 1469 01:07:15,680 --> 01:07:18,880 Speaker 7: by default talking my gun violence prevention, we start mediating conflicts, 1470 01:07:19,240 --> 01:07:21,760 Speaker 7: right like I might have one youth that knows another 1471 01:07:21,800 --> 01:07:25,680 Speaker 7: youth that actually really happened. And one youth commented on 1472 01:07:25,720 --> 01:07:28,480 Speaker 7: somebody's page online on ig is like the source of 1473 01:07:28,520 --> 01:07:32,120 Speaker 7: world war right now. And then one youth called me like, yo, 1474 01:07:32,160 --> 01:07:35,120 Speaker 7: bro out of line, I now I'm involved, meetiing like 1475 01:07:35,160 --> 01:07:38,560 Speaker 7: your whole long relaxed. And I appreciated him from doing 1476 01:07:38,560 --> 01:07:41,040 Speaker 7: that because he's all the way outside. He could have 1477 01:07:41,080 --> 01:07:42,840 Speaker 7: just handled that the way he wanted to, but he 1478 01:07:43,200 --> 01:07:46,920 Speaker 7: realized that we available. See that's also sometimes it's not 1479 01:07:47,000 --> 01:07:49,480 Speaker 7: that deep, just being available for the young boy to 1480 01:07:49,600 --> 01:07:51,200 Speaker 7: call like yo, I really want to make this move, 1481 01:07:51,240 --> 01:07:53,080 Speaker 7: but I know he would us man, you'll talk to him. 1482 01:07:53,320 --> 01:07:54,960 Speaker 7: Now we're talking to him and he's like, Yo, you're 1483 01:07:55,000 --> 01:07:57,360 Speaker 7: right our wild out. He's taking that down. And now 1484 01:07:57,400 --> 01:07:59,920 Speaker 7: that situation is media a life, two lives to save 1485 01:08:00,120 --> 01:08:03,400 Speaker 7: right there, right, So through the mentorship you have mediation happening. 1486 01:08:03,680 --> 01:08:05,959 Speaker 7: Then the goal is to get them into education based 1487 01:08:06,000 --> 01:08:09,680 Speaker 7: program and to change their thinking. And that's an ongoing process. 1488 01:08:10,160 --> 01:08:13,080 Speaker 3: So how can people help if they want to donate 1489 01:08:13,240 --> 01:08:14,520 Speaker 3: or what's to for sure? 1490 01:08:14,600 --> 01:08:17,639 Speaker 7: For sure? So you could find us on all social 1491 01:08:17,720 --> 01:08:21,720 Speaker 7: media platforms. We have a website ww dot now on 1492 01:08:21,840 --> 01:08:25,000 Speaker 7: for United dot org. There's a donate button there if 1493 01:08:25,000 --> 01:08:26,600 Speaker 7: you want to reach out to us directly and have 1494 01:08:26,640 --> 01:08:28,479 Speaker 7: a meeting with us before you want to donate, you 1495 01:08:28,520 --> 01:08:30,920 Speaker 7: could reach us at info at nine to one four 1496 01:08:31,040 --> 01:08:35,800 Speaker 7: United dot org. We have again social media TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, 1497 01:08:35,880 --> 01:08:39,040 Speaker 7: dm US shoot out to us, you know, to find 1498 01:08:39,040 --> 01:08:41,080 Speaker 7: different ways of payment methods. But if you want to 1499 01:08:41,120 --> 01:08:43,800 Speaker 7: go direct to our online on our website, you know. 1500 01:08:44,160 --> 01:08:48,800 Speaker 5: So is it to expand further than now on four? 1501 01:08:48,840 --> 01:08:51,320 Speaker 3: You just want to focus on Westchester. 1502 01:08:51,120 --> 01:08:54,360 Speaker 7: Great point right now? I need I need a full 1503 01:08:54,400 --> 01:08:57,360 Speaker 7: time staff. There's thirteen of us I mentioned a breakdown earlier, right, 1504 01:08:57,640 --> 01:09:00,639 Speaker 7: So we look in at one, secure the full time staff, 1505 01:09:00,840 --> 01:09:03,200 Speaker 7: build quality, right and focus on the quality here in 1506 01:09:03,280 --> 01:09:05,760 Speaker 7: Westchester because we've been offered to go to Rikers Island, 1507 01:09:05,800 --> 01:09:07,519 Speaker 7: We've been offered to go to the city, but there's 1508 01:09:07,520 --> 01:09:09,759 Speaker 7: a whole nother landscape out there, the money look different, 1509 01:09:09,840 --> 01:09:11,960 Speaker 7: there's a lot of a lot of political stuff going on. 1510 01:09:12,280 --> 01:09:15,440 Speaker 7: So my goal is to really like conquer Westchester. 1511 01:09:15,520 --> 01:09:15,640 Speaker 3: Right. 1512 01:09:15,680 --> 01:09:17,600 Speaker 7: We have a lot of villages in Westchester, like you 1513 01:09:17,600 --> 01:09:18,360 Speaker 7: know what I mean, it's a lot. 1514 01:09:18,600 --> 01:09:22,680 Speaker 3: So what areas you focus on? Obviously Yonker's Mount Vernon. 1515 01:09:22,400 --> 01:09:24,599 Speaker 7: We have youth that come out of Newburgh Mount Vernon. 1516 01:09:24,680 --> 01:09:28,560 Speaker 7: You skill is some in peak skill, New Vershelle, we 1517 01:09:28,640 --> 01:09:31,000 Speaker 7: have every few youth in New Rochelle, and we got 1518 01:09:31,000 --> 01:09:34,680 Speaker 7: one on our case slow now and even some of 1519 01:09:34,720 --> 01:09:36,920 Speaker 7: the Northeast Bronx now right that we have coming to 1520 01:09:37,080 --> 01:09:40,720 Speaker 7: us like yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. So like that's 1521 01:09:40,720 --> 01:09:42,639 Speaker 7: where we're at, right, But then we get called out 1522 01:09:42,640 --> 01:09:45,240 Speaker 7: to like Mount Kisco, they want to do work in there. Portchester. 1523 01:09:45,400 --> 01:09:49,000 Speaker 7: There's another need in Portchester. And again I turned, you know, 1524 01:09:49,080 --> 01:09:51,360 Speaker 7: situations down because like I can't chase the money because 1525 01:09:51,360 --> 01:09:53,599 Speaker 7: it's dead. We need to focus on home. So right 1526 01:09:53,640 --> 01:09:56,720 Speaker 7: now with our location in Yonkers Central Park Avenue tween 1527 01:09:56,760 --> 01:09:58,760 Speaker 7: twenty five, you know, we just we're doing the grand 1528 01:09:58,800 --> 01:10:01,120 Speaker 7: open in April twenty six, and it's to really let 1529 01:10:01,120 --> 01:10:03,280 Speaker 7: people know we got out that we planted our flag 1530 01:10:03,439 --> 01:10:06,080 Speaker 7: and we're going to start launching MAD programs. So the 1531 01:10:06,120 --> 01:10:08,559 Speaker 7: other part I really want to highlight is the linkage 1532 01:10:08,800 --> 01:10:12,840 Speaker 7: between those institutions. I talked about Woodfield County Jail OCFS, 1533 01:10:13,080 --> 01:10:16,320 Speaker 7: a direct linkage from there to our office. Right we're 1534 01:10:16,360 --> 01:10:18,200 Speaker 7: doing that, were doing it like in a more like 1535 01:10:18,240 --> 01:10:20,360 Speaker 7: decentralized way where we met them in the park at 1536 01:10:20,360 --> 01:10:22,840 Speaker 7: their house at the restaurant wen't have a location. Now, 1537 01:10:22,880 --> 01:10:24,320 Speaker 7: we want to make sure that they have a direct 1538 01:10:24,400 --> 01:10:27,160 Speaker 7: access to our space and get their education going and 1539 01:10:27,200 --> 01:10:30,559 Speaker 7: that basically continuing the mentorship program that we started. So 1540 01:10:31,479 --> 01:10:35,320 Speaker 7: I want to focus on Yanka's youth like primarily, but 1541 01:10:35,439 --> 01:10:38,320 Speaker 7: also because the county is so diverse and the program 1542 01:10:38,320 --> 01:10:40,799 Speaker 7: we work with in the county is the YOP program, 1543 01:10:41,000 --> 01:10:43,680 Speaker 7: the Youth Defender Program. We want to make sure that 1544 01:10:43,720 --> 01:10:46,439 Speaker 7: pipeline is clear and clean before we replicate that pipeline 1545 01:10:46,479 --> 01:10:48,000 Speaker 7: with the other parts of the general population. 1546 01:10:49,439 --> 01:10:51,960 Speaker 3: Well, keep up, keep up the good work man. 1547 01:10:52,160 --> 01:10:57,080 Speaker 5: Definitely, you know a lot of education, and it's definitely 1548 01:10:57,080 --> 01:11:00,280 Speaker 5: important because yeah, it's needed work. 1549 01:11:00,360 --> 01:11:02,360 Speaker 3: You know, you look at the gang violence right now. 1550 01:11:02,479 --> 01:11:05,799 Speaker 5: It's exploding and it's one of these things that nobody 1551 01:11:05,800 --> 01:11:08,400 Speaker 5: really has an answer for except for the people that's 1552 01:11:08,439 --> 01:11:10,200 Speaker 5: actually on the ground that have been through. What they 1553 01:11:10,200 --> 01:11:15,360 Speaker 5: can be you know, credible messengers to try to you know, 1554 01:11:15,479 --> 01:11:19,560 Speaker 5: provide a different way mediate situations and and give the 1555 01:11:19,640 --> 01:11:22,720 Speaker 5: kids a different outlet as opposed to just you know, 1556 01:11:22,800 --> 01:11:24,800 Speaker 5: something that's going to give the thirty years in jail. 1557 01:11:26,000 --> 01:11:29,240 Speaker 5: So definitely keep up the great work man. Appreciate you 1558 01:11:29,360 --> 01:11:32,439 Speaker 5: coming and help me my place. Yeah, man, I'm sure 1559 01:11:32,479 --> 01:11:34,080 Speaker 5: we'll be connecting. 1560 01:11:33,640 --> 01:11:36,960 Speaker 7: So yeah, for sure, for sure continue that discussion. Sure 1561 01:11:37,600 --> 01:11:40,680 Speaker 7: on the opening too, Yeah man, one for now, one 1562 01:11:40,720 --> 01:11:43,040 Speaker 7: for your net for sure. Brother. We here putting on 1563 01:11:43,080 --> 01:11:44,200 Speaker 7: for the city for sure. 1564 01:11:44,400 --> 01:11:45,920 Speaker 3: So thank you guys. Rocking on us to see you 1565 01:11:45,920 --> 01:11:46,599 Speaker 3: next week. Peace. 1566 01:11:47,439 --> 01:11:51,120 Speaker 1: An illegal alien from Guatemala charged with raping a child 1567 01:11:51,160 --> 01:11:54,960 Speaker 1: in Massachusetts. An MS thirteen gang member from El Salvador 1568 01:11:55,200 --> 01:11:59,320 Speaker 1: accused of murdering a Texas. Man of Venezuelan charged with 1569 01:11:59,400 --> 01:12:03,280 Speaker 1: filming and selling child pornography in Michigan. These are just 1570 01:12:03,400 --> 01:12:07,160 Speaker 1: some of the heinous migrant criminals caught because of President 1571 01:12:07,200 --> 01:12:10,719 Speaker 1: Donald J. Trump's leadership. I'm Christy Noman, the United States 1572 01:12:10,800 --> 01:12:15,559 Speaker 1: Secretary of Homeland Security. Under President Trump, attempted illegal border 1573 01:12:15,600 --> 01:12:19,160 Speaker 1: crossings are at the lowest levels ever recorded, and over 1574 01:12:19,240 --> 01:12:22,439 Speaker 1: one hundred thousand illegal aliens have been arrested. If you 1575 01:12:22,520 --> 01:12:26,360 Speaker 1: are here illegally, your next you will be fine nearly 1576 01:12:26,439 --> 01:12:30,479 Speaker 1: one thousand dollars a day, imprisoned, and deported. You will 1577 01:12:30,520 --> 01:12:34,160 Speaker 1: never return. But if you register using our CBP home 1578 01:12:34,200 --> 01:12:37,559 Speaker 1: app and leave now, you could be allowed to return legally. 1579 01:12:37,920 --> 01:12:42,679 Speaker 1: Do what's right. Leave now. Under President Trump, America's laws, 1580 01:12:42,840 --> 01:12:44,840 Speaker 1: border and families. 1581 01:12:44,479 --> 01:12:45,280 Speaker 7: Will be protected. 1582 01:12:45,400 --> 01:12:47,519 Speaker 2: Sponsored by the United States Department of Homeland Security.