 Welcome and thank you for joining us another episode of the nonprofit show. It is Monday and we have Sharon Jones with us today. Sharon is the executive director with paroled to pride and is going to share with us about this organization in which she started. But before we jump into the conversation with Sharon, we of course want to make sure that you know who we are, if we haven't met yet. Julia Patrick is here the CEO of the American nonprofit Academy. I'm Jared Ransom your nonprofit nerd CEO of the Raven group, and we are so extremely honored to have the continued support from our presenting sponsors. Thank you to blimmering. Thank you to the American nonprofit Academy fundraising Academy nonprofit nerd, your part time controller the nonprofit Atlas nonprofit thought leader as well as staffing boutique. Please do check out these sponsors because they keep this show going and growing and if you missed any of these live episodes you can of course find us on a variety of these channels Roku YouTube fire TV as well as Bimeo. And the latest that we just announced is our podcast form so one of the co host I won't name names but it's not me said that you shouldn't do one thing with just one purpose so here we are with more than 500 epic episodes of the nonprofit show. And we have bifurcated into having the podcast now so thrilled to have a dual purpose for our everyday broadcast so thank you to, to all of you and again to our sponsors that keep this show going and growing and welcome Sharon we are so thank you to talk to us. Yeah, to talk to us about parole for pride so welcome. Well, thank you. So you're coming to us from Mississippi. In the, in the, we were rousing you before we went live, because you can't our viewers can't see it but right behind Sharon's head. There's a banner for the cowboys NFL team. And you we were joking we're like well you just have to take that down and you're like, No, that was in the marriage contract in the marriage. That was great, you know marriages are hard families are hard, and you have an amazing story that led you to your nonprofit work that is really personal and we find this a lot with founders that something deep within their lives changes the trajectory of their life and I'm wondering, Sharon, if you would start us off by talking about your very profound founder story. Well, it's a real sense, sensitive subject. Parole the pride actually opened up. I'm getting a little emotional that it opened up some things that were suppressed. My brother was murdered in Attica by a correction officer. He was murdered. We my mom moved from Mississippi to New York City. She was in a domestic violence situation and at that time in that era they didn't have domestic violence awareness they didn't have any places she could go. My dad was mentally and physically physically abusive to my mom and my older siblings. When they divorced. My brother saw a need to sell drugs to help out. So he was selling drugs and my mom was trying to get him off the streets of selling drugs where she was trying to maintain her family of seven children. My brother eventually got arrested. And we all went down before the courts and he came home, and it became a cycle kept getting arrested. And the older he got he began to use drugs and I think that was a way of him dealing with the issue the family issues. So he began to use heroin. And try to sell to help us. But my brother was a very unique guy because even though he was out there doing that he did not want my other brother to go to prison. He always taught us to get your education make somebody alive, even though he was doing what he was doing. Eventually, it led him to Attica. And I remember us having we were teenagers my sister and I happened to go from Queens to Manhattan to catch a bus to go to Attica because my mom was working and she just wanted him to know that he had that family support. One thing that she told us is don't cry when you go see. And so we was like okay she was like because we don't want him think that we're not okay. So the first time that I went to see him I did cry. And I felt like a failure. And so I suppressed a lot of emotions going to see him, even when he passed away some of the suppressed emotion I don't remember the funeral. I don't remember crying, even though I was there. So, um, Wow, you know, I'm remarkably moved by your story. And I think that Jared would share this sentiment with me and that we get to talk with so many founders of nonprofits. And at the root of this so many of them have a private story and a pain and a threshold that drives them to do such important work. And so I really applaud you for stepping forward and sharing this. Because it is a, it's really a powerful powerful thing of pain and grief and experience that has led you to this remarkable organization so so let's pivot and again thank you for sharing that I'm really appreciative of that. So talk about the work that parole to pride has. And by the way, I love your website. It is beautifully beautifully done. It's a piece of art. So talk about the work that parole to pride is doing. Well, it got started. I wasn't even thinking about doing any type of improvisation, but I met a gentleman in the 90s when I moved here. He had just gotten out of prison and he was looking for employment. And it was on my heart to hire him. And I have wonderful in love. They were like don't do it. They didn't know the story of my brother. And then it came out later. And they was like don't do it you don't want to risk your job, you know he has a felony drug background. And I was like, Okay, and then I called my mom I was like I met this guy and I'm just driven to hire him. I said he needs a job and if he doesn't get a job. You know he's probably going to go back to prison. And so she said, If that's where your heart leads you and that's what God's telling you then you do it. You know, your brother, she said, so I hired him. And he was my greatest model. We had our challenges. I had to take a day away from him for a whole year. I had to, you know, kind of restructure the way that he dressed because I'm in the hospitality industry so he was dealing with a lot of corporate people. And I just told him, you know, he had brazen is here I said you can keep your brazen, keep it neat. And I say you can't bust the sag so we need you to do a little felt. And this guy went from that to cutting his hair to marriage stay with me 14 years he never missed a day at work, even though we had a few reprimands and had to work on his attitude. And he ended up marrying his girlfriend getting custody of his children and he moved on and he's working for a better corporation and he's a supervisor. So it started there and people started recommending everybody that came out of prison go over here to share with you. So I began to talk to my mother about, you know what I was doing is she was like, need to make it a program that's a passion for you, and it was a passion. And my mother, 2007 as we structured the curriculum and everything she passed away. So we set for all the pride down for years and in 2016 I picked it back up to say you know what, I'm going full force. That is commendable and truly this second chance employment has really started to take notice I think around the nation of giving individuals with a background a felon background prison background to share, you know, let's break the barriers of recidivism and let's give these opportunities to these men and women to, to do right or to have a different opportunity. Let's talk about that reality of prison reform. So you shared with us you know you are in Mississippi is prison reform national is it is it based off of, you know who's in our political offices or is it based per state what does that look like Sharon. It's based per state and who's in political office, both a little bit about that makes sense. Yeah. By state, you know, Mississippi, my mom's from here. She was a civil rights advocates, she advocated for civil rights. And I think sometimes certain states is takes them longer to learn. So you have to actually set the example, and they have to see a trend of it in Mississippi, doing this second chance. I've got numerous of calls do I believe in a judicial system I do. Do I believe in police officer. Yes, I do. I believe we have to have ordered police do that, but I also believe that there are some kinks that need to be taken out. And that's what we need to work on to help make the reform better in each state. Another thing we need to understand that the my brother back in his area, it was a totally different type of criminal justice system. And now that they're trying to do the reforms. Well, the kids are getting younger. So now you have to revamp your thinking and learn a way on how to assist these families with 1516 and 17 years that are getting in trouble and kind of reform from the home and if you can't get in the home reform from the school to community. So it has to start in prison, it has to start in the school and I think, and in the homes and in the community. So if you start there, you can actually reform it and prevent those children from going to prison. Wow. I find it fascinating because you're talking about working with paroled individuals to move them through to a different life trajectory. And at the same time, you're being burdened with like a discussion of heavy duty policy. So that's to me is fascinating. I mean, I would imagine that you didn't see yourself working on policy when you were when you hired your first gentleman and navigating all that. It's like you're doing double duty right. It is. I tell you why because one of the young ladies that came through my program, I have a son. I'm raising him since he was four months. Informically, she would not have been able to do it. You know, and I didn't have a son that had two daughters for her to be so generous and have faith and trust in me that I was able to do this, and I needed a son because of what I mean, it's more, it's more to it than what people think just making these laws and saying, okay, when they come out of prison, give them employment. They need livable rages. They need exposure to a better lifestyle. They need to become home owners. They need parenting skills, you know, people, my brother made a decision based off of what he went through in the home. The judicial system never looked at that they never looked at my mom was being mentally and physically abused. They never addressed the mental health issue that was going on in the home. So even of the siblings, we never had therapy or anything. So you have to consider the totality. And when I started, I was just being rewarded. My self-reward was seeing someone getting a job and also saying, okay, in memory of my brother, he would be so proud. And my mother passing will be so proud of what I'm doing. And he just started getting bigger and bigger and bigger. So what you speak to a great point, Sharon, is that it's not just the time for the offense are, you know, the, they're guilty plea or what, what it might be. It's really looking at that holistic support, right, like what is the safety net that these individuals need. So how do we help to provide that so that we can help to provide that holistic support, including that mental health issue. I actually my program was my mom is so wonderful to structure it. I trained them in the midst of the hospitality industry so they were at the front desk. They had no uniforms, nobody on the other side of the counter knew that they had gotten out of prison. So we are like, okay, here's your opportunity. Nobody knows you nobody knows your background. And some of them have flourished into some phenomenal things. There was others that saw, hey, the hospitality is not for me so they needed to do something else, but to have that experience from no one judging them for what they've done. And one other thing, there was one young lady. She went to prison for murder. She served 10 years. And when she always said nonviolent, but I think each person need to know what the background was to cause a person to do whatever they did. But this particular story and this girl I knew what happened and made the news. She had got into a brawl at a party. And in the brawl, she got jumped, and she stabbed someone in the person passed away. So she served 10 years so when I met her. She told me she was kind of hesitant to tell me what her conviction was. And so I began to talk to her and I just wanted to know what was the scenario behind that. And when she told me I said I remember that story. And I told her, I know you didn't mean to murder her you were just trying to protect yourself. And she started crying and she was like I didn't mean to murder her. So you have to take a case by case. And you can't just say okay if they're violent. We can assist them you have to find a way to bridge that gap also, no matter what the circumstances. Talk about, you know, giving these individuals an opportunity, no one on the other side of the desk really knew their background. How do you share this vision with the variety of stakeholders, knowing that some individuals might have implicit bias, immediately, right, due to the mission of parole to pride. But how do you share this beautiful like vision and mission with the donors and your stakeholders. They, my stakeholders, and some of the donors are actually my employers. So they employ them. Interesting. Very interesting. So you have bias. So what happened is the gentleman that I work for he was a representative for the Asian American Hotels Owners Association. So I started with him I was his GM, and we became really good friends and when I first hired the first gentleman. He went around and told all his business partners this girl put a drug dealer at my front desk. So I told him just work with me be prayerful I know this is going to work, but I never knew it will grow to this. He became chairman of my board and he became the voice, because that's where I was training at and they were coming through there and so I was getting calls from his partners in different cities hey do you have someone that I could use for the front desk so he was my greatest testimony. And so that's how well and we talk about today's workforce and how it is diminishing right and there's so many individuals that are willing to work, and this is a great opportunity for many of our employers and partners to say, yes, let's do consider second chance let's do consider, you know, what other alternatives we can look for in, in regards to this workforce. And I think now is a perfect time to really consider this. And if I'm not mistaken Sharon, is there a financial benefit for for companies that do employ second chance because I feel that I've heard that. That's great for employing them. That's okay. Yeah, they do get tax break. The other reward for employing them is that you know that they have to work they have restitution probation fees. They have families, some of them have children, and you need to give them livable wages because it's hard for you to come out of prison and have all these different fees, and then you have to pay your bills and you're trying to sustain so we don't want to have to go to prison and drugs are going back into crime tempting, you want to make the wages livable. So when you give them livable wages, and you give them an opportunity to work and to provide for themselves will have to not have to depend on the system is very rewarded. One thing that we do when they come into the program, I take I expose them to scale clothing stores like one guy took their knees like Sharon I have never shopped here before that you think I can afford it. And don't nobody know we can afford it or can't let's just walk in like they are and head to the clearance rack, because they don't know who you are they don't know your brother that type of exposure opens their mind to something better. When you drive them in different communities and they're selling houses and tell them you can do this, or you have to do is apply yourself. Nobody here knows we buy through looking at houses, but this is a community that you can live in where you can give your children better education exposure is important, especially if you have a generational cycle of poverty. So it's hopeless. So when they hear, see me and hear my story. And I tell them how my mom struggled and where we came from, then they know it's obtainable. So important. It is. And it's so powerful. You know, Sharon, we don't have a lot of time left. And, and I really appreciate how you take in this trajectory of where you were as a little girl and the generational side of your life. I ask you to jump forward and this is always a great question that Jared and I love to ask. It's super hard, but what's your future look like and your goals and for your organization, you know, what do you think, what do you think this is going. Well, I would like reentry housing. I would love to do the house for men and a separate house for women. I would love to incorporate the children with them because a lot of times one girl that came through the program. She lost her children and that was a mental struggle for her. And we had to provide therapy, and she wanted her children back and just because she was in prison and she didn't have the family that she needed her children were adopted out. And that was very, very hard for her. And with me having my son, and the mother not being able to provide, and she's trying to transition back is, is more nurturing if they're with their parents. And I think that's the goal of her older pride to do a Richard reentry home to incorporate the children with the parents, and also to be able to pay for those that want to go to college. I would like to pay for that for them so that way they won't have that worry that I have to pay for college and I have to provide for my family, and just so many different things I would love to do. Well, do you serve Mississippi, the entire state do you serve a specific county what does that look like for your reach. Well, I've served on County start. I have the business owners that I work for they have partners so they reach out there to blow, which is like a 40 mile radius they say hey do you have someone that may have reached out to you that's living in to blow that need a position. And if I do. Let the case manager do assessment and then I refer them that way. I would imagine that, you know, as word gets out about your good work you're going to have a lot of communities that want to replicate your program that come to you for advice or if that's not already the case where you're saying, what can we learn from your lesson so that we don't have to start from ground zero. Are you seeing that. I want people to see that, but sometimes they're intimidated because they feel like their competition know your resource for me. resource, I see all reentry programs as resources, because I cannot help everybody. So if you if I see you as a resource, I don't mind sharing some information with you or help me out which would better help the participant because it's not about me or my reentry organization is about the person and getting them where they need to be. Right in the process Wow, it's been great you know we've had before we let you go. We've had a couple comments and one of them came in from a viewer says Sharon Jones. Thank you for your story and teaching us the importance, the important lesson about compassion, and not to bother about stereotypes. Yeah, so cool. It's really neat. You know, it's, it's going to it's really an interesting thing I know within your website. It seems to me that education is a big push, and that you work with your clients to really allow them to get into that that process and that flow and it seems like you have a lot of different types of education from, you know, getting your GED to maybe moving through to Community College and University. And you mentioned that's a touchstone before we let you go. How are you working on that. We're trying to partner with those organizations, hopefully, or sometimes they have grants available. And so we try to, or I tried to tell them look into the grant, do your research yourself to kind of open a minds and start working for themselves without somebody doing the work for them. You want them to be self sufficient. So you want them to apply for college you want them to see on what type of grants are available to them. You want them to get an advisor and talk to advisor about what you want to do and where you want to go in life so when you do that you kind of winning yourself away to allow them to be self sufficient. Interesting. Interesting. How much of this is done while they're serving time is that, you know, are you providing this programming there, or only when they get out and I'm curious how that relationship works. Well, we were trying to partner with the prison, but it didn't work out politics, I think. But when they come out, we still can do the same thing. So it's all about where the mouth in the world. One participant that goes through the program know somebody else is getting out of prison and say, hey, go see Sharon. That is perfect word of mouth and that that testimony just like your, your boss that said, what are you doing and then now he, you know he's become probably your strongest. You don't have anybody in the front. He's more anymore. Absolutely. Well Sharon you have been fantastic your mission is commendable love what you're doing and how you've taken a personal tragedy into a triumphant opportunity for so very many so thank you for sharing so transparently and vulnerable with us today it's been a pleasure. Well thank you for having me. Great, and check out parole to pride, it seems to me no matter where you are in the nonprofit space. If you want to see a website that's really engaging and tells a story. The website is extremely hopeful. It's very experiential. Like I said, Sharon, it's beautifully done and and so Bravo to you because this is a huge investment I know. And yet this is the front line of communication for so many of our nonprofits so I really think it's an amazing thing to take a look at paroled to pride.org is that website. And I'm Julia Patrick I've been joined by my trustee sidekick and co host Jared ransom CEO of the Raven group. Again we want to thank all of our presenting sponsors without them, we would not be here American nonprofit Academy Marang fundraising Academy nonprofit nerd, your part time controller staffing boutique nonprofit thought leader and the nonprofit Atlas. Wow, ladies, this was a great way for me personally to start this week. It renews my faith in overcoming tragedy and looking at what and how you can be triumphant. So thank you. Thank you very much Sharon I feel like I've gone to church this morning. That's a good thing for me sister let me tell you, but now really it's been powerful and and I think Jared and I. We get to meet a lot of amazing people that really change the fabric of our communities and I think you're one of those people so thank you thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Hey, as we end every episode we want to remind you our viewers, and I think ourselves to stay well. So you can do well. See you back here tomorrow everyone thanks Sharon. Thank you.