Healing Out Loud with Jackie Shea
Health & Fitness:Alternative Health
The Inside Circle: The Courage to Heal While Incarcerated with Eldra Jackson III
Eldra served 24 years of a life sentence; the last eight were spent sitting with Inside Circle eventually leading to his release from New Folsom Prison in 2014. A living example of successful rehabilitation and re-entry, Eldra has dedicated his free time on the outside to serving at-risk youth, and acting as a facilitator, trainer, and mentor. He is a writer and sought after public speaker on the topics of at-risk youth advocacy, effective criminal justice rehabilitation and turning around ‘toxic’ masculinity. He also hosts the Inside Circle Podcast.
The Inside CircleThe Inside Circle exists to reduce recidivism and all forms of violence-physical, emotional, and psychological— in our prisons and communities. Using the power of human connection found in peer-guided healing circles, Inside Circle transforms lives, reducing violence inside and outside adult and juvenile prisons, lowering recidivism rates, and building social-emotional literacy.
They Operate regularly within and around California State Prison, Sacramento (New Folsom), Sierra Conservation Center, and New Jersey’s Juvenile Medium Security Facility. They have ignited and run programs in an array of adult and juvenile detention centers and community settings across the United States.
After sitting in group with Inside Circle for an average of 3 years, members show shifts in resilience, empathy, self-regulation, and perspective taking. For participants, There’s an 80% decline in the number of “115” rule violations. 70% of participants dropped 1-3 security levels. 44% of the men who were serving and went through the program are no longer in prison but instead serving their communities and contributing to society, and 0% of released participants returned to prison within three years of release. For more on The Inside Circle watch The Work documentary available on Amazon.
Discussed In This Episode:Happy Listening!
With Fun and Love,
Jackie
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