Please take a few minutes to look at the latest issue of the San Quentin News. There is an article on longtime TRUST fellow, Michael Harris. Also, there is an "Ask Online" column which discusses the TRUST.

San Quentin News - October 2011

Dear Governor,

On August 19, 2011, the San Quentin T.R.U.S.T. in combination with the Alameda County Public Health Department Office of Urban Male Health, Centerforce, San Quentin Prison Health Services and over 100 citizen volunteers conducted its Eighth Annual Health Fair at San Quentin State Prison. 

This year’s Health Fair was a great success with over 500 inmates visiting educational booths, getting basic health tests (blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose, vision), nutrition counseling, chiropractic visits, prostate cancer education, and engaging in healthy lifestyle activities such as an Ulu Mau Hawaiian Health and Wellness Circle.  The event was led by volunteers and responds to a vision formed by the San Quentin T.R.U.S.T. Fellows whose mission is to transform unhealthy males into healthy men both inside and outside of prison walls. 

Event speakers were inspiring with Alex Briscoe, Director of Alameda County Health Care Services Agency, Carol F. Burton, Executive Director, Centerforce, Dr. Arnold Chavez, Alameda County Public Health Department, Xiao Fei Zheng Community Youth Center of SF, Deacon Earl Jacobs of Healthy Communities, and Darnell Hill, San Quentin T.R.U.S.T. President, effectively moving us with their speeches.  

Health Fair exhibitors included Mildred Crear, R.N. and fellow nurses affiliated with the Bay Area Black Nurses Association, Alameda County Public Health nurses and staff, Samuel Merritt nurses, Allyson West of the California Reentry Program, Dr. Janna Huboi, Dr. Marshall Penn, Vernell Crittendon, former SQ Public Information Officer, and Ben Wang representing the Asian Health Center.

Notable contributors to the event included:

- Alex Briscoe, Director of Alameda County Health Services Agency who demonstrated support of the event through his presence and by making the keynote speech.

- Warden Michael Martel who authorized the event and worked with Health Fair sponsors to greatly improve event logistics.

- San Quentin Correctional staff including but not limited to Warden Martel, Lt. Samuel Robinson, Laura Bowman-Salzsieder, Debra Winn, and Officer C. Johnson at East Gate who worked with event sponsors to coordinate and execute the event.

- Jackie Clark, CEO Health Care CA State Prison San Quentin, and Dr. Elena Tootell Chief Medical Executive of San Quentin State Prison who engineered a Health Fair referral process and provided information to Health Fair attendees on Prison Health Services.

- Carol F. Burton, Executive Director, Julie Lipshay, and Dolores Lyles of Centerforce who assisted with set up and were instrumental in ensuring smooth event operations.

- Michael Shaw, Director Alameda County Public Health Department, Office of Urban Male Health, for coordinating this event for 8 successful years in collaboration with the San Quentin T.R.U.S.T. Fellows and Community Volunteers.

- The San Quentin TRUST Fellows for orchestrating the event and for living up to the T.R.U.S.T. creed which binds them to responsibility for Self, Family, and Community; and which has as its guiding principle, a commitment to: All People, Excellence, Responsibility, Respect, and Integrity.

- The Alameda County Board of Supervisors for their forward thinking in supporting the involvement of the Alameda County Public Health Department in the San Quentin Health Fair.

In closing, I have worked on the San Quentin Health Fair since its inception in 2004.  I am a strong supporter of the Health Fair and recommend that an event such as this one be conducted in all California State Prisons (not just SQ).   The San Quentin Health Fair forges a unique partnership between prison and civilian communities that is sorely needed.  I am convinced that this emerging bond between prison and civilian communities is the foundation we need to ultimately make our cities healthier and safer.

The San Quentin Health Fair is to be applauded, and your support and the meaningful contributions made by Health Fair participants are to be acknowledged. 

Warm Regards,

Leslie Schoenfeld MBA/MPH

San Quentin Health Fair Volunteer Coordinator

Healthcare Frontier LLC

lschoenfeld@hfrontier.com

Partially excerpted from the organization’s website

TRUST is an acronym for “Teaching Responsibility Utilizing Sociological Training.” The program is run out of San Quentin Prison under the sponsorship of Kathleen Jackson  — a very dedicated teacher and mentor — and it seeks to convert men in prison from liabilities into assets by conducting workshops (and engaging in other positive behaviors)  that target their criminal value systems. According to the group’s website, “We therefore aim to replace that value system with a new system that promotes positive, life affirming behavior among [ourselves] the men in prison.”

 The organization also sponsors cultural celebrations that promote and reinforce its core guiding principles, which are also taught within the workshop settings. Additionally, the group sponsors health fairs and fundraising events as they seek to help men to begin to accept responsibility for the actions that landed them in prison in the first place and teaches them how to make amends. Their goal is to cognitively restructure themselves while behind bars so they become assets to themselves, their families and their communities upon release. 

According to the website the San Quentin TRUST was “established by a group of incarcerated educated men who have enhanced their value system from their former criminal lifestyle while they are still incarcerated. With assistance by Dr. Garry Mendez, these men, through their hard work and determination, created a program at San Quentin that was validated and deemed a functioning program of the prison on August 11, 2003. With the help of staff sponsors and community support, the San Quentin TRUST has become a group of incarcerated men who have taken responsibility to rehabilitate themselves.”

TRUST’s core educational principle is its asset-based training. The program develops long-term prisoners into peer mentors who assist other men in changing negative behaviors and thought patterns by reinforcing positive ones … turning liabilities into assets. Its mission is to enhance and change the value systems criminals bring to prison:  from criminal behavior to a sense of respect. By building a bridge of communication with their communities for a successful reentry, they ultimately decrease crime and recidivism and improve public safety with the quality of life. Program mentors are called TRUST Fellows.

The men of the San Quentin TRUST recognize that many of those returning to society from prison can often become liabilities and their goal is to change that paradigm … to train and guide other prisoners as they make the same changes to their own lives.

The goal is to foster the development of a positive sense of self-worth; to commit to turning liabilities into assets; and to develop the necessary skills to become responsible and successful citizens. The mentors also assist men in their development by showing how values determine lifestyle and behavior through the examination of one’s own and others’ histories and cultures.

TRUST works toward these goals by teaching a year-long, three-part curriculum to the mainline population of inmates in San Quentin. This curriculum is taught in a series of weekly workshops on Thursday afternoons. The program provides a safe environment that creates and allows men the opportunity to purge negative thoughts and behaviors.

The workshops are offered in a six-module, 27-unit series in order to assist and prepare incarcerated men. These workshops are prepared and delivered by TRUST Fellows in collaboration with volunteers and other area specific professionals, who provide research and facilitation support. TRUST Fellows offer peer-to-peer training on each topic, aiding and educating their fellow prisoners in bettering themselves and preparing them for reentry.

The six modules are Internal Work, Health, Relationships, Organizational Skills/In the Workplace, Parole Preparation and Re-Entry. Each of the modules takes approximately one month. Many of the men in the program are lifers, so gauging how successful the program is in terms of reducing recidivism is difficult. But Jackson said, that to her knowledge, of the few men that have gone through the program and were released, none has ever returned to prison.

In a 2010 interview with Marin Magazine she stated, “… working with these men has shown me that here is an amazingly talented population that is mostly ignored or forgotten. The men I work with … have done a lot of work on themselves and, to my way of thinking, would make the community a safer place if they were outside. Why? Because they have worked on themselves for a very, very long time; they have dealt with their anger and they’ve dealt with their liabilities and worked to turn them into abilities, or assets. They understand the population that gets into trouble much better than those in law enforcement, political positions or the everyday citizen. Many of those I am with say that if they ever get out, they want to work with at-risk young people and they would be very good at it.”

Our visit to San Quentin to speak with the TRUST program was very interesting. 
I had an idea of what it was going to be like before going and the actual experience was
much different.  The stories we heard from the inmates gave me a different perspective on
society and the way our justice system works.  Many people who become incarcerated
are from low economic areas and are forced into gangs.  Many also drop out of school
and fall into the pressures of violence.  The story that stuck out to me the most was
David’s because he was so open with his experience.  I appreciated the opportunity to
hear his story.  Also, I believe that the TRUST program at San Quentin is doing a great
thing for the inmates.  It gives them a chance to change their lives and feel better about
themselves.  It is important for people in society to understand that inmates are not what
the media explains them to be.  Therefore, this experience changed my beliefs on the
prison system.  I thought it was interesting when they said that the staff is not exactly the
best choice to be telling the inmates what to do.  I laughed when they told the story of
how it took four officers to try to work a digital camera.  This just shows that the system
is flawed.  The TRUST program is a good way for the inmates to come together and
make people believe that not everything they hear on the news is true.  When they said
that they put together many programs (the Richmond program), I thought it was a good
thing.  The idea that they are helping others inside of prison, shows that anyone can make
a difference no matter if they made bad choices.  Thus, this trip was a good experience
that I will never forget and I learned a lot. 

Members of the San Quentin Richmond Project recently sponsored an essay contest at Leadership Public High School in Richmond. Through the contest they hoped to instill in students the importance of being involved in their community and to raise public awareness about the Richmond Project. The essays were read by a panel of Richmond citizens, including someone from the Mayor’s office, a clergy person and a teacher. Students wrote 200-500 word essays, responding to the question:

    If you were the mayor of Richmond, what three things would you change to improve your community?

The panel chose four inspirational essays based on the following criteria: overall effectiveness, overall focus and organization, overall control of writing mechanics, and overall creativity. Checks were awarded to the students with the highest number of points. Mayor Gayle McLaughlin and teacher Kelli Rice, who orchestrated the contest on the outside, presented the awards at Leadership’s Awards Assembly, June 10, 2011.  The winners were: First place, Daniela, second place, Sarah, and a tie for third place went to Edgar and Karina. All other participants were given Staples gift certificates. Following are the top four essays:

Following is a link to an Op-Ed piece by San Quentin students Hector
Oropeza and Stephen Liebb about the recent Supreme Court ruling
related to overcrowding. It was just published on Fox News Latino.

Prison Overcrowding In California

On Saturday, April 30, 2011, Dr. Elaine Leeder, Dean of the School of Social Sciences and Professor of Sociology at Sonoma State University, brought 25 of her students to dialogue with members of the San Quentin TRUST Fellows, a group of prisoners whose goal is to turn their liabilities into assets and to teach other inmates how to do the same. Both men and students told their stories, asked and responded to in-depth questions, resulting in the understanding that together we are trying to make our communities safer and richer in opportunities for all. Following are reflections from the students on what they took away from the experience and in what direction it will take them.

A Reflection by Heather

On April 30th my sociology professor, Elaine Leader, graciously took twenty of her 214 students to a field trip at the San Quentin State Prison located in unincorporated Marin County.  Upon arriving at the prison, I had the conceived notion that all prisoners were serial killers and would continue to murder people upon their parole.  However the inmates that I talked to, the members of the T.R.U.S.T. remolded my view completely.

First, I was shocked how remorseful the inmates were about their crimes, which most had committed before age eighteen.  Most of them were convicted as adults, even though they were teenagers, because of the pre-mediation or sophistication of the crime.  Second, I began to understand how the social construction around them leads them to become criminals.  For instance, one inmate, Charlie, stated that he did not have consequences growing up.  Since his father was out of his life, his mother had to work during the day and did not have the ability to monitor Charlie.  So if Charlie did not go to school or did not complete his homework, there were no repercussions because his mother was not around to instill them.  Third, most of the inmates did not have a father figure in their lives, or if there was one, he was physically abusing the mother of the family.  This was the case with David who said he had no incentive to do well in school or succeed in life.  His mother loved him, but was not an authoritative parent, so David started to hang around the wrong crowd (gang).

Some had histories of aggressive behavior problems that had hostile, inept or neglectful parents and other grew up with a loving mother and had no past delinquencies.    I learned the to main risk factors for these youth (to progress to criminals) are poor parenting and affiliation with anti-social/troubled peers; the second, usually the result of the first.  After my visit I felt so empathetic towards the inmates because I understood the circumstances of their upbringing which lead them to San Quentin.  They were not aware of the consequences, did not think how the violent act would impact their future, and the only role models in their lives were criminals.  How could they not go down that path?  Initially the inmates were socialized to become delinquents (through lack of parental control) and subsequently their brain had not fully matured when the acts of violence were committed.  This is pivotal because in adolescent the prefrontal cortex has not finished developing; this part of the brain is responsible for planning, thinking ahead, weighing risks and impulsive control.

Furthermore, I was most interested in the events that lead up to the imprisonment of these people, whom I would consider my friends.  Peeling the layers of the onion, I understood the various circumstances of their childhood which led to their imprisonment.  I was able to apply sociology definitions such as blaming the victim, self fulfilling prophecy and strain theory.  From visiting San Quentin and talking to the members of the T.R.U.S.T., my perception of prisoners has changed (inmates have rehabilitated themselves) I am motivated to help them reach parole (good luck David 2014!).  Words from Elaine Leader, “Prisoners are People Too.”  Thank you for the experience.

On April 28, 2011,  John Ely, Professor of Criminology at St. Mary’s University, brought  a Sociology class to San Quentin for a dialogue with members of the T.R.U.S.T. Fellows. The purpose of the visit was to create an honest and rich dialogue between students and prisoners. The students learned about members of the TRUST, men who have been incarcerated for a number of years and consequently taken courses and self-help programs, transforming their liabilities into assets. The students gained an understanding of who these men are and what they have done with and for themselves while they have been incarcerated. The TRUST Fellows gained an understanding of 2011 university students, their views on the incarcerated and on the justice system and questions they have about the prison system and the people within it.  At the end of the day , it was obvious that the students and the ‘men in blue’ have much in common.  Following are some of the students’ reflections on their visit:

Visiting San Quentin was life changing for me. I have never been to a prison, so it was a lot to take in. I thought it was interesting how the prisoners were very open about their experiences, and how they were incarcerated in the first place. I was not expecting them to be as friendly as they were, and it gave me a better perspective on things and how one act can change your life forever. I feel that they have changed since they were incarcerated, just from what they told us. How one guy, started out as level four and now he is a level two. The Trust Program is something that should be offered in every prison, I think that in such a negative environment there needs to be some positive, and the trust program is obviously helping them at San Quentin. The prisoners seemed genuinely happy, but the one pattern that I noticed was that a good handful said that they have been away from home for too long and that is where they want to go if they get paroled. Within that happiness, they do want to go home and make a better life for themselves than they had before they were incarcerated.

One story in particular was a guy who was a straight A student and then had a tragic accident when his brother died. He then he blamed school for everything, he became involved with a gang and sadly, there was a gang murder that he took part in. This goes to show how one event in your life can change who you are, and sometimes not for the better. However, I never knew that not all prisoners are nonchalant about what they have done and that they resent and feel bad since the day they committed the crime. At the same time they seem to have come to terms with the crime they committed; knowing that there is nothing they can do to take back what they did or to erase that crime.

The Trust Program overall, was an eye-opening experience. I thought differently of prisoners and that they are people just like me striving to be the best that they can, given the circumstances. Over time, if the Trust Program spreads to other prisons, I think more prisoners will become like the people I met at San Quentin; nice, sincere people who are paying their dues for something that they had done. They are in prison for a reason, but are now working through their issues they once had and are becoming better people. After my experience at San Quentin, I realized how much I benefited from it. I gained more understanding about how the prison system worked, let alone a prisoner’s day-to-day life. Having insight on someone else’s world is very valuable and being able to converse with the people in the Trust Program was valuable to me. During our group conversation, at one point, I forgot that I was at San Quentin with prisoners; this alone made me feel that I was in a safe environment and with people that were there to give their outlook on life as well as their life now. When I was about to leave, I realized that I could not just walk out to the car and be free, that I was in a prison and my freedom was based on other people’s decisions (the guard’s); I had to wait for someone’s permission to leave San Quentin. I was able to get a glimpse of what it is like to be a prisoner. This learning experience was incredible and being related to someone who is incarcerated, I now believe if someone wants to change and be a better person, even though they were at one time not in a good place, they have the ability to change their habits and tendencies; and having a Trust Program reinforces a positive environment for those who want to do so.