SOLUTIONS FROM THE YARD

Episode 21: Barriers to Reentry pt. 1

In this episode, Charles Hopkins and Michael Dickerson-El are joined by Charles Russell from Washington, D.C., whose sentence was overturned by President Obama in 2016. Together they discuss structural racism in the prison system, Mr. Russell’s accomplishments, and the challenges he faced upon reentry into society. 

Episode 20: Ex Offender Jobs - Part 2

The episode opens with discussing job placement and workforce development programs reducing recidivism. The hosts discuss Title 7’s lack of protection for ex-offenders, how they’re unprepared for reentry, and the challenges presented to them. Discrimination is also discussed, as well as the intentionality of pushing returning citizens out into their communities unprepared as a means to continue the prison pipeline. The hosts end the podcast with their take on solutions for the ex-offender employment disparity.

Episode 19: Ex Offender Jobs - Pt. 1

This episode finds the gentlemen discussing job placement post-incarceration and the “stipend chase.” Michael Dickerson-El leads this conversation while the hosts discuss career training versus job programs that don’t have longevity. The positions generally offered are at or below minimum wage. The hosts discuss how these jobs can cause returning citizens to adopt a "settle for less lifestyle." Dickerson-El discusses law review critiques of Title 7 and how protected classes do not include returning citizens; this opens the reentry community up to discrimination in the workplace with little to no ability to defend themselves.

Episode 18: DC Code 100 Years In The Making?

This episode discusses the DC Criminal Code and how it has not been fully updated since 1901, 123 years ago. As of 2023, the DC City Council has reviewed the DC Criminal Code and is pushing the Secure DC Omnibus update to the code through the DC legislative process as of the airing of this episode. The hosts discuss the hazards of the DC Criminal Code being over 100 years old, the overt racism of the sentencing structure, the Omnibus Act(s), and how the DC Code's ambiguity has adversely affected DC citizens charged under it.

Episode 17: Prisons of Poverty

On this episode the hosts, led by Charles Hopkins, discuss the culture of poverty as a newly released individual. They discuss the offshoots of poverty such as incarceration, recidivism, and disruptions to mental health. The gentlemen go on to discuss the cost of living in Washington, DC, and the difficulty returning citizens face in gaining financial progress and/or job stability to obtain adequate housing/general support.

Episode 16: Homelessness After Reentry : Part 2

The episode picks up by asking who profits from homelessness after incarceration and defining homelessness. The hosts begin to discuss the DC budget allocations for homelessness and how effective these allocations are in ceasing the problem. Discussions go further to question where the disconnect is with housing provisions in DC and reentry organizations, pre-release solutions to homelessness, and the need for a complete mental health evaluation in helping returning citizens develop a complete reentry plan.

Episode 15: Homelessness After Reentry : Part 1

The hosts, led by Michael Dickerson-El, discuss homelessness after reentry leading to recidivism. They begin by discussing their own journeys with returning home and finding adequate housing.  The concept of “criminalizing poverty/homelessness” and statistics relating to this concept are discussed as well. This episode is part 1 of 2.

Episode 14: 13th Amendment - Part 2

The gentlemen continue their discussion on the 13th Amendment, Prison, and Slavery by opening with the definition of chattel slavery and how it relates to the modern carceral system. The hosts also delve into the dehumanization of black people and its effects on society by detailing the Dred Scott case and its similarities to “wards of the state.” 
The profiteering off of prison labor is big business directly related to the erasure of humanity in the prison system, and our hosts give their thoughts on this fractured system plus more.

Episode 13: 13th Amendment - Part 1

This episode focuses on the 13th Amendment and its recent appearance on the voting ballot in 5 states. The podcast hosts discuss how slavery is a human issue, not just a prison issue. They delve into the nuances of the prison workforce and how it relates to the 13th Amendment, the meager pay as justification for involuntary slavery, and how prison labor is an incentive to slow criminal justice reform...

Episode 12 : Homelessness & Juvenile Delinquency

The hosts continue their exploration of homelessness, this time discussing the relationship homelessness has to juvenile delinquency. Generational trauma, drug use, single parenthood, government program dependency, carceral indoctrination, and practical solutions to the root of juvenile homelessness & delinquency are discussed.