Before Prison by Shameka Layton

By Women, Family

 The household I grew up in consisted of myself, and six siblings. Since we lived in a two bedroom house, all the children shared one room, with the boys in one bed and the girls in another. Religion was optional so I chose to attend Catholic Services with my...

Before Prison by Derek Bishop

Family, Memories

 My mother raised me. As a young boy, life was music, noise, joy, anger, pain, and fighting. My passions were sports, video games, and winning spelling b’s. I was fun, nosy, and the eldest of 12 children. I watched movies with my mother and grandmother. This...

Audio: Elders by George Mullins

Audio, Family, Freedom Dreams, Solutions

George Mullins is serving a life without parole sentence in Michigan. He is a reflective elder in the prison environment, a father, a community member, and all around kind and generous soul. My name is George Mullins. I’ve been incarcerated since I was 19....

Reflecting Back by Sharon Hunter

By Women, Family, Memories

I was taken from my mother at the age of two, with seven of her 13 children. My father was deceased. I was placed in an orphanage. I lived there from 1968 to 1984.  The orphanage was a home and school. It was Bible-based and very strict. The same opportunities in a...