It is no small task to be up here. We would like to welcome our panelists. Starting with dan from oxford house, state coordinator from oklahoma. [applause] Curtis Taylor, oxford house alumni from North Carolina. Michael, oxford house alumni, outreach in florida. [applause] jason wilson, oxford house resident and reentry coordinator, North Carolina. Jesse. What did i say . Jesse. And ann cleveland, oxford house alumni. [applause] over three quarters of oxford house population has done some jail or prison time. In america today, approximately 60 of those in jail or prisons are addicted to alcohol or drugs. Each year, thousands of those incarcerated reenter society. However, within one year of reentry, about half of those individuals will commit another crime and head to conviction and reentry into incarceration. The experience of those who enter oxford house following incarceration is usually longterm recovery in crime free recovery and crime free behavior. In some states, oxford house has developed relationships with programs that permit those leaving incarceration to go straight to an oxford house. Other residents come to oxford house at the recommendation of drug courts or parole officers. They have found that clients tend to do well if they live in an oxford house. Not only do such intervention motivate clients to begin to master the recovery process, it also saves taxpayers the cost of incarceration and recidivism. Oxford house residents who enter from incarceration take shared responsibility for the operation of the house and most residents rise to the occasion. This kind of reallife training is rare for most individuals reentering society. The panel will discuss the need for the postincarceration recovery opportunities, practical ways to facilitate getting individuals leaving incarceration into an oxford house, how oxford houses can help drug Court Clients achieve longterm sobriety, and meet the expectation of drug courts, and how oxford house living facilities facilitate transition into longterm, crime free recovery for most residents. The panelists are all experienced in the field from the inside and the outside. Our first speaker will be dan. [applause] dan good morning, my name is dan and i am an alcoholic. I have been clean and sober since july 18, 2007. [applause] dan i was incredibly lucky to stumble into an oxford house, can we all agree on that . I want to talk a little bit about reentry. When you discuss reentry, ive been involved with it a long time and how i ended up there is a constant cycling in and out of the system with a plan to do Something Different and every time back in prison. I was able to find recovery in an oxford house. I lived in an area years ago that we didnt really have any direction on how to get people out of present. Out of prison. And reentry is not just prison. Reentry is folks reentering society, in any capacity, from homelessness, whatever area it is. If its a homeless shelter you have a relationship with, getting people back into society. And it takes a village, it takes all of us pitching and together pitching in together to understand there are folks who need our help. Its not because they dont have money or clothes on their back. That we dont want them because they dont fit us. We will lift them up and that is what my life is centered on, my passion is lifting people up and giving them something they never thought possible. Living in a home, getting into an environment where they can practice a Stable Program of recovery right away. That is done by example. Coming out of prison, there are a lot of things we dont have. I work in oklahoma today and most of the guys we get to come out have nothing more than a walmart sack. How do we accept folks like that into an oxford house and point them toward success . Giving them a hand up and realizing that most all of us, whether we have been incarcerated or not, have committed felonies whether we were convicted of them are not. Some of us just got caught. It took me 25 years to realize im just not a very good criminal. [laughter] through that process oxford house is a prime place to work with drug courts, incarceration, homelessness, but what it takes is some basic things. I work a lot and the oxford House Community and houses will say things like, he doesnt have any money. Ok. I teach houses all the time, build yourself up some money and hold people accountable. Folks move into our houses i work with people out of incarceration all the time and i will sit down with them and just tell them what they are about to experience. Here is what is ok and oxford ok in oxford house. I think we can all agree on this. It is perfectly ok to do your chore. [laughter] dan it is ok and we like that. And we like you to put a money order in the box and we like you to be employed. And we like you to work a program of recovery of your understanding. Those are nonnegotiable. What i see often is folks move into our homes and they are not explained clearly what is expected of them because the people explaining it to them have either not been there or dont understand. It is our job to get out and teach people what it takes to live in an oxford house. We deserve a Second Chance as the formerly incarcerated. The key component is the oxford house is not a shelter, it is a home for recovery. [applause] dan we are not there to provide somebody a place to live until something gets better. We are there to provide them a place to work a program of recovery. So some things that folks can do to help reentry in their areas is building relationships with your local probation and parole. Give them tours of the houses, showing them what we do and what we require. It is not a place to lay your head, it is a place to get better. And throughout the drug courts, all of those things, i feel like our primary focus sometimes its sometimes gets a little muddled. We need to focus on those basic things, those basic things. Work the program of recovery and do the basic things it takes to live in our homes. I dont have a whole lot more today, i want to turn it over, and i appreciate it. Thank you. [applause] thank you, dan. Our next speaker is no stranger from the inside or the out. Please welcome Curtis Taylor. [applause] curtis thank you, joe. Was that your polite way of saying im a convict . [laughter] curtis man. You know, i get to speak at a lot of places and ive got to say, having the opportunity to speak at an oxford house World Convention is the highlight, it is one of the highlights of my life. Right here, i am at home. This is my family. [applause] curtis yeah. Whats up, justin . My man. My name is Curtis Taylor and i am a person a longterm recovery. What that means is i have not used alcohol or any other substance for over 16 years now. [applause] curtis i found his thing called recovery, i found this thing called oxford house by gods grace and mercy way back and in 1996. You do the quick math, you just said its only been roughly 16 years. I had a little more research to do. [laughter] curtis but i did the math earlier this morning. Since 1996, i have been in sustained recovery all but about eight or nine months. That is 23 years and only eight to nine months of that was i not engaged fully in recovery. That in and of itself speaks volumes. Once this oxford house thing gets in your blood, the streets will never be the same. You will never be the same. So the last time that the disease of Substance Use disorder exhibited itself in my life, or should i say i exhibited the symptoms of this particular illness, i found myself facing two felony charges. I had been in the county jail, i grew up in the county jail, lets put it like that. But i had never been in the department of corrections, in prison. This time, there was no way for me to avoid a prison sentence. I went to prison there is more to that story but we dont have time for it and i came home may 25, 2004 with absolutely nothing. I didnt even have a change of underwear. I was wearing the white uniform that the kitchen workers from the prison wore because i didnt have a change of clothing. Low and behold, Kathleen Gibson, your wonderful chief operating officer from oxford house, was in the parking lot of the prison that day. I had no idea she even knew it was my release date, but she did. She had been keeping up with me. She was there and i walked over to her truck and i said what are you doing here . She said, look, her husband keith, my husband and i have been talking about you and praying about you and we decided youre going to stay with us for a few days and dont worry about nothing, get in the truck and it will be ok. [applause] curtis so dan talked about the things that we dont have coming home from prison. That is a long list. Cap i didnt have anything. Fortunately, a dear friend of mine helped support me and provide me with some of those things. One of the most important things that she and keith and their beautiful daughter provided me with was understanding. They werent judging me. They invited me and welcomed me, a convicted felon fresh out of prison into their home and they fed me and clothed me and 11 me. And they loved me. There andweek or so then kathleen set me up an interview at oxford house. Crosslink had been giving her a fit for about 18 months and she was strategically placing me there to fix it. [laughter] curtis so i went from there to speaking to people about my prison experience and kathleen and i develop thing called a reentry coordinator. We created a position out of thin air and all of a sudden i had a job at oxford house, how about that . [applause] and so what i need to say is that while i was in prison, i saw so many people, so many men, so many polaroid pictures of mens children and i couldnt help but think to myself, what is happening to those kids what we are locked up in this cage . And so god again to instill in my heart this passion. How many thousands upon thousands of thousands of people come home from prison every day that dont have a Kathleen Gibson in the parking lot . How many people have never heard of oxford house . You see, it is plain and simple, right . Back in 1971, i think it was, this man named Richard Nixon declared war. He declared a war on drugs. Now what he was really do was declaring a war on people. He was declaring a war on an illness excuse me, people suffering from an illness, and they got together and they said, lets do it like this. We will take these people suffering from Substance Use disorder, give them enough rope to hang themselves, let them commit various crimes and as soon as they do, we will jump on them. We will lock them up in a cage like an animal. In the meantime, we will make sure there is absolutely no treatment available to these people, no help, and to make sure that this big moneymaking machine that we call mass incarceration, to make sure it continues to be viable. We will label these folks. We will call them felons. We will call them exconvicts. It is really easy to discriminate against someone and to judge somebody to justify your discriminatory behavior when you put a label on someone. Thats why on certain news channels you hear words like illegals, it makes it easy to cast these folks into the garbage and forget they are living, breathing human beings just like you and i. How many of you have been arrested . [laughter] curtis let me ask you another question. How many of you have been to prison . All of those hands, right . Let me put my hand up. [laughter] curtis now, i am in longterm recovery for a long time, right . Im a business owner, i am the executive director of the Alcohol Drug Council of North Carolina. [applause] curtis i was the very first, as far as i know, the very first on the National Level paid reentry coordinator for oxford house. The very first. [applause] during my years with oxford house, i opened some 40odd new oxford houses and placed somewhere around 4000 people. People. D 1000 and that is just me, right . All of your hands went up. Obviously youre not in prison today. You are not using today. So each and every last one of you who put your hand up, you have a different story to tell about yourself today. You are doing incredible things in your community, we just all have time to hear all about it, right . But i guarantee you that not one of us would stand up here and say that going to prison is what eventually helped us achieve recovery. There may have been an excellent Treatment Program in that prison, but you shouldnt have to go to prison to get good treatment. Locking me up like an animal, caging me like an animal, taking away all of my dignity, all of my human rights, dressing me in a raggedy orange jumpsuit and flipflops and strip search me while you make millions off the backs of incarcerated americans. America incarcerates more people than any civilized country in the world. I think we heard earlier today, 4 of the worlds population, 25 of the worlds prison population. Its not hard to figure out. So Richard Nixon, he declared a war on drugs. My name is Kurtis Taylor and i am officially declaring a war against mass incarceration. [applause] curtis me and my oxford house family we declare a war against stigma, discrimination. We refuse to sit back and watch our brothers and sisters continue to be caged up like wild animals treated like dogs, a person suffering from Substance Abuse disorder need help, they need treatment, they need detox, inpatient, outpatient and they of course need oxford house. They need a doggone job. How are you going to call me a convicted felon and say oh, you cant get no we cant hire you because you got a felony . We cant rent this apartment to you because you got a felony . My son dont care nothing about me having no felony. He hungry. He needs something to eat. [applause] you know, addiction can be a real dark place. When i was a little kid some of you probably had the same experience. I remember being afraid of the dark at some point. And the thing that i recognize is that the very second that you flipped on that light switch, the dark ran away. And the light took over. I consider mass incarceration and the way we treat each other as a society as a darkness. And im proud to stand up here this morning and say that oxford house is that light. [applause] oxford house is that light. So to my oxford house family, you all know i wouldnt stand up here and not remind you folks, dont you dare look down your nose and judge your brother or your sister. Dont you dare sit up in the house and not answer that doggone telephone. Dont you dare sit up in that house and vote no at the interview because oh, he got convicted of a b e and we dont want no thieves in our house. Who do you think you are . They already said you might not have got caught but you did plenty. Even if it was driving a 5,000pound vehicle, drunk as a skunk, thats a crime. So dont get it twisted. Youre not better than me. Youre not better than anybody. And guess what . Im not better than you. None of us are. Were all imperfect human beings trying to do the best that we can on a daily basis. So lets cut out this nonsense. Lets shut down the prison system. Lets close it. Lets close it. [applause] lets take some of that money and fix some of these raggedy streets in washington, d. C. Im sure im over my time. But theres so much more that i could say, man. But, you know, this reentry thing is powerful. Its powerful. My life today dedicated to making sure that the next man and the next woman have the same opportunities that ive been given. Because i fully understand that if i got everything i deserved, i couldnt handle it. I would bust hell wide open long time ago. Its gods grace and mercy that im standing here today. So as a result, im obligated, im committed, im dedicated to turning around and making sure that im being a Kathleen Gibson for somebody. Ask yourself, who are you being Kathleen Gibson for today . Who are you helping . Who are you making sure got a nice change of clothes or can get a haircut to get ready to go to that next Job Interview . Who are you doing that for . Or are you so caught up on facebook . Or worrying about meeting your next baby mama that you aint got time. [laughter] that you aint got time. You know, man, you all are beautiful by the way. Oxford house is an incredible thing. I thank paul malloy and kathleen and john fox for giving me an opportunity to work for such an Incredible Organization for so many years. I thank you guys for your continued support as my journey continues. But one thing ill leave you with, if this convicted felon, i know ive been arrested over 60 some odd times in my life, i can remember getting out of jail, out of the county jail in the morning and being back that night. Yeah. So if i can go through all of that, and on may 11, 2019, graduate from shaw university, summa cum laude with my bachelors in social work [applause] if i can become executive director of an agency, if i can most importantly be a father to my beautiful daughter and my wonderful son, you can, too. Thank you. [cheers and applause] very powerful. And the beauty of oxford house, just so you know, and i sat curtis and i probably stand the stand on opposite ends of the spectrum in our philosophy of what constitutes fair and liberal punishment. But the one thing that we both agree on is the light of oxford house. And, you know, i tell this to guys when i go to the house meetings and theres problems, you know, where else in our lifetime have we ever sat at a table and discussed issues in a calm manner . Some heavyweight issues. But no one is getting loud. No one is screaming. You know, no one gets slapped. Everybody, you know, behaving themselves. And oxford house taught me that. It taught us that. That we can communicate and we can share ideas. And you dont have to agree with everyone. But certainly you have to respect everyones point of view. And its powerful, curtis, powerful. Our next speaker will be mr. Michael mckeon from outreach florida. [cheers and applause] well, hello. This is a great honor to be able to speak here. I dont know how im going to follow that, though. Ive been clean and sober since july 15, 2016. [applause] michael i moved into an oxford house in hattiesburg, mississippi. And i had a trash bag and a movein fee and that was it. The guys brought me into the house, and very early on, i started seeing people getting their lives together. I started seeing people getting their kids back. I saw people get college degrees. I saw people get good jobs and cars. And just getting things back in life. And early on, i was really on the fence about my recovery. I didnt know that this is what i wanted to do with the rest of my life. I didnt know if i wanted to use again. But i started going to meetings with these guys. I started to just really getting involved with the whole accountability of the houses and the chapter and eventually go on to work with the Regional Association. And it just motivated me so much. It was exactly what i needed after serving in prison. After serving seven and a half years in prison i was formerly known as 15553 in the it was a huge clue as to how i got oxford house. Huge fluke as to you how i got into oxford house. I case manager asked me about different houses in the area and she told me that these were not for me, michael, dont go there. Day i was coming home from work at a Community Center and she said she heard about a place called oxford house. She didnt know what it was but said we could do an interview. I did the interview over the phone with the guys in her office and they accepted me. I didnt know what i was going to walk into or expect, but it worked, i got in the house, got out of prison, made my parole and got in. That the biggest holdup is that the different case managers, transition specialists, these people dont know about oxford house. If they did, could you imagine the amount of peoples lives that we could change . If every single specialist knew about oxford house . I just really hope in the future that we can really work contracting in all 50 states, that we can really work having reentry coordinators and people that have stepped up into a leadership role work with all these people in all of these different prisons across the country so that we can solve this problem. Of you imagine the statistic , livingals reentering in oxford house as opposed to individuals moving into their grandmothers house or their moms house or to some other recidivism . I think dr. Kelly said that the rates in recidivism oxford house is two thirds less than what it is as opposed to a different situation. [applause] so, i ask you as members of oxford house to really get out there and work with the prison reentry. Work with the transition specialists. Work with the parole probation officers. Work with anybody who is going to help these individuals find a place to go after they leave prison. Thank you, thats all i got. [applause] thank you, michael. Our next speaker is the reentry coordinator for the state of North Carolina, mr. Jesse wilson. [applause] a lot of hope in here. Once upon a time, somebody was telling us that he or she aint never going to change. Look at us. Im jesse wilson. Im in longterm recovery. What that means for me is i havent had a drink or a drug since jenna were 21st of 2018. [applause] because of people like Curtis Taylor and justin that paved the way for me, im able to help people like me. You know, looking back on my life when i was a younger man, eight or nine years old, i was very mischievous. Ended up smoking marijuana at 10 years old, doing math at 13. Starting selling drugs at 17. Lost my dad to an accidental overdose. I was heading to prison early. To prison in i got was 1494007 inmate. Thats who i was. Thats not who i am today. [applause] once upon a time they wouldnt let me see my son. I was a drug dealing maniac, i liked to get violent. The two i was. Now they let me pick my son up from school. [applause] of course, there is a process. I will tell you, in North Carolina, the prison loves us. They look curtis, they love justin, they love me. Yeah, there is a process. When i would receive any mail i would getmanager, that fivepage application that goes into great detail, i would send it to oxford manual and i would say have them read this because i will be asking about this, you know . Then after i get back i conduct my phone interview. Longest phone interview i have had is about two hours long. I get really into it. Im telling you the truth. I tell them a piece of my story, you know . Im not just talking to someone behind a desk. I tell them look, im a regular guy that has been to prison just like you. It lets them open up to me. I let them know that it doesnt ,atter what game you may claim doesnt matter what you have done in your past. It dont matter to me. Gang banging in prison israel. And it doesnt matter to me. I want to see your desire to change, your willingness to do what it takes to stay clean and sober. Thats what matters to me. When i got out of prison, i went back home. Who relapsed the day theyll walked out of prison . Its real. Found oxford house and this guy tried to hug me. I was i dont hug me. He said do you shake hands . I said thats it, though. I was that guy. But these guys love me, man. These guys love me. I did end up going back home and relapsing and i said i got to go back to my real home, which is in oxford house. [applause] i got to get a real sponsor and work in real steps, you know . And i let them know. A lot of times in my interviews it sounds really good. I get real with them. Im professional with the case managers but im real with the guys trying to get into oxford house. If you do this, man, its the top but the only person whos going to do it is you. Aint nobody going to do it for you. The things im writing down are the things im advocating and telling houses that you will be doing and if you dont you will be held accountable for that. I give them the rundown, i tell them what to expect. You know, ive done over 130 phone interviews. Placed close to 130 people in nine months. [applause] this. Ard for i relapsed whenever i got out of prison. But it doesnt have to happen. Out of the 100 people i placed, ive got only 20 contacts in my phone of people i know that are still around. I try to set them up for success in strong houses. Ive had people ask people say the eye done accepted to people that burned. That doesnt mean that the next person wont succeed. We was given a chance. Lets get back. I went all over the state advocating a chapter meetings. You know, following up, talking for people thats behind me that in got a voice for themselves yet. And got a voice for them so aint got a voice for themselves yet. Like an old man told me one time, if you continue doing what you always done, you continue. Eing who you always been on the flipside of you want to become someone you have never been, you have to start doing things you have never done. That is where we come in. [applause] talking about having a bag of clothes, not a change of underwear. When i started this job i was getting donations, fling them in the trunk, taking them all over the state to people. A lot of the people in place and told me they dont have no family. They aint got nobody. I say you do now. [applause] me. Did job to i mean yeah, i get paid for it. But i love what i do. I love what i do. I love sitting down and doing an interview with somebody and letting them know im here to help them. And dont get me wrong. I placed 100 people. I got to deny some people. Us. Int for some people in for us at oxford house. Its unfortunate but the truth. If you are not showing any willingness and not listening to what im saying, we aint going to waste no more time here. If you are not serious about your recovery, you are in somebodys head that is going to be. [applause] im just being real. You know, everybody deserves a chance. I do love reentry. People do change their lives, like all of us here. Thank you, guys. Thats all i got. [applause] thank you. Special well, our next speaker is annie cleveland. From outreach virginia. [applause] that her you to know parents came down here to see her with her daughter. Good morning. Im a woman in longterm recovery. What that means to me is that i havent felt the need to put a mood or mind altering substance in my body since april 23 of 2015. [applause] to super blessed and honored be here with all of these panelists. Really hard to follow, im just going to tell you a bit about myself and what i have found works for me. I am one of 13 Washington State outreach workers. Washington state, over 300 strong. Yeah. I work in six different counties. I work with six different drug courts, with prisons and jails all across Washington State. One of the biggest things i have found is establishing the. Ositive communication you can be a liaison between the houses and these entities, you know what i mean . You are here to help change the lives of people. Its one of the main things i do. I go to the Drug Court Graduations and meet with compliance officers. I sit down with judges. I also sit down with my housemates and by members. Im there to support them during graduations and the things that they need. Oxford house drives because of our integrity it helps participants adhere to the program there try to complete. We hold each other accountable, we lead by example. And we love people until they can love themselves. [applause] leadership for me among peers is very important with our challenges. Drug court strongly encourages their participants to live in oxford house is because they stand a better chance of recovery than any place else. Making it through a drug court or ram is not an easy task. But living with a group of people who understand and are working through their life challenges and support one another is paramount for success. So, im grateful to be a Washington State outreach worker and im very grateful to help raise the gap between drug court and full reentry. Thank you. [applause] thank you, annie. Ceo oft speaker is the the National Association of drug court professionals. Please welcome mr. Carson fox. [applause] well, i met a disadvantage because you all know plenty of people on the panel but you dont know me. And youre probably wondering why im here and how i got involved in what im doing. Everyone has had a time for a story so i will tell you a short story. Im not in recovery, but i was let me ask you this, how many of you laid with matchbox cars when you were little . Lets give a hand for matchbox cars, love them. [laughter] so, im a long way from playing with matchbox cars. But when i was a little kid a friend of mine grew up with them, we played with matchbox cars. Thats good you do when youre a little boy, right question lived across the street from each other. Similar households, similar everything. He got involved in alcohol and drugs and i got involved in alcohol when we were very young. For whatever reason, his path was different than my path. He had honestly with his family, he had a lot more resources than mine had. They tried. They did everything they could. Im 51 now. He would be 49. Those 49is that of years he spent 20 to 25 in prison. Later on i became a prosecutor. I didnt want to be a lifetime prosecutor, but i wanted to be a lawyer. Want toys in law school go into prosecution because you get court work. They asked me to help start a truck court there. I started researching what it was and it looked like it was actually helping people and i said sure, its weird, a lot of my friends after i started doing that, i said i think i want to make this a career and they were , you could are crazy go on to practice law. And im like no, i want to do this. There are about 4000 treatment courts in the country. There are drug courts, which many of you know. There are veterans that might have ptsd or traumatic rain injury. We are moving to a place where most drug courts in the country are not in there for like a possession charge. Its usually a charge driven by drugs. Like my friend that i grew up in, that i grew up with, before he was ever arrested the first time, other things happened. My parents woke up in the middle of the night and he was in their bedroom rifling through my moms first. If you remember for those of you around my age, 25 or 30 years ago, when i was a kid that was 40 years ago, and a lot of communities in the u. S. They didnt lock their doors didnt lock didnt lock the doors. They would get mad at me if i didnt leave the keys in the ignition. Everyone just left the keys in the ignition and the doors unlocked. So hes in the middle of the night going through their purse. A lot of the folks i dont with the prop l with as a prosecutor, this is one thing and you help with, a lot of folks understand what you all understand. I explain to people, i will talk to some people sometimes, i talked to someone working in our field not long ago, i said it was interesting, not a single participant in that drug court had a drug charge. Not one had a drug or ill call charge in the couldnt understand what i was talking about. I said that they were all there because drugs and alcohol are issues that had driven them to the justice system. It was interesting, we had a big conference this summer and last summer. My sister was able to come see what i did. Peopleis one of those who wants to hug everyone, she will probably stop to hug a tree. But she had heard stories of at which drug she had 18 kilometers. My sister, and she likes what i do but honestly, its not understanding the system. What i need your help on hism, a lot of folks and that. More and more of these folks are having charges that are not drug and alcohol charges. Its victims that i can tell you if you talk to people im not going to ask you to raise your hands, but i can tell you how to work in the system and drug courts. The people if you are in drug court, for example, paying restitution to folks, like in my families,se neighbors, employers, friends. , its case of my friend [indiscernible] for that yalle can help me with, getting folks to understand that. Understand that there are folks in the system for example that are living in the communities with drug court the whole idea of it is that youd dont send people to prison, more often than not now folks in drug courts dont have drug charges they have charges whether his some supervision because there is restitution. They might have criminal records that are pages and pages long but you give them a chance and you try to connect them to recovery and i need yall to help me with that. Help with that understanding. A lot of folks when they think about people in recovery and they think about people finding recovery and people who have charges, they think about just drug or alcohol charges. They dont think about other charges. It doesnt enter their mind and it needs to enter their mind. I have already said finally once, but i will say it again. The big push that we have been making recently as we have found out there is research out there this may or may not surprise you, it looks like, depending on the state you are in in the United States, we talked about the number of folks in prison . In some states over 50 of the people in state prison are there because they were revoked from probation. And the reason that most of those folks were revoked was because they had a technical violation and those technical violations, most of them have to do with what . [inaudible] thank you. Whats critical also for folks to understand and the push that we are making is that if you have a drug court in your community and if what some of has shown you is that they need basically more services and a higher level of care . Why put them in prison . Why not offer them more services and a higher level of care question mark why are folks, why are maybe in some states over 50 of the people in prison people who when the judge first sentence to them the judge decided you are not a threat to public safety, what you need his treatment. So when the person relapses and cant make it, at some point in time, wrote the person is sent to prison but they have done nothing else to show that they are a threat to the community. So why, why not keep them in the community and give them more services, giving them the extra step that they need . I can tell you its a heavy lift, you could talk about one million folks behind bars who should probably be in their communities and receiving treatment with their families. Thats a heavy lift. Its a heavy lift to get folks to understand that. A lot of people dont. I was surprised with my sister when she didnt understand it. My sister has known me for quite some time and she didnt understand that a lot of the folks coming into drug court have more than drug and alcohol charges. I just need you all to keep keeping up the fight, keep doing the good work. The guy that i know, that i grew up with, somebody told me when i was back home on a visit the last couple of years and they asked me about him and they said do you thing his life would have been different if back then 25 years ago we had a program like that . I said i dont know but i would like to hope so, since this is my lifes work, that if he had had a different path, our work at my organization is to ensure that as many people as possible are given the opportunity for the different path. I want to thank yall for what you do and if you have any questions for me, find me, ask me, i work every day of the year and i love the work that yall do. The worst thing i have had to do all weeks follow this the people on these on this panel because these are fantastic, fantastic people. [applause] ok, so we finished a little earlier and we are going to open it up for questions. If you could line up and please identify yourself with what state and house you are from. Im britney. Houston, texas. So in houston we are trying to integrate reentry. Its like really hard right now. We think its a great idea but i think that people treat reentry the same way they treat and metis. They are scared of it, right . A lot of the houses are closed off in houston like no, we wont accept that person, the same way they treat nat, right . Which is wrong. What is a different approach, maybe . Housesr these homes and a reentry person . You know . People are really turned off to the idea. We have a few reentry Success Stories, one is here with us today. So it works, you know . Its just a lot of houses are closed off and i want to know if theres a different word that we can use other than reentry or i do know that makes sense to yall. Does anybody want to answer that . We have got several answers for you. [laughter] i will take us to have at it. My first inclination is to grab a baseball bat and start beating the heck out of people. [laughter] i dont know, man. You saw it. We asked how many people in here spent time incarcerated and the whole room raised their hands. If you went back to those houses it would be the same result. It sounds like to me its just a simple case of people forgetting with a come from. You know . We stumble and recovery. We get a haircut, take a shower and a half and get a cheap bottle of cologne and all of a sudden, you know, we forget laying on that prison bunk. We forget when it was time for us to come home, all of the prayers, the hoping in the wishing and the god help me stay clean. God, help me find a job. Please allow someone to welcome me somewhere so that i can have a sense of belonging somewhere. We forget about all of that. We become better than. Thats a sickness in of itself. I guess all you can really do man is keep pushing the message. Keep holding up your corner of the world, so to speak. Keep being that example. I suppose whatever, like most stakes will texas, i know you are crazy. You all you do a lot together. At those events, the more you can put a reentry Success Story out in front, maybe make them the keynote. Make them get them to start getting elected to those positions and whatnot and take leadership roles. Maybe that will help to turn the tide. [applause] one of the things i wanted to add to that, you are asking if there was a different name for them. There is, oxford house resident. To stop usingnt and our tradition states our primary purpose. Easiest way to classify them differently is that they are different. They want to stop using drugs and they are a member that wants to live in oxford house. I would like to add to that that not only with a reentry, but a lot of times there would be a house where someone had an illness, they are gay, or something. I find that houses that seem to operate with a narrow mind, education will bring it up. Just go there and explain the situation and remind everyone that we are in recovery and that as long as we all start on the same page, we are all in recovery, we can work miracles from there. Fact thatablish the we are a house built on recovery and all are welcome. Yes . Hi, im angie from the fort worth, texas area. Reentry community. Were having an issue in texas with parole approved oxford houses. We need some help getting our houses approved for parole and probation. What is the essential problem . We cant get them approved. Do you have any . Like maybe one. Sorry, we have two. Do you know how they were approved . By accident . [laughter] a happy accident . They are saying appear that they require a license. All theurate . Houses in texas have to be individually approved, ok . Thats having each house has two addressed with probation and parole. They wont blanket Approval Group of houses. Hats texas is texass rule they have to deal with it for every single house and i think they have a lot of stipulations in place that we need to work on if they want to have a Constant Contact in the home. You guys have some obstacles that will be difficult to overcome because of texas law. Its not at all. Hawaii is the same way. We have an existing house and we will invite the parole officer to come out, view the property, call the phone number, call from the house so that we have the number and if it is satisfactory to them, you know, we fall into certain categories where they are next to a school or dont want to hear it, thats not oxford house. They will approve. But they also found they used to just blanket it. They had a shotgun approach to their clientele and had trouble monitoring those people. So, they limited to six houses out of 30 that they will send their clients to and its easier. O manage on their end call of the officers, invite them to the house, give them a couple coffee, see if that works. Good luck. How you doing . Quinn, jackson. Austin, texas. I have two questions. One for curtis, i have three numbers. 11 reentrye chapter coordinator. Reentry chairman. With oxford house what i have realized is that as reentry chairman we have all of these different positions, theres no really coordination with other reentry chairman and others these are anything like that. Could there be more on exactly what our job or what could be doing . Its just kind of like a position that, like, you know, its unique to the area. You are looking to expand it . Yeah, and help each other out. With texas we have a Reentry Division that is art of parole. They really only have a presence inside. Theres no presence outside, you know . Whenever you are released to give you a packet with a bunch of numbers and homeless shelters and thats it. Inside the give you a Social Security card, birth security birth certificate and thats it. In North Carolina what exactly what does a state reentry person do that might could help ,e whenever im in the capital whenever i advocate more for reentry and initiatives for people getting out of prison in the state of texas . Thank you. Youou are asking what more can do as a subcommittee . Know, with someone who is a reentry coordinator at the state level, what exactly, i know you kind of mention things that, you know, meeting with other people, what exactly is there was hard data. What exactly is a Reentry Court nader for the state, what did they do . I help assist people transition out of incarceration upon release and get them into an oxford house. The subcommittees that we have in North Carolina do help with the placement sometimes. They do help advocate. Me personally, yes, i work the whole state. You are willing to come on your own, drive around and advocate, like what was said earlier, bringing Success Stories with you, just a couple of things we have done in our areas, we have houses that have donated clothes, people from the houses donate their old clothes. We started reentry closets for people coming out of incarceration with no close. We help with that. My subcommittee, our subcommittee, they do helpful placements and they helped to guide me in the right direction of a good house. Stuff like that. Its really all i really got for the subcommittees. I mean unless you want to start doing presentations at your on your own at my homeless shelters that people are getting released to, thats really one of my main jobs, making sure someone has a safe place to transition into and not a homeless shelter. Im sorry, your name again . Quentin. Quentin . Know, quentin. Dan. Name is you are in texas, correct . Yes, sir. The situation you are in, i know the folks in oxford house have worked tirelessly in your regional leaders that worked tirelessly to try to get the policy towards acceptable to the houses. The best of best advice i would have for you, to use your question and make your position feel valid, right . Its to go out and work with salvation army, homeless shelters, and focus on the people that are starting from zero getting into the houses. Again, reentry is not just incarceration, ok . Anybody that needs to reenter society. And until texas gets those political things lined up to where oxford house is blanket approved, just focused on helping those that dont have. We just got a young lady in our chapter approved. I heard curtis say that he was the reentry person for oxford house as a whole. No longer. But you can see me after the meeting. Ok . Come see me. Hi, im from houston, texas as well. My question specifically, it was suggested that to help out with the Reentry Program efforts that we are doing, to start working with drug court. I just want to know the process. Do i literally just walk in and etc. , whichjudge am willing to do good luck with that [laughter]. Well i was an employee of the county, so i can kind of get through backdoors, but once im in there, whom i looking for and whom i talking to . Wanted to get first . Yeah. First thing i did was introduced myself. From that i set up conferences in one of our areas. They have a coordinator for all the courts. Whether it be Mental Health court, drug court, family court, they usually have some type of liaison around the court that can direct you. And just you know, because i am outreach, we have worked with a bunch of different counties. I work with six different counties and they have different roles for every county. In some counties they have authorized me to have roy because of hip and things like that. So is there is that open communication because you know, they would like us to tell them if one of their participants relapses or if they have moved out of a home were Different Things like that. We should be able to call them out. Like hey, what did they really get sanctioned for, things like that. Thats one of the things i did. And just being involved, i make we have compliance officers, the people between the counselors and the courts that have their own systems. I went in there and introduced myself. Some of the officers in my county, they are the actual officers that come by the house and things. Just introducing yourself, you know, showing up for the events, you know . Celebrating those graduation markers. Moving from you know, the different phases out there. Yup. Quite im going to give you might email address, if anybody needs that, take it down. Cfox allrise. Org. In ma. What i can do, there is a cordon very coordinator in the drug courts. I will do an introduction. You mail me and as you said, its just Relationship Building from there. Today or next week, whenever is good for you. It is see cfox allrise. Org. s or capitals or anything. , im from is bo kelly the state of colorado. I also came from reentry. Its a really important component for me. I guess now i am in outreach representative but i have been working in reentry since i got out of prison almost a year ago. Someone kind of touched on it, but we have such an amazing outreach and reentry team in colorado. But the one thing i find most frustrating is the cooperation and stigmatism we get from the houses. This is kind of a backlash, especially from the houses that are already established. They try to separate reentry. I think the guys that were we are trying to place to get out of the department of corrections come out with a stigma that its a doc guy, making rather than separate. I was trying to figure out how. O combat this problem more any suggestions . I have tried a lot of different to be aes but it seems constant problem. You are saying that once they get there they are still being ostracized . To some degree. There is definitely a level of people not wanting to even work with reentry in our state. Even once they get there, i dont want tos place someone who just came out of prison into a house where there are already negative feelings and behaviors, were setting them up for failure at that point. So, you yourself, having been reentry, tell your story. Tell them about yourself. Be a leader. Thats what i did in my area. When i ran into problems like that i let them know i did 7. 5 years in prison and this is where im at in my recovery. This is what oxford house has done for me. Really just to encourage them that it doesnt matter where you come from. People get caught. Others dont. Its as simple as that. We are all recovering alcoholics. Yourself to own your story and that will touch people. Thank you. We have got five minutes. X hello. Im from louisville, kentucky. I was what one of many that their hands raised about reentry. Ineentered into thousand 12 without supervision and accountability i was high before the dawn of the next day. Fastforward 6. 5 years later and i caught my first felony in december 2018 and in january of 2019. Oxford house helped me to stay sober. I wanted to give all of you guys that, you all are changing lives. Thank you all. [applause] my name is willy. Im from oxford house in dallas, texas, one of the north texas. Re reentry shares i was wondering if you might have any sources for like federal or state funding where we are trying to get together a bunch of resources to create a resource list about what people need in these houses. One through three, get your food stamps. Go here to get her birth certificate, your drivers license. Any state and federal sources you might have connections with or links to that might be able to get this stuff for these people. None im going to share. [laughter] no, listen, out of texas and using this Organization Called clean cause. They have helped us with first months rent. As far as federal and state, you are on your own, i dont have a clue. Thank you. Quick of the things, real , in North Carolina a lot of the houses and chapters contribute monthly into a fund, it called the reentry fund. Out of that fund we are able to pay the entry fee and a bit of for thepense share folks coming home. The guys that dont like the reentry folks coming in . They will love that idea. [applause] really quick, recently are reentry position was created on that level. Question i really wanted to the panel, is on or any experience on the reentry level and what role can the position play better to serve the state and stuff like that . We are still trying to figure it out, you know . Are current share has been working on her own city and seeing what others are doing. But what role can a Regional Association play on working with reentry . Click thats really, curtis explained of really well. Him and kathleen kind of created this position. You have to build it, network, kind of make your own, you know, schedule and pace. But when you have other team you have to focus of the youre not overlapping each others work. Do you have any . Yes . Price before i came to florida i was working in louisiana and a reentrytly started association themselves in the past year and a half or so. Its been very successful. I would highly recommend you for some of those people who are you are here and talk to them. But its really about getting people to volunteer in the area and having the meat is a group bimonthly, hitting all the bases and collectively deciding whats best for the entire state. Ok, thank you. Will of the Biggest Challenges is getting the word out. So many dont know that it exact oxford house oxford house exists and that you have options when you come home. If were going to be the light i talked about earlier, wash the darkness away, its up to us, introduces self to case managers and superintendents of facilities. Any opportunity that you get, invitees people to see the oxford house. Its the most powerful tool that you have, to bring someone into an actual, living breathing oxford house. Once they see the model and heres just a few stories from the individuals that are there, they are sold. Thank you, thats all the time that we have. Paneld like to thank the for their participation. Enjoy the rest of the convention. Tonight at the hospitality suite they will be frank jeopardy at 8 00. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2019] comes back senate into session on monday, with two important issues on their agenda, antigun violence legislation and budget bills. Before they return, get a behindthescenes look with the cspan History Program open to the senate, conflict and the senate, conflict and compromise. It was created for compromise. Jefferson questioned the need for a senate. Follow the constitution. The framers established the senate to protect people from their rulers and as a check on the house. The fate of this country and maybe even the world lies in the hate of congress the hands of congress in the u. S. Senate. Original interviews, our regional archives and unique access to the senate chamber, we will look at the history, traditions, and roles of the senate. Tonight at 9 p. M. Eastern and pacific on cspan. With Hurricane Dorian threatening florida and the coast, lawmakers are providing resources for constituents. Senator marco rubio says that in evacuationsunty have been ordered for all Residential Structures in zones a and b and nine structures will open it 1 p. M. Today. Who represents the vero beach area in florida tweeted please be advised, the number of shelters have changed provides a link for a website with more information. President trump received a briefing on the storm a short time ago and gave a statement in washington. Ini would ask for everyone the hurricanes path to hold to yield to local authorities. Unfortunately. We should watch. Looks like it has been building thing hats a big bad thing, not a good thing. We want to prevent unnecessary risks to the public. Arebrave First Responders getting fuel and gasoline floated in because they have never seen anything like it. They are rushing to get so much. The coast guard, the army, the marines, they have been edible. Hurricanes kids are strong, determined, resilient. We will we will work very hard to minimize the effect of whats even coming out. We dont even know. All we know is its possibly the biggest. Im a sure i have heard a category five, i knew it existed. You dont see them that much, its something that i dont even know how many have ever even heard the term other than i know its there. Senator Bernie Sanders is in New Hampshire and maine this Labor Day Weekend and coming up shortly he will be hosting a town hall and ice cream social and westchester, New Hampshire. Thats due to live coverage. Until then, a look at president ial candidates and Environmental Issues. As we continue our discussion of Environmental Issues and campaign 2020. 15 month before election day, where does Climate Policy rank in the minds of 2020 voters . Guest there was a place where drinks and the might of democratic voters, and then the broader public. For democratic voters, communication is showing that liberal voters rank it as the third most important issue. When you see the Democratic Candidates up there, they are jockeying for the primary voter. The broader electorate is a little lower on the pole, 17 out of 29 issues. But we are seeing is a little bit of emphasis on Climate Change because of who is being spoken to. See where it comes out in the general election. Host what are the major differences focusing on the primary candidates when it comes to environment the policy . Where are we seeing the risks . Guest we are seeing quite a bit of agreement and thats a credit to the activism on the issue. And a lot of the natural events fueled by Climate Change. A lot of studies have come out that say we need to be more drastic in our action. We are seeing a lot of Public Investment calls. Billions of dollars to address Climate Change. Bringing in a bunch of different groups groups underrepresented in the political process to address these issues that hit people differently but hit all people. Differences some are whether someone comes calls for a carbon tax or want to allow for more coal, oil and gas with some technology to make sure the emissions dont get pulled into the atmosphere. They are not being talked about in great detail right now. Host you are the folks with the most aggressive Climate Policies . Guest Bernie Sanders came up with the most aggressive policy. Jay inslee made it his soul issue or signature issue and he left the campaign. Bernie called for a 16. 3 trillion plan over 15 years which dwarfs most other peoples plans. Everybody has called for something big. Elizabeth warren called for trillions, joe biden, kirsten gillibrand. Host if you want to talk about your favorite candidates environment of policies, democrat or President Trumps actions on climate and energy, you can do that in the last 25 minutes of the washington journal. Republicans, 202 7488001. Democrats, 202 7488000. Independents, 202 7488002. Zack colman covers energy and it for mental issues for politico. You mentioned jay inslee out. What has been his impact as a candidate running solely on the environment till issue . Guest he made everybody address it. He was challenging joe biden, having a soliloquy with him. That got biden flustered. Has anxtent what it effect on his joe biden having to come out with a detailed plan. Jay inslee and so many other people were asking people for more details. Whiteslee put out several papers on what he wanted to do on Climate Change, every little aspect showing it touches every part of life in the economy. Everybody else had to measure up to that. Host what are some details joe biden put out . Guest getting to net zero Carbon Emissions by 2050. Deadlines. Or earlier net zero Carbon Emissions Technology Like carbon capture, which is when you allow gas and coal to be burned but you trap the emissions to make sure they dont affect the climate and you store it underground. He called her 500,000 more electric vehicle charging stations to help get people to a charger. We dont have enough in this country. He has tried to bring back some the obama regulations he worked on and wants to plus up what he was doing there. Host what is the president s pitch heading into 2020 on energy and the environment . Guest he is trying to find his best way to talk about this. You see him up on the debate stage saying competing with the others who have put out aggressive plans. We need to work on this and work on phasing out coal and oil and gas and have a conversation about it. He said he would eliminate fracking that there is not clear way to do that. Host President Trump . Guest no, joe biden. Host what is President Trumps pitch . Host he wants to do more the same guest he wants to do more of the same. He said the wealth of the nations centers feet. We will not see a change from him. He will not matter who the democratic candidate is. Host does he want to run against the Green New Deal . Guest his advisors love that democrats are talking about this. He and his advisors think it is insane. It is too ambitious and people not supported. Host lets chat with a few callers. David out of alabama, republican. Caller thank you for cspan. My concerns are with the environment itself and our natural scrubbers which are greenery and trees that are not high enough to get to some of these things. We have so many vehicles around the United States right now. Almost every driver could have a brandnew car coming off the line. There will come a point in time where fossil fuel cars will have to be downgraded to the point where they not even being sold. I am a car buff. Sometimes we have to take into consideration what the environment needs and what it does not need. Host the think President Trump does that enough . Doesnt. Ell, no he need scrubbers in those factories to help scrub some of this stuff. We cant keep planting stuff in soilround that is going to our earth. What do you do with all the toxic waste that comes out of everything you try to revert . Host zack colman . Guest i think david brought up good points. One of the 2020 candidates, cory reforestation is one of his signature aims. I think there is definitely a point about transportation here. We dont have the ability to get a handle on Climate Change if we are not using editions from transportation. People are beholden to their cars at this point. It is a big challenge. That is where most emissions come from, not the power sector or electricity. That is something all candidates are wrestling with. Host you mentioned reforestation. President trump is looking to boost logging in alaska. That we need sense more trees to capture more carbon, any tree lost is going to be negative for the climate. Guest the story in the Washington Post looking at President Trump the perley asking sonny perdue to exempt million acres that was imposed 20 years ago. Something that may be in the works. Bridget out of austin, texas. Caller how are you . Thank you for both of your work. I wanted to mention john robbins work. Out about food revolution. Watere 5000 gallons of with the production of one pound of beef. He researched it and found it was true. Cows are so massive and their waste dropping of the planet, it traps heat in our environment. What is happening in brazil, we are losing the rain forests. Those of the planet. He said we need our trees to breathe. Host that is bridget in texas. Our Democratic Candidates talking about cows . Guest there is a recognition agriculture brings a lot of omissions. There needs to be some sort of way to reduce those admissions. We are talking about soil, sequestering carbon in the soil. We are talking about having more responsible grazing policies. I dont think that is been nearly as fleshed out his Energy Policies writ large. There is not enough brought to bear on that. Guest why arent we going to have a specific democratic debate about Climate Change . The National Committee said they will not have a single issue debate about anything. It will be too late to include that. We have never seen that, but to the activist point, Climate Change touches all aspects of life. It affects the economy, your health, the home you live in. They feel this is an issue not getting enough attention and touches every single thing and it needs to be brought to lightfoot candidates are going to do and make sure it is a firstorder priority of whoever the democratic nominee is. There is not enough time left. C talked about not having that specific debate. Cnn holding a seven hour Climate Change town hall next week with 10 Democratic Candidates expected to show up. Its agriculture and fuel burning. The twoure and fuel are biggest contributors. Is your Democratic Candidates . Who do you think is talking about this issue the best . I agree with what some of your guys on the air said. Bernie sanders certainly is close to my heart. I was supporting bernie anyway. You are going to have an opinion, thats great. But get educated on it issue before you start getting out there and voicing your opinion to the rest of the world like its fact. A Bernie Sanders fan. Do you want to dive into Bernie Sanderss climate plans . He has put meat on the bones of the Green New Deal. At this point the Green New Deal has been the action plan, the mission statement. But he actually decided im going to put some meat on the bones here. Trillion in 16. 3 emissions,overing eliminating them a couple of years after that. Talking about getting zero emissions from transportation and power and everything, talking about some military spending, making fossil fuel Companies Pay more, limiting subsidies they get. Sanderss type platform. He has always been really against corporate interests and has always tried to make the fossil fuel Companies Pay for what they have done to the climate. Paper, and itome is something that is going to raise the bar for a lot of candidates. People have been waiting for this climate plan from Bernie Sanders. Here it is. Their today out with latest polling on the democratic primary field. Heres where it sits according to the usa today poll that just came out. President joe biden up. Elizabeth warren moved up four points youd Bernie Sanders dropping three points to third place with 12 . Only three other candidates received support above 2 . That includes california senator kamala harris. Usa today with their new polling. Lets focus on pete buddha judge pete budha gig ttigieg. Toeven Bernie Sanders used to promote a carbon tax. In the plan he released he didnt even mention it. But pete said we are going to cut tax fuel emissions, and the revenues he would get from those taxes would be given back to people in the form of a rebate, so it wouldnt have an actual cost on individuals. This is what economists say is the best solution for directly addressing emissions. A lot of Democratic Candidates have backed off from it as the Green New Deal calls for more urgency and bigger spending plans. This is frank. Good morning. You presentedt this morning is pretty indicative of what i consider the problem. Between anit time actual climate scientist and a climate denier. We have one of two Political Parties that actively denies Climate Change. Does not happen anywhere else in the world. Its why i think we are friendly doomed on the subject and i find it depressing. How democrats will look to frame the climate and environmental debate heading into the general election regardless of who the candidate may be. The caller is collect is correct, there have been studies that the United States is unique among conservative parties, being one that largely rejects climate science. It didnt resonate with voters as much as it has now. Changes is a lot of storms happen, a lot of hurricanes, a lot of science that says we are falling behind. People are starting to connect the dots. Places that are conservative, beces that are red, it may in low lands like low carolina or south carolina, they know something is changing. There is a recognition that thi
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