The Film
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"We’ve locked up more people in this country than any other country. Obviously, the approach is not working... We try to tell people that this is not the Promised Land. You’re now in the wilderness, man."
—Julio Medina, executive director of Exodus Transitional Community
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Odds are that if you go to prison and are lucky enough to get out, you’ll be going back sooner or later. When Julio Medina was incarcerated, he was a drug-dealing gang leader who had narrowly missed death countless times. Twelve years later, upon his release from prison, Julio committed himself to being a different kind of leader—helping people live, instead of making people die.
He created Exodus Transitional Community, a program in New York City’s East Harlem dedicated to breaking the cycle of incarceration, particularly among people of color in New York. The Exodus Community offers services such as job placement, substance abuse and anger management, life coaching and mentoring the children of incarcerated parents. The Exodus staff is comprised of ex-cons who know firsthand what it’s like to go to jail.
HARD ROAD HOME begins as 21-year-old Griffik Negroni wanders the streets looking for a path that won’t lead him back to jail. His face is rough, cut up and fierce. When he gets to Exodus, he is received with warmth and realism. In Griffik’s angry eyes, the Exodus caseworkers see versions of themselves when they were young. Alberto Lopez, who has been out of prison for six years, is chosen to be his mentor.
It isn’t long before Griffik is called into parole. Even as he seeks employment and education, he lives on the brink of reincarceration and the risk of a more violent fate on the streets. Meanwhile, Alberto, who idolizes his boss Julio, is a success story in the making but still struggles with his old demons on a daily basis.
The people portrayed in HARD ROAD HOME aspire to freedom and security “on the outside” while grappling with the constant challenges posed by poverty, addiction, peer pressure, suspicion, family, rage, despair and the desire to escape. The film illustrates the seemingly insurmountable effort and amount of energy, resources and strength of character required to change the fate of just one person.
Update
Filmmaker Macky Alston provided updates in January 2008 on what the people in the film have been up to since filming ended:
The good news is that Griffik Negroni, the 21-year-old participant we follow through the film, is doing alright. He is employed and remains closely connected with Julio and the people at Exodus. The bad news is that Alberto Lopez, the promising formerly incarcerated caseworker who we see relapse in the film, when convicted of theft, received 12 years to life. Julio’s prediction at the end of the film that “that might be it for Alberto” may very well be true.
The Exodus Transitional Community, as led day in and day out by its founder Julio Medina, continues to work tirelessly to help people lead meaningful lives post-prison and to never go back. As always, Exodus struggles to raise the money it needs to keep its doors open. It is my hope that, through the national profile Exodus receives through HARD ROAD HOME on PBS, angels might appear who support its vision and help it and other programs like it to flourish.
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