>> TODAY WTTW LAUNCHES ITS NEW MULTIMEDIA INITIATIVE, FIRST-HAND , LIFE AFTER PRISON.

THIS YEAR WE ARE EXPLORING THE MANY CHALLENGES OF MORE THAN 20,000 PEOPLE LEAVING ILLINOIS PRISON EACH YEAR AS THEY REENTER FREE SOCIETY.

THOUSANDS OF LAWS GOVERN PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN RELEASED FROM PRISON IN THE UNITED STATES MAKING IT DIFFICULT FOR THEM TO FIND HOUSING, EMPLOYMENT AND TO RESTART LIFE AFTER THEY HAVE DONE THEIR TIME.

WE WILL HEAR ABOUT THE STRUGGLES PEOPLE HAVE SEEN AFTER BEING RELEASED FROM PRISON AND ALSO THE TRAUMA THAT CONTRIBUTED TO THEIR INCARCERATION.

YOU CAN SEE THE FIRST-HAND DOCUMENTARIES ON OUR WEBSITE AT WTTW.COM /FIRST-HAND.

HERE'S ONE OF OUR NEXT GUESTS TALKING ABOUT THEIR OWN LIFE EXPERIENCES.

>> MY SMILE AS A KID, HIDES THE TRAUMA OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE THAT IN MY CHILDHOOD I COULDN'T ESCAPE FROM.

AT THE AGE OF 4, I WITNESSED MY MOTHER THROWN OVER A THIRD STORY ROOF.

HAVING TO SEE HER BODY LYING AMONG THE WEEDS BEHIND MY GRANDMOTHER'S HOME, CHANGED ME.

I'M THANKFUL MY MOTHER DIDN'T DIE THAT DAY.

BUT THE TRAUMA, AND THE VIOLENCE, DID NOT STOP FOR US.

MY MOTHER WOULD LATER MARRY THE MAN WHO THREW HER OVER THAT ROOF.

>> JOINING US TO DISCUSS THE CHALLENGES OF LIFE AFTER PRISON, THE REENTRY COLLAR SEE COORDINATOR.

AND THE CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST AND MANAGING DIRECTOR OF JUSTICE INITIATIVE FOR CHICAGO BEYOND.

THANKS TO YOU BOTH FOR JOINING US.

ORLANDO, WE HEAR YOU TELLING THAT TRAUMATIC STORY OF YOUR CHILDHOOD.

WE SEE YOUR MOTHER IN THE AUDIENCE, OBVIOUSLY VERY EMOTIONAL.

WHEN YOU WERE A TEENAGER YOU JOINED A GANG WHICH LED TO HER EVENTUAL INCARCERATION.

TELL US WHAT HAPPENED.

>> THAT EPISODE BEGAN IN MY CHILDHOOD.

GROWING UP IN A HOME WHERE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE WAS THE NORM.

I ENDED UP GRAVITATING TOWARDS THE STREET LIFE IN MY EARLY TEENS.

I STARTED MAKING BAD DECISION AFTER BAD DECISION.

IT EVENTUALLY LED TO AN ALTERCATION IN WHICH I WAS UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF DRUGS, AS I SPOKE.

I POINTED A GUN AT ANOTHER TEENAGER, AND I FIRED IT.

AT THE TIME I DIDN'T KNOW THAT I HAD HARMED ANYONE.

BUT THE NEXT DAY, I RECEIVED A PHONE CALL, TELLING ME I HAD HARMED SOMEONE IN THE WORST OF WAYS.

I HAD TAKEN A LIFE.

IN THAT INSTANT, IT WAS DEFINITELY A SHOCK.

THE FIRST THING I DID WAS START TO CRY.

BECAUSE, IN MY CHILDHOOD THE ONE VOICE THAT WAS A CONSTANT WAS MY GRANDMOTHER.

SHE WOULD ALWAYS TAKE ME TO CHURCH AND I WOULD ALWAYS HEAR THAT ONE OF THE SINS THAT ANY HUMAN BEING CAN COMMIT IT WAS THE WORST WAS TO COMMIT MURDER.

I REMEMBER HEARING HER VOICE IN MY HEAD.

AND I WAS CRYING KNOWING I HAD DONE A VERY TERRIBLE THING.

>> OF COURSE YOU WERE INCARCERATED AND RELEASED IN 2017.

SO FAST FORWARDING A GOOD BIT.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES YOU FACED UPON RETURNING TO THE COMMUNITY?

>> THE HARDEST THING FOR ME WAS ADJUSTING EMOTIONALLY TO MY RELATIONSHIPS.

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT INCARCERATION DOES, IT DESTROYS YOUR RELATIONSHIPS GOING INTO THE SYSTEM WITH FAMILY, FRIENDS AND LOVED ONES.

THEN AGAIN, ONCE YOU COME HOME, IT'S HARD TO MAINTAIN A RELATIONSHIP WITH A MOTHER THAT YOU SEE MAYBE ONCE EVERY TWO MONTHS.

SOMETIMES ONCE EVERY SIX MONTHS DEPENDING ON WHAT PRISON YOU ARE IN.

WITH MY BROTHERS, I'M THE OLDEST OF FOUR SIBLINGS.

I WASN'T ABLE TO MAINTAIN A BOND WITH MY BROTHERS WHO AT THE TIME WERE ONE AND 2 1/2.

MY SISTER WAS A LITTLE OLDER BUT EVEN THEN, I WASN'T ABLE TO MAINTAIN THAT CONSTANT BECAUSE OF THE DISTANCE.

AT THE EXPENSE, THAT IT PLACES ON A FAMILY.

>> YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR FAMILY RECEIVING ANONYMOUS THREATS.

THROUGH CALLS AND THROUGH THE MAIL.

NICO, YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE DEVASTATING EFFECTS INCARCERATION HAS ON COMMUNITIES.

YOUR FATHER WAS IMPRISONED WHEN YOU WERE EIGHT YEARS OLD?

HOW DID THAT IMPACT YOU?

>> I THINK THE INCARCERATION OF MY FATHER AND A FEW OTHER MEN IN MY FAMILY JUST, IT OPENED UP THE DOOR FOR ME TO SEE EARLY ON THAT THE CAR SEVERAL SYSTEM WASN'T ESTABLISHED.

IT TOUR INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES AND LARGE COMMUNITIES APART.

I ALSO REALIZED AT AN EARLY AGE THAT THE PEOPLE WHO WERE LOCKED BEHIND THESE WALLS WERE DESERVING OF SOMETHING MORE.

THAT ULTIMATELY I THINK LED TO MY DECISION TO WANT TO GO INTO A CAREER IN RENTAL HEALTH, SPECIFICALLY IN CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS.

>> OF COURSE YOU ARE DOING IT TO IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, BOTH FOR INMATES AND STAFF.

HERE'S A PART OF A TALK YOU GAVE AT PART OF WTTW'S FIRST-HAND INITIATIVE.

>> THERE IS NO ONE STORY THAT CAPTURES THE MIRRORED EXPERIENCES OF PEOPLE INCARCERATED IN THIS SYSTEM.

AND THE STAFF WHO WORK IN IT.

EACH OF THESE GROUPS IS DEALING WITH THE PAIN INFLICTED ON THEM FROM THIS SYSTEM.

YET, THEY ARE TAUGHT TO VIEW EACH OTHER AS THE ENEMY.

RENDERING THEM IN CAPABLE OF CHALLENGING THE REAL ENEMY , THE SYSTEM ITSELF.

AND THE TRAUMA IT CAUSES.

>> HOW DOES LIFE INSIDE PRISON CHANGED BOTH THE STAFF AND THOSE INCARCERATED >> IT MAKES LIFE DIFFICULT.

THERE IS AN OVERWHELMING AMOUNT OF TRAUMA THAT EVERYONE IN THAT SYSTEM EXPERIENCES.

YET THEY ARE NOT OFTEN GIVEN THE RESOURCES AND TOOLS THEY NEED TO MITIGATE THE EFFECTS OF THAT TRAUMA.

SO WHAT WE END UP SEEING HIS STAFF HAVE HIGH RATES OF SUBSTANCE USE, HIGH RATES OF DIVORCE AND SUICIDE.

CORRECTIONAL STAFF ACTUALLY LIVE AN AVERAGE OF 10-15 YEARS LESS THAN THOSE IN THE GENERAL POPULATION.

A SIMILAR STORY FOR THOSE WHO ARE INCARCERATED THOUGH I WOULD SAY MUCH WORSE.

PEOPLE WHO ARE INCARCERATED LOSE AN AVERAGE OF TWO YEARS I BELIEVE OFF OF THEIR LIFE FOR EVERY ONE YEAR THEY ARE INCARCERATED.

THEY ALSO HAVE HIGH RATES OF SUBSTANCE USE, MARITAL ISSUES, WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING ON THE FRONT END OF THIS SYSTEM TO REALLY DISRUPT WHAT WE KNOW THE SYSTEM ACTUALLY CAUSES.

>> ORLANDO HOW DID YOU HEAL FROM YOUR CHILDHOOD TRAUMA AND EXPERIENCE WITH INCARCERATION?

TO BE IN A PLACE WHERE YOU ARE TODAY WERE YOU CAN HELP OTHERS?

>> I THINK MOST OF IT CAME FROM HAVING PEER SUPPORT.

HAVING STRONG MALE ROLE MODELS WHO I ADOPTED AS FATHER FIGURES AND BROTHERS IN MY LIFE, WHO HELPED ME NOT ONLY TO SEE THAT I NEEDED TO MAKE A CHANGE BUT, TO INSTILL IN ME A NOTION OF WHAT COMMUNITY CAN DO.

AND REALLY FOR MYSELF, TO BE ABLE TO MODEL THAT IN OPPORTUNITIES CREATED FOR ME THROUGH EDUCATION PATHWAYS AND PROGRAMMING.

I WAS PRIVILEGED TO BE IN SPACES WHERE THEY WERE AVAILABLE AND IT ADDED TO THAT PEER SUPPORT.

>> THE COMMUNITY ANTI-VIOLENCE EDUCATION.

>> THAT PROGRAM ITSELF WAS CREATED AT THE CORRECTIONAL CENTER .

TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEMS IN OUR COMMUNITY BUT TO BEGIN HEALING FROM THE TRAUMA WE OURSELVES HAD.

>> OF COURSE YOU ARE WORKING TODAY WITH THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR'S OFFICE, TELL US ABOUT YOUR ROLE AS THE REENTRY COORDINATOR.

>> MY ROLE IS TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT POLICY AND INFUSE A TRANSFORMATIVE LENS IN SOME OF THE INITIATIVES THAT COME TO THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR'S OFFICE.

ONE BEING THE HEALING BEYOND HARM , WHICH IS TAKING PLACE AND TO PLEASE -- IN 2 FACILITIES.

>> WHAT SORT OF ASSISTANCE IS THE STATE ABLE TO PROVIDE PEOPLE WHO ARE REENTERING?

>> THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR IS NOT A DIRECT SERVICE PROVIDER BUT ONE THING I DO IN MY CAPACITY AS THE POLY POLICY COORDINATOR, TO BUILD PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUR STATE AGENCIES.

FOR EXAMPLE THE STATE ID PROGRAM WHICH PROVIDES THE IDS FOR EVERYONE, AND FOR PEOPLE ENTERING FROM INCARCERATION.

AN ID IS NOT THE ANSWER FOR EVERYTHING BUT IT PROVIDES A LEG UP FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE OPEN TO ENGAGE IN EMPLOYMENT AND DIRECT SERVICES.

AGAIN THE HEALING BEYOND HARM PROGRAM, AN INITIATIVE THAT IS BRINGING TOGETHER OUR COMMUNITY, WORKING TOWARDS PUBLIC SAFETY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE.

>> NIKA, AS WE WRAP UP, WHAT DO YOU WISH, WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE VIEWERS TO UNDERSTAND BETTER ABOUT THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM?

>> I WOULD LIKE FOR US TO UNDERSTAND THAT INCARCERATION ISN'T THE ANSWER AND INSTEAD, IT HAS MASSIVE NEGATIVE IMPACT ON PEOPLE, FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES.

TO ALL OF US REALLY.

INSTEAD OF USING INCARCERATION IS THE ONLY TOOL FOR SOME OF THE SOCIETAL ILLS WE EXPERIENCE, WE REALLY HAVE TO HELP PEOPLE THRIVE IN COMMUNITY.

>> WE WILL HAVE TO LEAVE IT THERE.

THANK YOU BOTH FOR JOINING US.