By Chazidy Bowman (Emerging Leaders™ 2019 and Leading with Conviction™ 2021):
It was a full circle moment for me last week in Cincinnati, sitting on the JustLeadershipUSA Emerging Leaders™ partner panel and speaking about our work around Post-Incarceration Syndrome (PICS) and the research we have been doing for four years with the University of Cincinnati School of Medicine, concerning the mental health of formerly incarcerated people and those who support them.
The real reentry starts with mental health.
The last question the moderator asked was, “What do we think is missing from the criminal justice space?” I spoke up and said, we do not address PICS and mental health. It’s beautiful to see how we are building leaders, but we are not serving any of them justice if we are not addressing the mental issues they are struggling with from the trauma of incarceration.
We also can’t talk about PICS if we aren’t talking about the late Terence Gorski — where it all began. We have to attribute the pioneers of our work, where it came from, and give credit where it’s due. We are carrying the torch of this work and its true essence to get people the help they need.
The real second chance begins in the mind. The real reentry starts with mental health. Addressing PICS and the five stages of it is where we begin healing and reclaiming lives.
Visit our Events page to see when the next Emerging Leaders™ trainings are taking place around the country.
In our 10th anniversary year, JustLeadershipUSA’s work of educating, elevating, and empowering justice-impacted leaders continues and is growing even stronger!
We are preparing for our very special 10th anniversary gala in New York City on October 21st, and we would love for you to be there with us.
This is going to be a very special time to look back on the past decade of JLUSA’s important work, the 1,600+ leaders we have helped get to the next level in their work, and even more importantly, we will look ahead to the next 10 years and beyond!
We can’t do this without you. We need your support to help us continue to do this work now and into the future. By purchasing a $50 streaming ticket, you are saying to the amazing leaders in our network who represent the 70+ million Americans who have been directly impacted by the criminal legal system, “I see you, and I support you!”
Please plan now to join us in person or give a one-time $100 gift or set up a recurring $10 monthly donation to celebrate JLUSA’s 10th anniversary year, and together we will build a fair and just U.S. Thank you!
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JustLeadershipUSA is a non-partisan organization. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed belong solely to the individual author or speaker, and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the organization.