Paul’s email to me, after hearing my interview on the Rich Roll podcast, was moving and powerful. It reminded me so much of my recovery from my own parents that I contacted him in the U.K. (he’s a Brit, his father now lives in the U.S.) and asked him if we could post it as a guest blog. He was thrilled to be of service to others and suspected that giving his story light would be therapeutic for himself, as well. Please feel free to email him your thoughts and comments. Blessings, Jeff
____________________
The relationship between my mother and father broke down when I was four. It was 1972.
My father by his own admission was lost in the world you talk about in your ‘Second Chances’ episode with Rich Roll – white collar, corporate, big money, occasionally absent and estranged from family life. Working so hard he missed that his marriage was falling apart. I wasn’t around to watch him crash but he did. It tore me apart when he left and it took me a very long time to develop the ability to articulate and accept the pain. I nurtured strategies to numb his absence – as I grew older I relied heavily on a close circle of trust. I chose those helpers carefully.
My mother was repeating a ‘he was a drunk’ mantra, her language was unhelpful, I didn’t want to hear it, the episode had unsettled me and he was gone. I don’t recall her ever trying to console me. She quickly remarried – the man being one of my father’s best friends. Time passed and when I hit my mid teens I began to want for another perspective on this. In my heart I knew something didn’t add up – there were events that I experienced as a toddler that did not match my mothers recollections.
Of course adolescence invited all the traps you can imagine. Happy now to be away from home I hid out – escaping my trauma with bad life choices, pushing boundaries to breaking point, alcohol, clubs and drugs. London in the early nineties was pretty much party central. Fun to a degree – in the end it ground me down, it made me sick and I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
I married – I would have loved my father to have been at our wedding. My mother attended – with both her boyfriend and my ‘stepfather’, neither of those men were capable of replacing a blood bond. Today I am still married – we have a twenty year old. Healthy and happy, at university and enjoying his time – I have given him everything I missed out on – most of all my presence. He recognizes it.
Ten years ago (2009) a sequence of events brought my father and I together again. A situation I had all but written off – he had been absent for so very long that I had started to believe was never going to happen. The gift I received was not the ‘drunk’ my mother had described (people can change!)- it was a man years deep into sobriety and now working successfully in recovery. I was introduced to the AA way and bore witness to the 12 steps in action.
There were nearly forty years of mystery, unknown circumstances to discover together. There was much catching up to do, we engaged in a discussion framing the trauma we both experienced and since the reunion I have achieved much.
It was clear I needed and sought out help – seeing a counselor was hugely useful. I then decided to go back to school (entry level counseling), volunteered for a spell – playing soccer with teenage boys and spending time with socially isolated elderly men, I stopped drinking around three and half years ago, took up running. It wasn’t obvious how meeting my father would effect me but I can be certain it made me question old ways. Change was required.
Life now is settled. I’m content, I’m grateful – there are aspects that could be better. Namely career and income, I put some of this down to neglectful parenthood. In my teens when support would have been useful my mothers second marriage was crumbling – my stepfather was insignificant in that he was absent and working abroad, I rarely had time with him. There was no bond, no connection – writing this now I still cannot recognise his approach to fatherhood. I navigated my way through the later stages of school and further education with unremarkable results. I make things work today with a minimum wage job, my wife has the better income – if it wasn’t for her…
It must be said there are advantages that come with this. Work is done at 40hrs – it gives me a healthy amount of time to attend to family and fitness. Running has been a revelation – I reached a goal of running 1000 miles and climbed Snowdon & Pen Y Fan last year, two of the UK’s highest mountains. I’m competing now with race results I can be content with. This was how I came across Rich Roll (the podcast with elite athlete Kilian Jornet was the first time I watched him).
Long term goals are aimed in the direction of counseling and men’s health. Men can be pretty rubbish when it comes to this ‘stuff’ – I know. I’ve got the scars. This is a story full of hope, belief, trust, promise, forgiveness, acceptance, it is a tale of resilience, it is raw and human – there are few that can tell me now that miracles don’t happen! I look forward to the day whereupon this becomes someone else’s inspiration.
Paul Williams
Hill Runner, Husband, Father, Son, Online Sales Manager, Sober, Helper, L2 CPCAB in Counselling Skills (ICSK-L2).
When Cornell Scott Hill Health Center CEO Michael Taylor was a kid growing up in West Philadelphia, he didn’t know that he would one day lead one of Connecticut’s oldest and largest community health centers.He just knew he wanted to help people like his friends who one by one found themselves incarcerated.
“Very simply put, I am a kid still from the ghetto in Philadelphia,” he told Jeff Grant, co-host of WNHH FM’s “Criminal Justice Insider,” during a recent episode.
“That was my upbringing. When you are raised in that kind of environment, where people face sometimes extraordinary challenges just in everyday life. If you have a heart you want to find ways of helping people.”
Taylor had a heart. He also had eight other friends with whom he was “thick as thieves and did everything together.”
After watching each of the boys he grew up with tangle with the criminal justice system at some point in their lives, Taylor said ,he knew he wanted something different. He’d hoped to become a doctor as a way to help people who grew up as he did, but he wasn’t very good at science. He pursued a degree in accounting from Northeastern University in Boston.
“I feel very blessed that I have been able to escape that and turn my life in a different direction,” Taylor said. “I give a great deal of credit for that to my parents and by the grace of God.”
He didn’t forget those friends. He still keeps in touch with those boys, turned men, whom he considers “lifelong friends.”
“Some were never able to recover from their incarceration experience, and their lives are quite hard,” he said,
Taylor’s background and the connections that he maintains to his friends influenced his decision to enter the health care field on the business side. He started his career in hospital administration in Boston. He worked for a number of large healthcare accounting and consulting firms before getting involved in the community health center movement back in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He estimated to Grant that he has worked in some 300 health centers across the country over the years.
Before coming to Cornell Scott in 2008, first as a consultant, then as chief operating officer, and now as the CEO, he had an epiphany.
“The epiphany was that I was a health center patient as a kid,” Taylor recalled. “I didn’t know it at the time. To me, it was just the doctor’s office.”
Taylor ended up serving on the board of that very community health center in West Philadelphia, Spectrum Health Service, that he visited as a child. He’s also friends with the center’s current CEO. Now he is at the helm of a community health center that he said is in the top 1 percent of providers in the country of medical and dental services. Cornell Scott also provide an array of behavioral health services including mental health and substance abuse help, services that are often necessary for successful reintegration after incarceration. The center has undergone an expansion to provide more of those services.
“It’s sort of a circle of life,” he said.
“Criminal Justice Insider” is sponsored by The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.
Our White Collar/Nonviolent Online Support Group meets Mondays, 7 pm ET, 4 pm PT. Details at prisonist.org.
From Rich Roll:
An epidemic of colossal proportions, millions struggle with substance addiction. Suffering in silence, they too often slip through the cracks, desperate and alone.
As a society, it’s incumbent upon us to better address the problem. Improve our collective understanding of its underlying causes. And enhance access to the resources required to heal the decaying hungry ghosts among us.
It is for these reasons I felt compelled to share the story of Rev. Jeff Grant – a former well-respected New York City attorney who got hooked on painkillers and started making decisions so bad, he lost everything.
Like so many, Jeff’s using started rather innocently in the aftermath of a basketball injury. But it didn’t take long before the tectonic plates of his ethical landscape began to shift. Under the influence, he perpetrated a series of financial misdeeds that led to losing control of his law firm. A suicide attempt prompted sobriety, but the long shadow cast by past actions revisited Jeff with a felony fraud conviction and a federal prison sentence.
Video on YouTube:
After serving 18 months, Jeff was faced with re-entry. His old life was no longer an option. He had to create an entirely new one.
Searching for a meaningful spiritual life line to help make sense of his transgressions and inform his trajectory moving forward, Jeff entered the Seminary, earning a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in New York, with a focus in Christian Social Ethics.
Upon graduation, he began serving at an inner-city church in Bridgeport, Connecticut as Associate Minister and Director of Prison Ministries. It is here that Jeff finds his calling assisting convicted felons and their families to navigate the treacherous waters of civilian re-entry.
Now an ordained minister with 16+ years of continuous sobriety, Jeff is the co-founder of Progressive Prison Ministries, the world’s first ministry created to provide confidential support to individuals, families and organizations with white collar incarceration issues. He has been profiled in a variety of media outlets including Inc., Forbes and Business Insider, has graced the stage at The Nantucket Project(where we first met) and hosts the Criminal Justice Insider Podcast.
This is his story.
It’s a conversation about the perils of addiction and the joys of sobriety. It’s about the the opioid epidemic and the prison industrial complex it supports. And it’s about how spirituality and divinity can pave the road to redemption.
Not just a cautionary tale from the perspective of a white collar felon, this is also discussion about what happens to the by-standing family members and loved ones, often overlooked casualties in the perpetrator’s wake.
But ultimately this is a story about absolution. It’s about confronting past misdeeds. Making amends. Finding grace. And giving back to those in need by sharing the experience and wisdom procured along the way.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer: was a German pastor, author, theologian, anti-Nazi dissident, and key founding member of the Confessing Church.
Reinhold Niebuhr: was an American Reformed theologian, author, ethicist, commentator on politics and public affairs, and professor at Union Theological Seminary for more than 30 years
Michael Phelps: Most decorated Olympian of all time, with a total of 28 medals
Our White Collar/Nonviolent Online Support Group meets Mondays, 7 pm ET, 4 pm PT. Details at prisonist.org.
From Rich Roll:
An epidemic of colossal proportions, millions struggle with substance addiction. Suffering in silence, they too often slip through the cracks, desperate and alone.
As a society, it’s incumbent upon us to better address the problem. Improve our collective understanding of its underlying causes. And enhance access to the resources required to heal the decaying hungry ghosts among us.
It is for these reasons I felt compelled to share the story of Rev. Jeff Grant – a former well-respected New York City attorney who got hooked on painkillers and started making decisions so bad, he lost everything.
Like so many, Jeff’s using started rather innocently in the aftermath of a basketball injury. But it didn’t take long before the tectonic plates of his ethical landscape began to shift. Under the influence, he perpetrated a series of financial misdeeds that led to losing control of his law firm. A suicide attempt prompted sobriety, but the long shadow cast by past actions revisited Jeff with a felony fraud conviction and a federal prison sentence.
Video on YouTube:
After serving 18 months, Jeff was faced with re-entry. His old life was no longer an option. He had to create an entirely new one.
Searching for a meaningful spiritual life line to help make sense of his transgressions and inform his trajectory moving forward, Jeff entered the Seminary, earning a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in New York, with a focus in Christian Social Ethics.
Upon graduation, he began serving at an inner-city church in Bridgeport, Connecticut as Associate Minister and Director of Prison Ministries. It is here that Jeff finds his calling assisting convicted felons and their families to navigate the treacherous waters of civilian re-entry.
Now an ordained minister with 16+ years of continuous sobriety, Jeff is the co-founder of Progressive Prison Ministries, the world’s first ministry created to provide confidential support to individuals, families and organizations with white collar incarceration issues. He has been profiled in a variety of media outlets including Inc., Forbes and Business Insider, has graced the stage at The Nantucket Project(where we first met) and hosts the Criminal Justice Insider Podcast.
This is his story.
It’s a conversation about the perils of addiction and the joys of sobriety. It’s about the the opioid epidemic and the prison industrial complex it supports. And it’s about how spirituality and divinity can pave the road to redemption.
Not just a cautionary tale from the perspective of a white collar felon, this is also discussion about what happens to the by-standing family members and loved ones, often overlooked casualties in the perpetrator’s wake.
But ultimately this is a story about absolution. It’s about confronting past misdeeds. Making amends. Finding grace. And giving back to those in need by sharing the experience and wisdom procured along the way.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer: was a German pastor, author, theologian, anti-Nazi dissident, and key founding member of the Confessing Church.
Reinhold Niebuhr: was an American Reformed theologian, author, ethicist, commentator on politics and public affairs, and professor at Union Theological Seminary for more than 30 years
Michael Phelps: Most decorated Olympian of all time, with a total of 28 medals
Philosopher Gregg Caruso has one big problem with punishment: It doesn’t work.
In a world where social determinants like poverty, abuse, and malnutrition play a much larger role than individual choices in shaping the course of one’s life, he argued, a criminal justice system bent on punishment over rehabilitation is not just ineffective; it’s needlessly cruel and counterproductive.
Caruso offered those thoughts on his path from free will skepticism to criminal justice reform on the latest episode of WNHH’s “Criminal Justice Insider with Babz Rawls-Ivy and Jeff Grant.”
“Who we are, what we do, is ultimately the result of factors beyond our control,” he said. “We’re not really morally responsible in the basic desert sense.”
This academic philosophical conviction, that social determinants that one has no control over play a much larger role in one’s life than whether or not one is a “good” or a “bad” person, inevitably led him to the world of criminal justice reform.
Because, as he sees it, the American criminal justice system is predicated on the preeminence of free will, and on the idea that those who suffer deserve to suffer and those who succeed deserve to succeed.
When one has no control over one’s DNA, the circumstances in which one was born, and one’s psychological predispositions, he said, a punitive rather than a rehabilitative criminal justice system just inflicts further harm on those already struggling, and does nothing to solve root causes that lead to crime in the first place.
“A big part of my view is that criminal behavior is a byproduct of social determinants,” he said, “and those are obviously going to be affected by the political structure, racism, poverty, socioeconomic inequality, housing and healthcare inequality, educational inequality. We have to start realizing that those are determinate factors in many peoples’ lives and are responsible in many ways for the kinds of outcomes we see.
“And if we want to address criminal justice, we really want to start addressing those social determinants.”
Instead of locking people in cages without access to adequate education, job training, and health care, he said, the American criminal justice system should follow a “public health quarantine model” that temporarily segregates from society those who have committed crimes and are proven to be a danger to others.
During that quarantine, people should be placed in an environment that resembles the natural and social world they will return to post-incarceration, and they should be provided with the necessary training and health care and resources to help them successfully reintegrate into society once they no longer pose a threat to others.
An overly punitive system simply doesn’t cut down on crime, he said. Roughly 76 percent of formerly incarcerated Americans are re-arrested on new charges within five years of their release.
“The goal,” he said, “should be to rehabilitate and reintegrate.”
“Criminal Justice Insider” is sponsored by The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.
Most women in prison are mothers. Most of those moms were the primary caretakers of children before they went to prison, and plan to go back to living with their children after they get out. But mothering is already hard; doing it from behind bars is even harder. Sometimes incarcerated moms don’t even tell their kids where they are out of shame or fear for their children. If they do talk about it, communication can be very hard: calls are limited and expensive, writing letters requires literacy, paper, envelopes and stamps, and visits can mean a lot of travel, complicated rules, and very unfriendly surroundings.
But then moms finally get out, and it’s all easy, right? But it isn’t. Most moms have to find places
to live, ways to make money, often stay sober and healthy, among other things, and getting back custody of children is not easy even without those complications. Once mothers have their children back and they are living together in the community, things aren’t always easy. Reentering moms are already disadvantaged when it comes to job skills – having kids means more food and clothes and shoes to buy, and higher rent to pay. In addition, kids whose moms have been incarcerated are often dealing with extra challenges, such as anxiety, problems at school and behavioral troubles. But there is also no love like a mother’s love, and no matter the hurdles, formerly incarcerated moms also want to be there for their beloved children as role models and caretakers and best friends and moms.
In my book, Mothering and Desistance in Reentry, I write about the 100 interviews I did with formerly incarcerated mothers on exactly these topics. Women spoke to me about both the role that mothering has had in their criminal behavior (and the stopping of that behavior, also known as desistance) and also about themselves as women and people, independent of their roles as mothers.
The women spoke about prison being an opportunity for them, no matter how horrible, to get to know themselves away from the streets and sober. I write relatively often about the disgusting fact that prison has become, for mostly poor Black and brown women, the “room of one’s own” that Virginia Woolf wrote about so famously; I call it “a cell of one’s own.”
I am most proud of Chapter Five in the book, where I write about the way forward. Ideas such as prison nurseries, college behind bars, moving facilities closer to home, and perhaps a ”moms court” in the tradition of drug courts are important. However, we must also step out of the reform box and imagine a world without prisons. In the tradition of Angela Davis, Ruth Wilson Gilmore and Mariame Kaba, among many more, I suggest that we must imagine what kind justice we could achieve without cages, especially for mothers and their children. What do you imagine? How might we, for example, create a victims justice system rather than a criminal justice system? How might we use transformative and restorative justice to center victim and community transformation instead of focusing on punishment? How might we move beyond our bloodthirst in pursuit of true justice?
I also hope you’ll join me and some amazing activists at my book party this coming Wednesday 5/1/2019 at The State House in New Haven at 7:00pm. Please contact me at[email protected]or 917-664-2546 with any questions or to RSVP. You can also RSVP on Facebook athttps://www.facebook.com/events/824321921276498/ .
In power,
Venezia (Venice) Michalsen, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Justice
The effects of incarceration last far beyond the time someone is in prison. If someone you love has spent time in prison, they may likely still be facing some serious emotional and psychological traumas from their time away. Being a great support system for your loved one can be confusing if you are unsure of how to best help them reintegrate into society. Luckily, there are steps and resources you can use to help them build a new life they love and feel fully supported by people like you. Use these simple steps to help your newly-freed loved one feel supported and inspired to build a healthy fresh start.
Asking How You Can Help
The easiest way to begin your conversation and provide support is by simply asking your loved one what they need. Sometimes simple human interaction is the best way to reintegrate someone into society, since incarceration is an extremely lonely and isolating experience. Ask your loved one if there are any activities they’d like to do, or healthy habits you can practice with them to begin rebuilding their routine at home. People require different levels of support after incarceration, so your loved one may need some time to think about what they need before they accept any help. Be patient and consider these questions you can ask to enhance their new stage of life:
“How can I best support you right now?”
“What would make your day easier today?”
“What habits do you think will help you feel excited for the week?”
Get Educated
Sometimes supporting your newly-freed loved one requires some research on resources available to help them. Luckily, online and community resources are only growing in numbers as the stigma of incarceration is drifting from society. Do your best to consider mental health challenges associated with time in prison and learn warning signs of unhealthy coping mechanisms as they deal with the stress of reintegrating into society. Your loved one may be at risk for symptoms of alcoholism, depression, or anxiety, but these can be treated easily if you connect them with professional help early on. Getting educated with mental health resources can help you support your loved one by connecting them with professionals such as:
Licensed psychologists
Support groups specific to incarceration and the associated challenges
Job-reintroduction or social career services
Maximize Your Time
The easiest way to support your loved one after incarceration is to maximize the time you spend together. Incarceration sometimes causes people to value their time more, and your loved one may leave prison anxious to experience new things and make the most of their time. Joining them may give them the support they need and can add a pleasant social aspect into your time together. Think about wholesome activities that will help your loved one both reintegrate into society and feel fulfilled at the same time. Personal and professional development activities are a great place to start if you are looking for ideas on how to best spend your new quality time. Consider getting into the habit of activities such as:
Cooking classes or making the time to grocery shop for healthy food
Spending time outdoors
Learning how to support your newly-freed loved one is easier when you consder the things they have missed while incarcerated. You can protect their mental and physical health by staying updated on resources and allowing them to ask for help when they need it. Implementing healthy habits and trying new experiences together will also help you make the most of your quality time and enjoy the memories you do have. Do your best to follow these ideas and brainstorm ways to support your loved one after incarceration so they can integrate into this new stage feeling loved and supported.
Patrick Bailey is a professional writer who contributes to many blogs.
Jeff was interviewed by Tony Savino, News Director of WGCH on April 17, 2019. Big thanks to Tony, Jim Campbell and all at WGCH for all your support. Details below.
Listen to the radio interview (starts at 0:26):
Event: World’s First Confidential Online White Collar/Nonviolent Support Group will Celebrate Its 150th Meeting, April 22, 2019, 7 pm ET
Greenwich, CT – (April 9, 2019) – Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. (www.prisonist.org) proudly announces that it will be hosting the 150th consecutive weekly meeting of the world’s first and only confidential Online White Collar/Nonviolent Support Group on Monday, April 22nd at 7:00 pm EDT.
Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div., who developed and hosts the meeting, explained the significance of the milestone meeting. “We are extremely proud that this group gets bigger and better each week. When we started the group three years ago, we had a dream that people with white collar/nonviolent criminal justice issues living in shame, guilt, fear and isolation could form a supportive community to accept full responsibility for our behavior, make amends, and embrace a new life of compassion, empathy and kindness. We support each other and reach out to others suffering in silence.”
Every Monday evening, Progressive Prison Ministries, through its popular criminal justice resource site prisonist.org, hosts the one-hour meeting. Attendance is steadily increasing. “We’ve had over 125 men and women participating from 21 different states – and overseas,” Grant said.
“While everyone who participates in the forum has been prosecuted for a white collar or nonviolent crime, the group is solution oriented and dedicated to understanding and encouragement,” Grant explained.
Several individuals from the group have volunteered their testimonies online.
“This support group has given me an opportunity to share my thoughts, concerns and emotional trauma with a compassionate and understanding group of people who all traveled a similar journey…” said Jeffrey Abramowitz, Pennsylvania
“Finding the group was such a turning point for me as I was lost. The group helped me with my immense feelings of guilt and how to overcome issues that I never knew would exist for me…” Jacqueline Polverari, Connecticut
”I wish that there would have been a White-Collar Support Group when I got out of prison over ten years ago… my pain curve would not have been so steep.” Douglas Mairena, Virginia
Grant explained, “Most white-collar criminals can’t go back to their old lives and careers, so what choice do they really have? Why not embrace a completely new life, with new options, and new opportunities centered on spirituality and doing the right things? The most fortunate are those who figure out that their attempts to solve problems in isolation are not working, and that they no longer have to go it alone.”
For those who would like to participate each week, Progressive Prison Ministries sends out login instructions with a unique link for that week’s meeting. Participants choose to login via video on a computer, tablet or smart phone that is equipped with a camera, or audio only via phone. Support group information and contact information is at https://prisonist.org/white-collar-support-group. Those currently on supervised release, probation or parole, MUST first discuss participation in the group with their parole or probation officer.
About Progressive Prison Ministries: Established in 2012 in Greenwich, Connecticut, Progressive Prison Ministries is the world’s first ministry created to support individuals, families and organizations with white-collar and other nonviolent incarceration issues. More information is available at Progressive Prison Ministries and on its social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
About Progressive Prison Ministries’ Co-Founders:
Co-founders Jeff Grant and Lynn Springer were recently featured in a twelve-page article in Greenwich Magazine: “The Redemption of Jeff Grant,” March 2018 issue. Jeff is also the former Executive Director of Family ReEntry, a Bridgeport, CT based criminal justice organization. After an addiction to prescription opioids and serving almost fourteen months in a Federal prison for a white-collar crime he committed when he was a lawyer, Jeff began his own reentry – earning a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in New York City with a focus in Christian Social Ethics.
White collar defendants (felons) face a number of obstacles. Many face their past demons and attempt to make amends with victims, family and friends. It is a difficult road and one where there are few supporters. It is a lonely journey discovering how to make people trust again, how to find purpose and how to find forgiveness.
Jeff Grant is celebrating a milestone for providing a support group for white collar defendants … its 150th support group meeting. His life was changed by prison. After an addiction to prescription opioids and serving almost fourteen months in Federal prison for a white-collar crime years, Grant, by then a disbarred attorney, chose a new path. He earned Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, with a focus in Christian Social Ethics and has since co-founded Progressive Prison Ministries.
Progressive Prison Ministries in Greenwich, Connecticut offer an online white-collar/nonviolent support group. They hold their meetings on Monday evenings, 7:00pm to 8:15 pm Eastern and white collar defendants talk about life, forgiveness, coping with the consequences and moving beyond the experience. The program is unique because it proclaims to be the first confidential white-collar/ nonviolent online support group of its kind. As this support group is run by ordained clergy, Grant said that he expects law enforcement will honor what he believes falls under clergy privilege laws. Such privileges vary by state. Florida’s 2018 statute 90.505 “Privilege with respect to communications to clergy” states that:
A person has a privilege to refuse to disclose, and to prevent another from disclosing, a confidential communication by the person to a member of the clergy in his or her capacity as spiritual adviser
Grant told me, “We are extremely proud and grateful to reach this milestone for the group. When we started the group nearly three years ago, we had a dream that people with white collar issues living in shame, guilt, fear and isolation could form a supportive community that would embrace compassion, empathy and kindness for each other.” Through taking his message online, he has expanded reach to states across the country. “People are living with issues in isolation and that benefits nobody,” Grant said.
White collar cases are often complex and the motivations different. One can imagine the cases involving the college entry scandal (known as “Operation Varsity Blues”) is exposing a number of people to an unfamiliar and punitive federal justice system. While those involved (alleged to be involved) in drug cases and other crimes have known the effects of this justice system for years, many white collar defendants are overwhelmed by the consequences.
Grant told me that his 150th meeting is a huge step in forming a community of individuals and families facing incarceration issues; suffering in silence with shame, remorse, and deep regret. Grant said, “Many of us have been stigmatized by our own families, friends and communities, and the business community. Our goal is to learn and evolve into a new spiritual way of life centered on hope, care, compassion, tolerance and empathy, and then to reach out to offer all those suffering from these issues.“
If you would like to be involved in this online White Collar support group, I’m sure that they would welcome your visit to www.prisonist.org.
_______________________
About Walt Pavlo:
Walt is a recognized expert on federal white-collar criminal matters and consults with defendants and attorneys on case strategy, You can reach him at [email protected].
I established 500 Pearl Street as a strategic consulting firm for attorneys and their clients as an advisor on federal criminal cases. I write here on criminal justice matters, particularly related to white collar crime, and speak nationally on the topic. In 2007, I released the book “Stolen Without A Gun” with Neil Weinberg, former Executive Editor Forbes Magazine (now a Reporter for Bloomberg).
Greenwich, CT – (April 9, 2019) – Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. (www.prisonist.org) proudly announces that it will be hosting the 150th consecutive weekly meeting of the world’s first and only confidential Online White Collar/Nonviolent Support Group on Monday, April 22nd at 7:00 pm EDT.
Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div., who developed and hosts the meeting, explained the significance of the milestone meeting. “We are extremely proud that this group gets bigger and better each week. When we started the group three years ago, we had a dream that people with white collar/nonviolent criminal justice issues living in shame, guilt, fear and isolation could form a supportive community to accept full responsibility for our behavior, make amends, and embrace a new life of compassion, empathy and kindness. We support each other and reach out to others suffering in silence.”
Every Monday evening, Progressive Prison Ministries, through its popular criminal justice resource site prisonist.org, hosts the one-hour meeting. Attendance is steadily increasing. “We’ve had over 125 men and women participating from 21 different states – and overseas,” Grant said.
“While everyone who participates in the forum has been prosecuted for a white collar or nonviolent crime, the group is solution oriented and dedicated to understanding and encouragement,” Grant explained.
Several individuals from the group have volunteered their testimonies online.
“This support group has given me an opportunity to share my thoughts, concerns and emotional trauma with a compassionate and understanding group of people who all traveled a similar journey…” said Jeffrey Abramowitz, Pennsylvania
“Finding the group was such a turning point for me as I was lost. The group helped me with my immense feelings of guilt and how to overcome issues that I never knew would exist for me…” Jacqueline Polverari, Connecticut
”I wish that there would have been a White-Collar Support Group when I got out of prison over ten years ago… my pain curve would not have been so steep.” Douglas Mairena, Virginia
Grant explained, “Most white-collar criminals can’t go back to their old lives and careers, so what choice do they really have? Why not embrace a completely new life, with new options, and new opportunities centered on spirituality and doing the right things? The most fortunate are those who figure out that their attempts to solve problems in isolation are not working, and that they no longer have to go it alone.”
For those who would like to participate each week, Progressive Prison Ministries sends out login instructions with a unique link for that week’s meeting. Participants choose to login via video on a computer, tablet or smart phone that is equipped with a camera, or audio only via phone. Support group information and contact information is at https://prisonist.org/white-collar-support-group. Those currently on supervised release, probation or parole, MUST first discuss participation in the group with their parole or probation officer.
About Progressive Prison Ministries: Established in 2012 in Greenwich, Connecticut, Progressive Prison Ministries is the world’s first ministry created to support individuals, families and organizations with white-collar and other nonviolent incarceration issues. More information is available at Progressive Prison Ministries and on its social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
About Progressive Prison Ministries’ Co-Founders:
Co-founders Jeff Grant and Lynn Springer were recently featured in a twelve-page article in Greenwich Magazine: “The Redemption of Jeff Grant,” March 2018 issue. Jeff is also the former Executive Director of Family ReEntry, a Bridgeport, CT based criminal justice organization. After an addiction to prescription opioids and serving almost fourteen months in a Federal prison for a white-collar crime he committed when he was a lawyer, Jeff began his own reentry – earning a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in New York City with a focus in Christian Social Ethics.
“Jeff is a true inspiration to anyone coming home from prison to face the many trials and tribulations that life throws at you. I made a very bad choice in 2009 which led me to a federal indictment and 7 months in Danbury Federal Prison Camp for women and then three months in a halfway house. I had gut wrenching guilt and remorse, and immersed myself in every program available in Danbury. I was seeking self-awareness of who I was and why I veered off my path of good decision making. It was not until I came home and met Jeff Grant that I truly started my journey to redemption and forgiveness. His amazing attitude, coupled with immense experience, brought such clarity to my very foggy existence. Jeff founded a White Collar Support Group and invited me to join in. Finding that group was such a turning point for me as I was lost. The group helped me with my immense feelings of guilt and how to overcome adversities that I never knew would exist for me. I am grateful to Jeff and all the men and women in that group and feel so fortunate to know I am not alone in my journey. Due to Jeff, I am able to give back to the women I now work with within the criminal justice system by utilizing my strengths, experience and educational background. “ – Jacqueline Polverari, MSW, Advocate Women’s Incarceration Issues, Connecticut
“Shortly after my release in September 2015, I was guided to Jeff’s door by complete chance and little did I know that I had just hit the proverbial “reentry” lottery that would help shape and change my life. I asked for his guidance about how I could possibly return to society as a once respected trial lawyer who was now branded a convicted felon. After words of support, Jeff suggested that I join the White Collar Support Group which met each week via the Internet. Not sure that I could even log in, as I was still living in a halfway house. I managed to find a library or satellite to check in, and can honestly say that it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. This support group has given me an opportunity to share my thoughts, concerns and emotional trauma with a compassionate and understanding group of people who all traveled a similar journey and who all have now become good friends. There is no question that those who have experienced the criminal justice system all face common problems, barriers and trauma as we begin our reintegration into society. I am proud to say that I am associated with this fine group of people and hope and pray that some day we can share the lessons and benefits of the peer support and mentoring that has helped me to find my passion and purpose in life. Thank you!” – Jeffrey Abramowitz, Pennsylvania
“I received an invitation from Jeff Grant of Progressive Prison Ministries in August 2016 to attend a White Collar Support Group meeting. I was reluctant and hesitant about accepting the invitation because I had my reservation about what this group was going to tell me about serving time in a Federal Prison and the challenges and difficulties post incarceration. Being a convicted felon, I have endured a multitude of challenges post incarceration. To be frank incarceration was the easy part and the biggest challenge was how I was going to reintegrate myself into society once I got home and how I was seen as “enriched uranium” by others. I left federal prison psychologically and emotionally broken, I was a wreck! I was released from federal prison in the summer of 2008 and it took me seven years to deal with the psychological carnage and to obtain inner peace. Looking back at this journey I wish that there would have been a White-Collar Support Group when I got out of prison and my pain curve would not have been so steep. Getting on Jeff’s call was a breath of fresh air as I was able to meet other men and women who had endured the shame and embarrassment of being a convicted felon. Jeff brings a spiritual component to his group which in my opinion is critical as it helps with the healing process. I applaud Jeff for creating this organization as it helps convicted felons who have been ostracized by society in providing ministerial counseling, empathy, compassion and support. I have met some incredible people in this group and I look forward to being an active participant for many years.” – Douglas Mairena, Virginia
When I first joined the White Collar Support Group, I was nervous and not committed. I heard there were other women on the call but they were not on the first couple of calls I was on. I felt anxious as the only person of color on the calls as well as the only woman. Over time, I developed more trust and became more vulnerable to the group. I have never felt pressured to share or be anyone different on these calls. I now look forward to our weekly time because it is the one time a week when I feel whole regardless of whether I am having an “up” day or a “down” day. There is nothing like a shared experience with people who have walked your walk and know exactly what you are talking about. When new people come to the calls, I am eager to put a metaphorical arm around their shoulders and remind them of what they already know but have temporarily forgotten: “You will survive. You will have some up days. You will have some down days but we are all here for you. And…. Yes, you will survive. Life will never be the same again but you will survive. You will discover that you are really an amazing person in the process. You will survive.”
So many people come to the call in a complete state of panic. Their situation is not what they bargained for. They are losing everything they once knew. They want to know how to make it all go away. They want to know how they can regain everything they are afraid of losing. The calls become a place where your entire humanity, not just your mistakes, are affirmed and upheld as valuable. The calls are the one place of refuge where we are reminded that we are NOT, in any way shape or form, our crimes. The calls are one place where our whole humanity is affirmed. We do not give legal advice but we give soul support that helps build resilience. And in the long run, it is a game of resilience.
The best part of these calls over the last couple of years has been taking relationships off-line. I have met several of the men and women that have been on the calls. They are more than friends. They are Anam Cara, the Celtic word for “Soul Friend.” I love our transparency. I love how we are all striving to be our best selves. I love the support and love I receive. I love the celebrations of our successes no matter how small and I love the encouragement I receive when I am down. Most of all, I have turned this into an accountability group. I still wrestle with why I made the poor decisions I made and committed a financial crime. I do not want to be that person. I want to be a person that makes smart decisions. I want to be a person that is fully aware of the ethical impact of my decisions on other people and also on institutions. On the calls, I continue to get help in the areas that I feel the weakest. I know that because of these calls and the support and non-judgment that I receive, that I am able to grow beyond the limitations that my crime has placed on my life. – Anonymous, Georgia
As a practicing attorney in a one-man firm, I took money from my client trust account to help meet business expenses and to keep my own household afloat. Of course, I knew this was wrong and that eventually it would catch up with me. A few months ago it did, so now I am facing a prison sentence of two or three years.
During the months following my indictment I was fortunate enough to find the website created by Jeff Grant as a ministry to non-violent white collar criminals. Jeff is a former attorney, a convicted felon, an ex-convict, and an ordained minister. At a time when it seemed my life lay in ruins I was welcomed into a caring White Collar Support Group of individuals who are facing or, perhaps more importantly, have already faced, terms of imprisonment for crimes like my own. The majority are former convicts who have a true mission to help each other grow back into this world outside, to share the wisdom earned through their experiences and to acknowledge positive aspects of these years.
The group has weekly meetings, on line with real-time video conferencing. Over the past several months I have felt the power of belonging with a very special new set of friends. So much of my experience has isolated me from the community I used to know. Jeff’s group has provided a fellowship of people with whom I related immediately. This resource is also providing me with practical advice as I prepare to enter the prison system. The group inspires me every time we meet. Though I’m not a member of any faith in particular, I know a blessing when I see one. My profound thanks to Jeff and to those who gather here with him. – Anonymous, Maine
formerly incarcerated mothers on exactly these topics. Women spoke to me about both the role that mothering has had in their criminal behavior (and the stopping of that behavior, also known as desistance) and also about themselves as women and people, independent of their roles as mothers. 
