Update:
Well, I guess I spoke too soon in our last newsletter because soon after it went out our unit went back on Covid quarantine. Uugghh!!!! It is starting to feel like a never-ending saga. The worst part of Covid inside prison is that it has reduced prison to just slightly better than county jail time. For those of you who don't know what that is, it is basically a lot of sitting around and waiting. Tomas and I (Nick) just recently wrote an article called "A Pandemic of Anxiety" that discusses the mental health toll of constantly having this pandemic hanging over your head. It hasn't published yet but we will share it when it is. As usual, Juan and I shifted gears and tried to make this lockdown productive. Juan has been working through some books and activities on mentoring and he has been putting it into practice. There is a young man who was in his construction class who lives in our unit and is scheduled to release soon. Juan has been taking the lockdown as an opportunity to help him put together a plan for release and to coach him up on life choices. He came into the cell the other day and said "man, we need to get EARN running, this kid would be a perfect candidate." Juan has a really great way of reaching out and finding diamonds in the rough. And they really respond to him. If there is one thing this experience of living down here with a bunch of short timers (there are people releasing virtually every week), has done, it is to show us how critical of a need there is for the services we plan to offer. I really believe the public would be appalled if they knew how little is provided for prisoners returning to society. I have been spending my time working on some articles, reconnecting with our friend Art and working on putting together a 6 year plan (more on that below). In looking back over the past several newsletters it occurred to us that there may be some people reading this that haven't heard the full EARN vision so we wanted take this issue to reiterate what EARN is all about. For those who have heard the elevator speech, hopefully you can share this with someone who hasn't.
KEY POINTS
Point of Perserverance:
Our friend Art just got out of prison after 34 years of incarceration. I met Art over 15 years ago and we were both serving Life Without the Possibility of Parole (LWOP) sentences. Today he is out and I have under 4 years to go. While incarcerated Art was able to acquire Singing Heart Ranch, an amazing 100 year old homestead surrounded by the pristine woodlands of the Kaniksu National Forest and we were able to get EARN established as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and secure a 25 acre piece of land in the middle of the Olympic National Forest. We are now working together to develop a partnership between EARN and Singing Heart Ranch. Seems like a pretty cool story of perserverance.
Point of Practice:
Working together with Art to develop a business plan and create a partnership between Singing Heart Ranch and EARN is exactly what our vision is. We hope to eventually have an extensive network of partner organizations that work together for common goals and the possibility of having our first partnership up and running before we even get out of prison is exciting. We have also been working on our 6 year plan and sending it out to Dev and Kev to discuss.
Point of Peace:
Art has been sending Juan and I pictures of Singing Heart Ranch and it is a really special place. It was homesteaded in 1920 by a 15 year old foster girl named Vera Gevrez. Vera was raised in the Washington State foster care system from the age of 6 when her father handed her over to the state. Vera married a horse breeder and they bred Percheron horses at the Ranch. Art has a vision for operating the ranch in dedication to Vera's memory and offer services to mitigate the harm caused by the state's foster care and carceral institutions.
THE PLANET
As I am sure you know, there are massive problems facing the planet. There are also huge obstacles for people releasing from prison. EARN hopes to address these two issues with a unique holistic approach to reintegration. Essentially, we recognize that many prisoners have the very qualities that make them especially suited to be business owners and environmental solutions architects. We also recognize that formerly incarcerated people have experienced tremendous trauma, have lost key wage-earning years, have little chance of home ownership or a retirement plan and can easily fall into the trap of working at a job that merely pays the bills and doesn't allow for the opportunity to get ahead. We are in the process of building a network that takes a holistic approach to coming out of prison in several key ways. By making a significant investment in people when they first come out, we can not only avoid the pain and expense of reincarceration, we can set people up for successful business ownership. At the same time we can create businesses that address solutions to some of the challenges facing our planet.
BIG IDEA
Environmental Advancement Reintegration Network is a sustainable business incubator and accelerator, dedicated to creating launching platforms for formerly incarcerated people to excel in professional endeavors that target environmental solutions, while simultaneously providing a community of health and wholeness. The organization was envisioned and created by five incarcerated people who met while serving long-term sentences in a Washington state prison. We have experienced firsthand the unique and rare skills inside of prison that can be harnessed to accomplish significant environmental outcomes. We have confidence that by addressing key obstacles and needs of people exiting prison, in an environment of wellness, shared resources, and community. We can accelerate the ability to become prosperous , healthy, effective and impactful.
The plan is to develop a system where people coming out of prison will have a place to live for 18 months in a therapeutic community that provides an opportunity to build a business in environmental fields, pathways toward home ownership and a sustainable lifestyle, pathways towards land ownership and partnership in a supportive network of other formerly incarcerated business owners and advocates. The goal is that during the 18 months the participant will have greatly increased their ability to thrive and make a positive influence on society and the planet. We intend to build several features to support those goals:
Forest Therapy Retreat Centers:
We understand it is essential to have opportunities to unplug and "wash off" some of the residue of prison. We know the power of spending time in nature and have built into our model a commitment to provide that time and space. We currently have a license agreement to conduct forest therapy retreats on a 25 acre piece of pristine forest on the Olympic Peninsula we call the Refuge and we are working on other partnerships to provide retreats and forest therapy.
The Farm:
The Farm is an Intentional Sustainable Community where participants can live while learning and practicing sustainable life skills, develop agricultural business models and manage fully functioning aspects of the farm. This will be a working farm with a vermiculture/black soldier operation, greenhouses, gardens and livestock areas. The Farm will be fueled by a robust Community Supportive Agriculture (CSA) membership. We are currently looking for the right piece of land on the Olympic Peninsula for this effort.
The Bridge:
The Bridge will be a facility where participants can build their businesses. Our goal is to find a building that can have several bays set up to allow participants access to get their business off the ground. We will have common workshops stocked with tools so that individuals can build out the needed materials for their business and common office space with computers, high speed internet where participants can do paperwork and research. We will also have mentorship services, assistance with grant writing, support groups and common rec and meeting areas.
We understand that we are suggesting a radical approach to reintegration. That is what is needed and we believe we have the vision and skill set to make it happen. Much of the current model is based on the idea of avoiding the cost and pain of recidivism, with pretty dismal results, our model is based on the idea of making a significant investment in individuals so that they can thrive and have a large positive impact for the rest of their lives.
FINAL THOUGHTS...
We are quickly reaching a point where we are ready to start raising funds and writing grants to turn EARN from a vision into a reality. Kev and Dev, two of the five founders, are out and doing great, and Juan and I are relatively close to being out (4 and 5 years). With the possibility of a partnership with Singing Heart Ranch we are close to the point of being able to launch a fundraising campaign, purchase additional land and start building infrastructure. We have a big vision and it is going to take time and significant resources to build, so the opportunity to get started soon is awesome. We especially want to thank our amazing community of supporters. Even though we have been seperated, knowing that you are reading these newsletters and believe in us has really kept us going through these difficult two years of Covid. We look forward to sharing with you our plans in the coming months, (we have a lot to share.) As always, if you can think of someone who should be getting this newsletter please let Kev know. Thank you so much for being in our corner!