By Carrie Bell, formerly incarcerated Director of Urban Alchemy-operated Culver City Safe Sleep Village
I left prison for the last time in 2020. In all, I served 14 years for a variety of mid-level crimes, like robbery, burglary and drug possession.
I was a statistic – one of the 40-60% of people who would reoffend after getting out of prison. The last time I came home, I decided I wanted to change the narrative of my life, become the best version of myself and do something great, something to be proud of.
That’s a lot easier said than done. I came home to the same friends and loved ones entertaining the same behaviors that initially kept me going in and out of prison in the first place. I had to isolate myself from what I knew so I could evolve into what I was meant to be. It was a lonely road until I was introduced to a job at Urban Alchemy by one of my friends who had previously served a life sentence.
That job became the anchor that I needed. Urban Alchemy hires people like me who are struggling to find a better way of life, one with meaning and purpose. We are helping the homeless and the communities they live in. Most of my co-workers have also served time. The others have overcome homelessness, drug addiction, or mental health issues.
Those coworkers were my rock in turning my life around.
I had to isolate myself from my family and all my old friends to focus on becoming the person I wanted to be: a happy, healthy, contributing member of society.
That’s why criticisms of organizations like Urban Alchemy, which help returning citizens, are especially painful, and frankly dangerous.
I’ve made it now. I run the Safe Sleep Village in Culver City and another site, making sure more than 50 people have a bed each night and managing a team of more than 30 people.
The stakes are high for returning citizens. The temptation to fall back into crime and addiction is real. That’s why so many people fail. It’s why I failed when I was younger.
And that’s why I want to make a plea to everyone who criticizes us just because we’re returning citizens. Stop. It’s hard enough.
An accusation against a returning citizen means more than it does for the average person. Some of us are still on parole. Some of us are trying to navigate relationships with people we know are bad influences. Some are trying to process the trauma and guilt of the truly bad things we did early on in our lives.
When a returning citizen is falsely accused of wrongdoing – whether it’s a crime or simply breaking a rule, it can have a profound effect on their life. They can end up wrapped up in self-doubt, placed on leave from the job that is also their primary support system, or facing questions from their parole officer.
That’s why it cuts deep when people say we’re part of “a gang,” “a mob,” or some other kind of criminal organization. We’ve made the active choice to move away from crime.
Accusations can also have a ripple effect. When it happens to one of our team members, we also start worrying it could happen to us or that it will hurt the reputation of the organization as a whole. It can hurt morale and make it harder for individuals to succeed.
Sometimes it only takes one helping hand to get someone over that last hurdle. And other times, all it takes is one person pushing you away to fail again.
That’s why I say the stakes are high.
We need to work together, be kind, and support one another. It’s true for returning citizens, for people struggling with addiction, and for so many others.
I’m asking everyone to support each other, but I’m especially asking you to support returning citizens and the organizations that support us.
Be kind. Be aware of others. Give second (and third) chances. Meet people where they are, and you’ll be surprised how far they can go.