In this bonus episode of Hiding in Plain Sight: The Neighbors You Never Hear From, Host Tia Ryans speaks with Kimberley about the anxiety of parole, the challenges of reentry, and the road back to self after incarceration. [This episode contains explicit language.]

Kimberley is a loving mother of two. Her passions surround helping those in need and she uses that desire to thrive in the hospitality field. She plans to pursue her post-secondary education in the medical field.

To support the continued work of NJ F.O.R.T.E House and learn more about the organization, visit: njfortehouse.org
Get involved: All of us or None-Northern NJ

Hiding In Plain Sight: The Neighbors You Never Hear From is produced by Tia Ryans, Brit Harley, and Dionysus Augus.

Theme music provided by Vacation Collective, Bright Ideas Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!) || https://uppbeat.io/t/fe77a/vacation-collective || License code: 4HIKHJVTF3RTDLGW

This series is part of the Newark News, and Story Collaborative made possible with funding support from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and the Victoria Foundation. The Newark News and Story Collaborative is committed to elevating community-driven storytelling to fill information gaps in local and national media. The Collaborative trains community members in storytelling, media-making, and other creative art forms to share and amplify their experiences. It’s laying the groundwork for a collaborative network that will address longstanding information inequities in Newark, New Jersey. For more information and to hear local stories, visit newarkstories.com.

We previously heard from Nelson, but in episode 7 of Hiding in Plain Sight: The Neighbors You Never Hear From, we hear a more in-depth interview when he spoke with Host Tia Ryans. Nelson served a 17-year prison sentence. We hear about Nelson’s journey of what he described as “becoming a man.” From childhood sexual abuse, gang involvement, and his love for God, Nelson reveals how he weaved through all of that as an impressionable man. Nelson Gonzalez is currently proud to be on the front lines as an Aveanna Essex County COVID-19 vaccination site supervisor. Nelson is a Certified Automotive Technician through New Community Career and Technical Institute and is looking to acquire his Bachelor’s in Psychology.

After serving 17 years in prison and being released less than a year ago, he is anxious to give back to his community. Nelson uses his experiences as a storytelling tool to help others with similar experiences. He has already been featured in articles such as Nelson’s Journey by Swoppt and FORTE House Resident Nelson Fights COVID--and Bias--from “The Front Lines” by From FORTE House to YOUR House.

To support the continued work of NJ F.O.R.T.E House and learn more about the organization, visit: njfortehouse.org
Get involved: All of us or None-Northern NJ

Hiding In Plain Sight: The Neighbors You Never Hear From is produced by Tia Ryans, Brit Harley, and Dionysus Augus.

Theme music provided by Vacation Collective, Bright Ideas Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!) || https://uppbeat.io/t/fe77a/vacation-collective || License code: 4HIKHJVTF3RTDLGW

This series is part of the Newark News, and Story Collaborative made possible with funding support from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and the Victoria Foundation. The Newark News and Story Collaborative is committed to elevating community-driven storytelling to fill information gaps in local and national media. The Collaborative trains community members in storytelling, media-making, and other creative art forms to share and amplify their experiences. It’s laying the groundwork for a collaborative network that will address longstanding information inequities in Newark, New Jersey. For more information and to hear local stories, visit newarkstories.com.

In episode 6 of Hiding in Plain Sight: The Neighbors You Never Hear From, Host Tia Ryans speaks with Parish King, who spoke about his personal reentry troubles and physical health struggles that began with the lack of a proper diet during his confinement and medical care.

Parish King was born in Brooklyn, NY, raised in Far Rockaway Queens, and currently lives in Newark, NJ. After graduating High school, Parish attended Baruch College CUNY and worked in local church ministry, where I taught Sunday school. He received his Associate's degree in Liberal Arts and is currently attending Rutgers University-Newark, where he will be a 2021 graduate with a degree in Psychology. Parish is also a member of the Rutgers-Newark Honors Living and Learning Community. Parish plans to attend graduate school to pursue a Ph.D. in Psychology.

Parish is also a proud student of the New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons (NJ-STEP) initiative, an association of higher education institutions in New Jersey that provide college courses inside correctional facilities.

To support the continued work of NJ F.O.R.T.E House and learn more about the organization, visit: njfortehouse.org
Get involved: All of us or None-Northern NJ

Hiding In Plain Sight: The Neighbors You Never Hear From is produced by Tia Ryans, Brit Harley, and Dionysus Augus.

Theme music provided by Vacation Collective, Bright Ideas Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!) || https://uppbeat.io/t/fe77a/vacation-collective || License code: 4HIKHJVTF3RTDLGW

This series is part of the Newark News, and Story Collaborative made possible with funding support from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and the Victoria Foundation. The Newark News and Story Collaborative is committed to elevating community-driven storytelling to fill information gaps in local and national media. The Collaborative trains community members in storytelling, media-making, and other creative art forms to share and amplify their experiences. It’s laying the groundwork for a collaborative network that will address longstanding information inequities in Newark, New Jersey. For more information and to hear local stories, visit newarkstories.com.

In episode 5 of Hiding in Plain Sight: The Neighbors You Never Hear From, Host Tia Ryans speaks with Summer Sprofera, who disclosed just how difficult her reentry journey was and still is because of the trauma of incarceration.

Summer was incarcerated for approximately 9 years at Edna Mahan Correctional facility. She has learned how to grow through a terrible situation and be empathetic to those still struggling. Summer Sprofera is a graduate of Rutgers University where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Planning and Design. Summer is the recipient of the American Society of Landscape Architects’ Merit Award for a memorial she co-designed for Martin Luther King. She was also awarded a grant through Princeton University’s Molecular Biophysics Program to conduct a plant comparison at Liberty State Park. Summer currently works at Branch Brook Park in Newark, NJ as the Director of Landscape Management.

To support the continued work of NJ F.O.R.T.E House and learn more about the organization, visit: njfortehouse.org
Get involved: All of us or None-Northern NJ

Hiding In Plain Sight: The Neighbors You Never Hear From is produced by Tia Ryans, Brit Harley, and Dionysus Augus.

Theme music provided by Vacation Collective, Bright Ideas Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!) || https://uppbeat.io/t/fe77a/vacation-collective || License code: 4HIKHJVTF3RTDLGW

This series is part of the Newark News, and Story Collaborative made possible with funding support from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and the Victoria Foundation. The Newark News and Story Collaborative is committed to elevating community-driven storytelling to fill information gaps in local and national media. The Collaborative trains community members in storytelling, media-making, and other creative art forms to share and amplify their experiences. It’s laying the groundwork for a collaborative network that will address longstanding information inequities in Newark, New Jersey. For more information and to hear local stories, visit newarkstories.com.

In episode 4 of Hiding in Plain Sight: The Neighbors You Never Hear From, Host Tia Ryans speaks with Jason Conway, who explains with a proud veteran who gave a vivid description of the parallels between his time serving in the military and his sentence in New Jersey’s state prison.

Jason D. Conway is currently enrolled in the M.P.A. program at Rutgers University-Newark School of Policy and Public Administration. He received his Associate's of Arts for Mercer County College and Bachelors from Rutgers- Newark. Jason is a proud student of New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons (NJ-STEP) initiative; an association of higher education institutions in New Jersey that provide college courses inside correctional facilities.

Jason supports his community by actively participating in several social justice and criminal justice reform organizations and spaces such as the Brick City Alliance, All of Us or None-Northern NJ, Newark City Street Team, and Transformative Justice Initiative.

When asked about navigating his reentry experience Jason states that he is simply “trying to navigate the spaces provided to me with an open mind and positive thought.”

The New Jim Crow, By Michelle Alexander

The Body Keeps the Score, By Bessel van der Kolk

The Power Broker, By Robert Caro

To support the continued work of NJ F.O.R.T.E House and learn more about the organization, visit: njfortehouse.org
Get involved: All of us or None-Northern NJ

Hiding In Plain Sight: The Neighbors You Never Hear From is produced by Tia Ryans, Brit Harley, and Dionysus Augus.

Theme music provided by Vacation Collective, Bright Ideas Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!) || https://uppbeat.io/t/fe77a/vacation-collective || License code: 4HIKHJVTF3RTDLGW

This series is part of the Newark News, and Story Collaborative made possible with funding support from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and the Victoria Foundation. The Newark News and Story Collaborative is committed to elevating community-driven storytelling to fill information gaps in local and national media. The Collaborative trains community members in storytelling, media-making, and other creative art forms to share and amplify their experiences. It’s laying the groundwork for a collaborative network that will address longstanding information inequities in Newark, New Jersey. For more information and to hear local stories, visit newarkstories.com.

In episode 3 of Hiding in Plain Sight: the Neighbors You Never Hear From, Host Tia Ryans speaks with Hanif Parker, who explains the effects of an addiction that lead to his incarceration and the social ills in urban spaces that challenged his identity.

Hanif Parker is certified as a drug and alcohol counselor and has a Bachelor’s Degree in Justice Studies from Rutgers University- Newark. He minored in Philosophy and Mathematics. Hanif Parker is passionate about justice. Thus, he worked as a proxy for Rutgers’ Law School and The New Jersey Institute of Social Justice to restore voting rights to people on probation and parole. His work in reentry includes spearheading a correlational study that highlights the adverse effects of parole-mandated reentry groups; that work is being used to pass legislation today. Additionally, Hanif worked in conjunction with the Union County Prosecutor’s office on parole reform. Today, Hanif is a community organizer with the largest community-organizing group in the United States: The Industrial Area Foundation and the online senior Tutor Coordinator at Swarthmore College.

Social Intelligence by Daniel Goldman

A Rational Guide to Emotive Behavior by Albert Ellis and Ron Harper

The Art Of Living Consciously by Nathaniel Brandon

Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr.

To support the continued work of NJ F.O.R.T.E House and learn more about the organization, visit: njfortehouse.org
Get involved: All of us or None-Northern NJ

Hiding In Plain Sight: The Neighbors You Never Hear From is produced by Tia Ryans, Brit Harley, and Dionysus Augus.

Theme music provided by Vacation Collective, Bright Ideas Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!) || https://uppbeat.io/t/fe77a/vacation-collective || License code: 4HIKHJVTF3RTDLGW

This series is part of the Newark News, and Story Collaborative made possible with funding support from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and the Victoria Foundation. The Newark News and Story Collaborative is committed to elevating community-driven storytelling to fill information gaps in local and national media. The Collaborative trains community members in storytelling, media-making, and other creative art forms to share and amplify their experiences. It’s laying the groundwork for a collaborative network that will address longstanding information inequities in Newark, New Jersey. For more information and to hear local stories, visit newarkstories.com.

In this episode, Host Tia Ryans speaks with Cassandra Severe, who is a mother that takes us on an emotional journey of surviving sexual abuse as a child, how her acts of rebellion led to her eventual incarceration, and the moment she had to explain to her son that her stay at “college” was actually time spent in jail.

Cassandra Severe is a mother, student, survivor, activist, and change agent living and working in Newark, New Jersey. She currently works with the Newark Housing Authority to support the Asset Manager and the Department of Operations. She holds an Associates degree in Human and Social Services from Essex County College and a Bachelors in social work from Rutgers University- Newark. Cassandra is currently a speaker of the Faces of Women Imprisoned Speakers Bureau with the Ladies of Hope Ministries to deepen and broaden public conversation through public symposiums and 2016-2017 Beyond the Bars Fellow of Columbia University Center for Justice.

Cassandra previously worked as the Project Manager of the Newark Community Street Team (NCST). NCST is a community-based violence reduction strategy that trains and deploys Outreach Workers and High-Risk Interventionists in the South and West Wards of Newark. Cassandra also worked as a Facility Coordinator and Case Manager at Integrity House, a multi-service agency that offers a full continuum of care for individuals with substance use disorders. Cassandra knows firsthand the difficulty and challenges people face after traumatic life experiences; thus she has made it her mission and passion to incorporate healing in her social work practices.

• Praying for you Spirit-led prayers, by Pastor Mary Cooper
• Peace in the Hood- ending the violence, by Aquil Basher
• The New Jim Crow, By Michelle Alexander
• Writing My Wrongs: Life, Death, And Redemption In American Prison, by Shaka Senghor
• Built to Outlast The Storm: The 12 Points of Turning a Setback into a Major Comeback, by Jamila T. Davis

To support the continued work of NJ F.O.R.T.E House and learn more about the organization, visit: njfortehouse.org
Get involved: All of us or None-Northern NJ

Hiding In Plain Sight: The Neighbors You Never Hear From is produced by Tia Ryans, Brit Harley, and Dionysus Augus.

Theme music provided by Vacation Collective, Bright Ideas Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!) || https://uppbeat.io/t/fe77a/vacation-collective || License code: 4HIKHJVTF3RTDLGW

This series is part of the Newark News, and Story Collaborative made possible with funding support from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and the Victoria Foundation. The Newark News and Story Collaborative is committed to elevating community-driven storytelling to fill information gaps in local and national media. The Collaborative trains community members in storytelling, media-making, and other creative art forms to share and amplify their experiences. It’s laying the groundwork for a collaborative network that will address longstanding information inequities in Newark, New Jersey. For more information and to hear local stories, visit newarkstories.com.