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8 Episodes 2021 - 2021
Episode 1
Tue, Mar 30, 2021
They had all the odds stacked against them. They overcame - and inspire other kids from foster care to do the same. "This is one of the first times that I've seen a Black man [Marsaille Arbuckle] who is successful, doing great things-and is from the foster care system and overcoming the barriers and things that he faced-and it gave me inspiration that I would be able to do the same." Justin Black has every reason to admire and emulate his mentor, Marsaille Arbuckle. Mr. Arbuckle is among the mere two percent of children from the foster care system to go on to college, and now helps others do the same. Justin Black, also a former child of the foster care system, considers himself lucky to have had Mr. Arbuckle's example and help in his transition aging out of the system. Now, Mr. Black takes center stage in this episode as he details what it's like to age out of the system, why so many youths in that situation fall victim to crime, homelessness, or even premature death - and how he's managed to exceed all the expectations.
Episode 2
Mon, Apr 19, 2021
"The Building Better Men Program came from my dysfunction." Odis Bellinger, MA, LLPC, Director/ Founder of Building Better Men Program understands the anger and frustration saddling many young men. His program offers them counseling, tutoring, mentors, peer support, virtual support, and even help for fathers.
Episode 3
Mon, Jun 14, 2021
Justin and Alexis Black are no strangers to adversity. Before his tenth birthday, Justin Black faced homelessness, and parents with mental health issues and addiction. Alexis Black experienced physical, emotional, and sexual abuse at the hands of her father after the death of her mother by suicide. Yet, these two incredible individuals overcame the hands they were dealt, and now share their stories to help others find hope and strength in dire situations. Entering the foster system as young children; recalling experiences they went through going from foster home to foster home.
Episode 4
Wed, Sep 8, 2021
The lockdowns in response to COVID-19 have interrupted conventional schooling with nationwide school closures. While the educational community have made concerted efforts to maintain learning continuity during this period, children and students have had to rely more on their own resources to continue learning remotely through the Internet. Teachers also had to adapt to new approaches, concepts and modes of delivery of teaching, for which they may not have been trained. How does this impact students, teachers and parents?
Episode 5
Mon, Oct 11, 2021
A conversation with Richard Wershe Jr., AKA "White Boy Rick," an FBI informant and alleged cocaine kingpin in Detroit in the 1980s, who was sentenced to life in prison. Richard Wershe Jr. was 14 years old when was lured and groomed as an FBI informant and established as a drug dealer during the crack epidemic in Detroit. His intel led to the arrests of the brother of Detroit's mayor and several police officers. When it was discovered he was underage and agents were filing reports under his father's informant number, the FBI cut ties with him, but he continued to sell cocaine until his arrest a year later at age 17. Wershe Jr. was imprisoned for more than 30 years after being caught with eight kilos of cocaine in 1988. His sentence was in part a result of the 1978 "650 Lifer Law," under which anyone found with over 650 grams of heroin or cocaine could be sentenced to life without parole. (PART 1)
Episode 6
Mon, Oct 18, 2021
A conversation with Richard Wershe Jr., AKA "White Boy Rick," an FBI informant and alleged cocaine kingpin in Detroit in the 1980s, who was sentenced to life in prison. Richard Wershe Jr. was 14 years old when was lured and groomed as an FBI informant and established as a drug dealer during the crack epidemic in Detroit. His intel led to the arrests of the brother of Detroit's mayor and several police officers. When it was discovered he was underage and agents were filing reports under his father's informant number, the FBI cut ties with him, but he continued to sell cocaine until his arrest a year later at age 17. Wershe Jr. was imprisoned for more than 30 years after being caught with eight kilos of cocaine in 1988. His sentence was in part a result of the 1978 "650 Lifer Law," under which anyone found with over 650 grams of heroin or cocaine could be sentenced to life without parole. (PART 2)
Episode 7
Mon, Nov 15, 2021
Try to imagine what it's like to be a child...who's been victimized in some frightening and inappropriate way...by an adult...especially a trusted adult. What do you do with the experience, with that knowledge? How do you PROCESS it? Now imagine what it's like to be that child, being asked to explain what has happened to you, and then being asked to repeat it over, and over, and over again, in order to get at the truth--being re-victimized, re-traumatized every time. Today, we'll be discussing these and other important, related issues with a family who has been through just these experiences and who, with the help of a very special program, has been able to cope with the truth...and heal.
Episode 8
Mon, Nov 29, 2021
For several years, the legislature recognized that something had to be done to help people who had been convicted of relatively minor criminal offenses and served out their sentences return to "normal" life. They saw, again and again, that a criminal record--even a single conviction--was a huge barrier to finding employment, housing, loans--all the things a returning citizen MUST HAVE to survive and get back on their feet. Without essentials, a majority wind up on the same hopeless path that led them into crime and into jail in the first place. The Clean Slate Initiative is a bipartisan policy model that works to update and expand eligibility for arrest and conviction record clearance if a person stays crime-free for a period of time. It's a proven and successful model to implement commonsense policies that create dramatic changes in people's lives. Clean Slate is rooted in the American Dream - the belief that if you work hard, you should be able to get ahead and provide for your family. Everyone deserves a shot at redemption. People who have made mistakes, paid their debt to society, and now want to make a better life for themselves and those who depend on them deserve a chance to do so.