In prisons across California, inmates are unlearning toxic masculinity. It might be the answer to the state’s recidivism problem.
It’s been 10 years since George Luna was behind bars, but he still goes back to correctional facilities on a regular basis. He has spent most of his life cycling in and out of the justice system in Northern California. Now, he says he’s out for good and he’s looking to help other inmates do the same.
“When I leave, I probably cry maybe two, three times, thinking about the day, about things that happened,” Luna told HuffPost after arriving at his motel near the prison. “It’s just — I got to compartmentalize while I’m there. But when I get out, some things hit me hard when I hear some of these guys’ stories.”
“I’m gonna act tough and in charge. That was me,” said Michael Cabral, a current inmate and facilitator at Avenal. “Now look at me. Thirty-two years old and I went to shit because I’m doing fucking 16 years to life in prison. All because what? I didn’t want to be loving? But that’s who I truly am.” “What this has done for me in here this past year, it’s giving me back, once again, my humanity,” Miller said. “I gained my empathy back towards people. And my emotional intelligence is right now over-the-top for me. And it’s restored my faith that my mother used to have in me today and my children.”
“If you’ve done time, you have credibility,” Ndoh said. “I’m saying to inmates, ‘You can make it.’ I’ve never done time. But when somebody else who’s done time comes back and says to them, ‘Look at me, I was there with you, but look at me now,’ then you build up hope. Hope is something everybody needs.”
Though California realigned its priorities to focus on rehabilitation in that year, the state’s recidivism rate hasn’t improved much. It raises the question of whether the majority of programs are achieving what they’ve set out to do.
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