Returning to "a place we called the end of the world."
B Yard at Pelican Bay State Prison.
Dear John xxxxxx,
2019 saw the expansion of ARC's Hope and Redemption Team ([link removed]) (HART) to Pelican Bay State Prison (PBSP), which is located at the Oregon-California border. Last month, we were fortunate enough to celebrate our first wave of graduates from our HART program at Pelican Bay.
A special thanks goes to Paul Blavin, whose generous support ensured that we could expand programming to Pelican Bay. Thank you also to California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), Warden James Robertson, and key members of PBSP staff for their partnership in bringing hope and redemption to Pelican Bay. Thank you to ARC HART members Mark Taylor and Joseph Osorio for their leadership and work every day at Pelican Bay with the men inside. Finally, thank you to the men inside doing the work on themselves to change their lives.
Jacob Brevard, ARC's Director of Inside Programs, attended the graduations and shares with you below a beautiful real-time journal of the experience.
Jacob himself was incarcerated at Pelican Bay 28 years ago. Jacob, like many at ARC, now goes into prisons to show men and women what the path to freedom can look like. Please enjoy.
Sincerely,
Sam Lewis
Executive Director
On Arrival
Here I am, back in Crescent City, California. The ambience of this place is amazing. Its lush forestry and beautiful beaches are absolutely breathtaking. The air is clean and fresh. There always seems to be a slight drizzle here. Typical weather for Crescent City, or at least from what I remember. I take a deep breath allowing the fresh coastal breeze to consume me.
Jacob Brevard (center) pictured with ARC staff member Robert Chavez (first from left), Joseph Osorio (Hope and Redemption Team, Pelican Bay), and Mark Taylor (Hope and Redemption Team, Pelican Bay) on the edge of the ocean in Crescent City.
Before entering the prison
Wow, I can’t believe I'm going back inside Pelican Bay State Prison. My return will be bittersweet. My memories of Pelican Bay come from the early 1990’s when I was incarcerated there. Thinking back on my time in Pelican Bay, I can only recall brutality, violence, hate and despair. The dreary grey walls are imprinted in my mind as a reminder of the pain and misery of that place.
A place where there was no hope, a place that we called, “the end of the world.”
It’s ironic that just like the men being housed there, Pelican Bay itself is also going through a major transformation. Today a different light permeates through Pelican Bay. The once dreary grey walls have been transformed with colorful and inspirational art. The brutality, violence, hate and despair have been replaced with hope and transformation. Even the California Department of Corrections' outlook has changed, in part, from punishment toward rehabilitation.
Beautiful art on the walls of a unit in D yard, which was once part of the Special Housing Unit (SHU) but is now a level 2 facility.
Before the graduation
For the first time at Pelican Bay, 239 men are graduating from ARC’s Hope and Redemption groups. For many of these men, it will be the first time that they have ever completed and/or graduated anything. The first time that they will see value in their lives. The first time that their family will have an opportunity to experience them as responsible human beings. As we entered the visiting room and the men started filtering in for the ceremony, I could feel the positive energy flowing through the room. Family and friends exchanged hugs and greetings with the men before everyone settled into their seats to commence the graduation. The participants were dressed in caps and gowns.
Hope and Redemption program graduates from Pelican Bay's D yard.
The Warden spoke commending the men for their commitment to positive change. Sam Lewis gave an inspiring speech documenting his transformation. Then the graduates began to speak. They shared their struggles and their triumphs. One man bravely shared that he was transforming his life for his grandmother who recently passed away. Another man spoke about how his daughter and his grandkids are the inspiration for his change. The emotion of the room shifted as we laughed and cried with them. Family and friends energetically cheered as the flash of the camera documented the men receiving their certificates. The men wept as the people in their lives expressed how proud they were of them.
Jeffrey, one of the graduation speakers on D yard, spoke of his transformation and of the recent passing of his grandmother.
In moments like these, I think about a fruit tree. I have never seen an apple tree eat an apple nor have I seen a peach tree eat a peach. The fruit tree bears fruit to nourish the lives around it. In these moments, I realize that my life is not about me. My life is about the people in my life who love and care for me. They are nourished by my accomplishments and good deeds, as I am with theirs. The fruit that these men are bearing nourished everyone in attendance. We all left wanting to do better and be better people.
Jacob Brevard
Director of Inside Programs
In moments of joy, Jacob celebrating with Hope and Redemption program graduates on B yard at Pelican Bay.
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