JOURNEY OF HOPE WITH RODNEY MATHERS (mathersrodney@yahoo.com)

Hi There! Dr. Clete Bulach comes from a career in Education and has spent most of that time on the administrative end. He now has a company called Professional Development and Assessment Center. One of the services offered by this company is providing traing in conflict resolution and management. This is where Clete and my paths have crossed. When comining home from long periods of incarceration, the former offender must learn to rid themslves of the survival/prison mentality. Society does not work the way prison does. Settling conflict with violence will simply get someone locked up again. These behaviors must be unlearned. Join as Clete describes how this can be done. You can find out more about Clete here: Clete Bulach. If God is for you, who can be against you?

Hello everyone! In this week's episode we take a look at a study done by the Justice Policy Center of the Urban Institute. From 2001 to 2006, the Justice Policy Center did a study to determine what challanges men and women face upon returning home from incarceration. When I compare my experince to their high end research, there are a lot of "duhs" along with some strange outcomes. However, everyone's experience is unique even though there are undoubtedly some common issues. So we take a look at the study to see what we can learn for loved ones coming home or formerly incarcerated individuals looking for validation of their struggles. There are no answers here this week and that really is my point. It takes high end research scholars to tell us that ex-offenders have a hard time finding a job? Hey scholars - where are the answers? You can see the entire study here : Justice Policy Center Study Remember, if God is for you, who can be against you?

Hello and welcome! In this week's episode I take a look at the phases of reentry. Preparation, transitions, and stabalization are ideas that can be worked on prior to release and of course after. The preparation stage can be attacked while awaiting release. In this weeks episode I look at these three phases. You can find out even more about these phases of reentry by clicking here. As always remember, if God is for you, who can be against you?

Hello! It's just a fact that someone coming home from prison is going to need some help. It's not just about financial and job issues. Dealing with the changes that have taken place while someone has been incarcerated can be a strange experience! Believe me, I know about this! Within the first 48 hours of being paroled there were several things that jumped out at me. Slang had changed: people were saying, "really?" and "seriously?" People were eating chicken on a biscuit for breakfast. Where did all the Ekard drug stores go? These changes might seem ridiculous to most but to me, they were glaring! Ex-offenders will also need help in dealing with the way society treats them. Rejection is probably the most intense of these behaviors of people toward ex-offenders.  We will discuss these things and several other things that ex-offenders could use a little help with upon returning home on this episode of JOH. If God is for you, who can be against you?

Hi everybody! My guest this week is author Everett De Morier. Everett writes for 543 magazine and his book, Thirty-Three Cecils, won the top prize for fiction at the London Book Festival in 2015. One of the people he writes about in this book is an ex-offender and Everett explores his post incarceration life. Join me as we discuss Everett's take on all of this. You can check out Everett's book and his upcoming book as well by clicking HERE. Remember: If God is for you, who can be against you?

Hello Everyone! My guest this week has had drug dealers talking about where to burry his body and hit men tring to kill him. Merle Temple has been a deputy sheriff, an agent for the Mississippi Bureau of Narcatics (captain), a campaign chairman, an author, and an inmate in a federal prison. Merle discusses his life, how he reintegrated, and how his books are being used to help people. Check out my interview with Merle Temple and afterwards, check out his web page: Merle Temple Remember, if God is for you, who can be against you?

Hello everyone! It's always good to have a guest on the show that has actually experienced incarceration and reintegration. My guest this week, Carl Route, has done just that. He has additional experience in helping with the reintegration process for ex-offenders. So on this episode, we pick Carl's brain in search for ideas to help us with our own reintegration. I want to thank you for the get well emails I've recieved. Double bypass surgery is rough and the recovery is not easy but your concern has indeed helped my raise my spirits! Thank youu. Remember, if God is for you who can be against you?

Hello Everyone! Finally, we're back! My first guest of the new year is John Kennedy. John has worked with the Marines in the context of PTSD and when I was first corresponding with John about appearing on the show, it was the PTSD that jumped out at me. Any time I see a potential guest that has worked with individuals suffering from PTSD it peaks my intrest.  Here's why: It is my belief that in some cases, released offenders can have mild to serious PTSD. Some people that are incarcerated in prison (not county jail....PRISON) are intermingling with persons of the same street mentality they left prior to prison. There are other individuals that prior to prison had been in professional careers, are college educated, and had never been in trouble before. This is much more common than the general public realizes. It is these individuals I think will benefit from John Kennedy's techniques. These individuals are not wise to ways of "the street". They spend each day of their incarceration trying not to show the weaknesses that WILL result trouble. The courtesies of professionalism don't translate to prison culture. These individuals suffer from PTSD after release in my view. If you have to worry about your personal safety every day for years while coming from a sheleterd background, I really don't see how anyone can argue this point. John's technique adresses this and other conditions by physically changing the brain to be more efficient at the processing level. After the interview, check out John Kennedy's web page: click here On a different note, check out my new video:  https://youtu.be/2VQJiIQp-gM Remember, if God is for you, who can be against you?        

Hi Yall! I hope everyone was able to get some time around someone you care about and some good chow for Thanksgiving! My guest this week is Elizabeth O'Keefe and man does she have a story to tell! I hope you find at least one idea in her story that that will help you on your journey to put prison and what put you there behind you.  I've never done this before but I'm going to let Elizabeth give you a preview of her story. These are her words: "Life was more horrible than I ever imagined, and I couldn’t fathom it getting any better. To make matters worse, I had a barely-2-year-old daughter. I was riddled with guilt for bringing her into the world, and wanted nothing but to spare her from the life of hell that I was certain her father and I would create for her. I planned to kill both myself and my daughter within a few days – to finally put an end to the unbearable misery that had gone on for far too many years, and to stop the hellish pattern from repeating itself with my daughter".   Check out my interview with Elizabeth O'Keefe and if you would like to read her book, Step Through The Door: Uncensored, click here.   If God is for you, who can be against you?         

Hello Everyone! One of the things I like to do with this show is to interview people who I think, by picking their brain, I may find a good ideal or two. I'm never disappointed! Robert Galinsky, my guest on this episode, has a background I knew would produce some nuggets of useful help. As expected, Robert didn't disappoint. Robert is banging away at doing what he loves and spending the ballance of his time working with incarcerated teens on Rikers Island. His main gig is writing plays and he currently has a play called The Bench being performed at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York City. He's got a good grip on what incarceration looks like and what it takes to work toward personal goals. What a great combination for our purposes here on Journey of Hope. Join me for my chat with Robert Galinsky and you'll find some thoughts that just may be helpful to your reintegration.  And as always remember, If God is for you who can be against you?

Welcome! My guest this week is British psychologist, Kyle Davies. Kyle addresses the issues of depression, chronic pain, chronic fatigue, and anxiety. He does so in a way rhat requires a deep look within one's self instead of trying to fix these things from the outside in. The technique here is to develop resilience from the inside out. Join me for my discussion with Kyle and look for things he says that you might be able to use in your reintegration. If you're interested, you can find out more about Kyle by clicking here. If God is for you, who can be against you?

Hello Everyone! Welcome to this week's episode! My guest this week is Linda Binns. Linda has some techniques for getting "unstuck" in areas like debt, relationships, and jobs. Her approach is excellent for ex-offenders dealing with issues associated with reintegration. She has a great web site that I encourage you visit. Click here for more about Linda and her fantastic ideals. Remember, of God is for you, who can be against you?

Hello! Yoga? Seriously? Yep! Seriously! Over the years Iv'e heard stories about the power of Yoga and I know it's something that is probably good for your body but I have to tell you, this story has made me a believer. Actually, it was the vetting of this week's guest, Sam Shelley, that put me over the edge on the power of using Yoga. Sam Shelley was afflicted with a variety of ailments from physical issues to mental challenges. None of tese things are issues for him today and he credits the power of Yoga for what medical personnel have termed, "spontaneous healing".  Check out my interview with Sam Shelley this week and if you're intersted, he's written a book about his experiences you can find by clicking here. If God is for you, who can be against you?

Hi! My guest this week is Allison Sutter. Allison has gone from a teaching career and drawing on her life experiences to helping people get past adversity. Her focus is taking problems and using those problems as a tool to move forward. Allison also has some great ideas on keeping one's self esteem high as hurdles in life present themselves. Check out my discussion with her as we address both of these things. You can learn more about Allison, get a free E Book download, and see how to get her book by clicking here: CLICK! Remember, if God is for you, who can be against you?

Hello! I don't have to tell you how incredibly hard life in prison is. Freedom is a beautifull thing but as those of us who have been incarcerated for significant prriods of time know, coming home can be rough as well. Job searches, restoring relationships, even getting through the day to day routines required in modern society can present hurdles that are seemingly to high to jump on occasion. We also learn that despite these hurdles, it sure beats living in prison! Never the less, we learn that those hurdles are indeed jumpable. I am always interested in getting people on the podcast that have been through incarceration and have taken that adversity and turned it into something they can use to better themselves. My guest this week has done just that. Shaun Attwood became a millionaire in his mid 20's by dealing dealing drugs and throwing raves. Those actions caused him to have problems with the Gambino crime family and eventually landed him in prison. While there, he worked on himself and when he got out, he eventually became a successful author and speaker. The details of his story are amazing. Shaun has written several books including an international best seller. One of his projects sold to Hollywood for a movie that will star Tom Cruise.  Check out my interview with Shaun Attwood and read more about him on Wikipedia. Check out Shaun's web page to learn even more about his life during and after prison by clicking here: CLICK! You can also get to Shaun's books on that page (which I highly recommend you do!) Remember, if God is for you, who can be against you?