The Inside Circle: The Courage to Heal While Incarcerated with Eldra Jackson III
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Eldra Jackson III
Eldra served 24 years of a life sentence; the last eight were spent sitting with Inside Circle eventually leading to his release from New Folsom Prison in 2014. A living example of successful rehabilitation and re-entry, Eldra has dedicated his free time on the outside to serving at-risk youth, and acting as a facilitator, trainer, and mentor. He is a writer and sought after public speaker on the topics of at-risk youth advocacy, effective criminal justice rehabilitation and turning around ‘toxic’ masculinity. He also hosts the Inside Circle Podcast.
The Inside Circle
The Inside Circle exists to reduce recidivism and all forms of violence-physical, emotional, and psychological— in our prisons and communities. Using the power of human connection found in peer-guided healing circles, Inside Circle transforms lives, reducing violence inside and outside adult and juvenile prisons, lowering recidivism rates, and building social-emotional literacy.
They Operate regularly within and around California State Prison, Sacramento (New Folsom), Sierra Conservation Center, and New Jersey’s Juvenile Medium Security Facility. They have ignited and run programs in an array of adult and juvenile detention centers and community settings across the United States.
After sitting in group with Inside Circle for an average of 3 years, members show shifts in resilience, empathy, self-regulation, and perspective taking. For participants, There’s an 80% decline in the number of “115” rule violations. 70% of participants dropped 1-3 security levels. 44% of the men who were serving and went through the program are no longer in prison but instead serving their communities and contributing to society, and 0% of released participants returned to prison within three years of release. For more on The Inside Circle watch The Work documentary available on Amazon.
Discussed In This Episode:
- Eldra’s background and his story
- What went through Eldra’s mind when he was sentenced and his first years in prison
- Toxic masculinity, Eldra’s definition of it, and how it impacted his life
- What we need to know about prison life
- Racial segregation in CA prisons and why this remains in practice
- The Circle — how Eldra found it and how it heals
- What led to Eldra’s freedom and eventual release
- The adjustment to being out of prison and the biggest challenges
- The pain of healing
- How to reduce incarceration
- Call to action
Important Links:
- Waiting For An Echo by Christine Montross
- The Work documentary
- Eldra Jackson and The Circle on Instagram
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Happy Listening!
With Fun and Love,
Jackie