Voices: Change the World!
IT TAKES A TITAN: MIRVAIS AMINY
“I don't believe there's such a thing as a 'throw-away human being.' I have this desire to give back to my community. I think anytime you see something good, you should perpetuate that goodness.”
Meet Project Rebound alumnus and Enrollment Specialist, Mirvais Aminy, and learn about the impactful work he's doing to counsel and mentor at-risk youth and formerly incarcerated students.
JOHN IRWIN HOUSE
The John Irwin House, established in 2018 by Project Rebound at Cal State Fullerton, is the first transformative housing community for formerly incarcerated university students in the United States.
The Irwin House provides holistic, healing, life-affirming reentry housing and support services to improve academic, psychosocial, and employment outcomes for formerly incarcerated Cal State Fullerton students.
SPOTLIGHT: ROBERT DUESLER
“Project Rebound is an existential spot for me. It has been the scaffolding that's allowed me to integrate this important part of me into [my] educational experience ...”
Robert Duesler was the President of Students 4 Autism and the second graduate of Project Rebound at Cal State Fullerton. Robert graduated magna cum laude in Human Services and is earning a Master’s degree in Psychology at Cal Poly Pomona.
SPOTLIGHT: OMAR CHAVEZ
“Education empowers. Education's very important because it changes you into a person that can make a difference -- make a difference in your community and in your family...”
Meet Omar Chavez, the first graduate of Project Rebound at Cal State Fullerton. In this video, Omar shares the personal story of his experience as a student participating in Project Rebound at CSU Fullerton.
SPOTLIGHT: ARNOLD TREVINO
“... in the prison yards everybody wants to know where you're from. On the college campuses, we don't care where you're from. We just care where you're going.”
After 25 years in prison, Arnold Trevino earned a Bachelors and Masters degree and was awarded a Dean’s Medalist at Fresno State. He now volunteers with Project Rebound at Fresno State and is employed by the Insight Garden Program at Avenal State Prison.
REIMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY
The Kegley Institute of Ethics hosts impactful dialogue with Project Rebound thought leaders Dr. Brady Heiner and Romarilyn Ralston on Reimagining Public Safety.
Based in their respective expertise, the panelists engaged in discussion on topics relevant to reimagining public safety – from incarceration and police reform to the potential for broadening our understanding of public safety.
THE P/R CONSORTIUM
“That was my turning point, because once I felt welcomed and there were people that could relate to me and that wasn’t judging me school became easy. It was fun. It was an escape. It was like my sanctuary.”
Project Rebound consists of a Consortium of nine CSU campus-based programs at Bakersfield, Fresno, Fullerton, Los Angeles, Pomona, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, and San Francisco. This video spotlights the voices of Project Rebound students throughout the state.
DR. BRADY HEINER AND ROMARILYN RALSTON ON MASS INCARCERATION
Project Rebound's Founder and Executive Director Dr. Brady Heiner and Program Director Romarilyn Ralston joined the Ethicist’s Corner podcast to discuss mass incarceration and the work of Project Rebound. This podcast is hosted by Michael Burroughs, Ph.D., who serves as Director of the Kegley Institute of Ethics and Associate Professor of Philosophy at Cal State University, Bakersfield .
BEING AN ASTRONAUT
“It's unbelievable that within the greatest country in the world we incarcerate so many people who need support and love, who need a first chance... ”
Romarilyn Ralston talks about personal struggles she's faced in her journey from incarceration to earning both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in her first 5 years outside. Romarilyn is the Program Coordinator for Project Rebound at CSU Fullerton.
REENTRY: JASON BELL
“I started to learn that there was something for me in school and when I found that, I went 100% on it.”
Jason Bell talks about his personal journey from incarceration, higher education to directing Project Rebound at San Francisco State University. Jason is now the Director of Program Development for the CSU Project Rebound Consortium, helping to expand opportunities for formerly incarcerated students throughout the California State University.
FROM PRISON TO UCLA GRADUATION
'If you could say one thing to a kid what would it be?' And I would say: "...sometimes showing up is what really reaches them.”
James Anderson, co-founder of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, speaks about his experience transitioning from imprisonment to discussing Socrates in a university classroom, to meeting with President Obama at the White House and graduating with honors from UCLA in June 2017.
ALLEN AND ZION: A FATHER-DAUGHTER STORY
Allen has been incarcerated for longer than his stepdaughter Zion has been alive, but they've found common ground and connection through education.
Allen is enrolled in California's only face-to-face Bachelor's degree program for incarcerated individuals through Cal State LA. Zion is getting ready to start her freshman year at Cal State LA's main campus.
BREAK THE PRISON PIPELINE
Having spent years behind bars, Dr. Burton is now the Founder and Executive Director of A New Way of Life Reentry Project, a community organization that supports and empowers formerly incarcerated women by giving them a place to live that is free of drugs, alcohol, and abuse.
Dr. Susan Burton helped P/R at Cal State Fullerton launch the John Irwin House, the nation's first reentry housing initiative for formerly incarcerated university students.
WHY EDUCATION IN PRISON MATTERS
“For individuals who participate in any type of correctional education program, their risk of being re-incarcerated drops. For those who participate in college programs, they’re half as likely to be re-incarcerated upon release.”
RAND research looks at the effect correctional education has on recidivism and post-release employment and at its cost-effectiveness.
A NEW WAY OF LIFE
“I think the more the public becomes informed... there is something we can do other than keep incarcerating people.”
Susan Burton, receives the 2010 Gleitsman Citizen Activist Award for her efforts to fight social injustice by the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School. Here she discusses her work to oppose mass incarceration in Los Angeles by founding and directing A New Way of Life Reentry Project.
WOMEN THOUGHT LEADERS
“I think it’s [important to have] opportunity for people who are coming back into the community to get grounded and get a hold on their lives, [so] that their lives can actually thrive and they can become assets to the community...”
After serving six terms in prison, Susan Burton is now helping other formerly iarcerated women rebuild their lives at “A New Way of Life Reentry Project.”
EAR HUSTLE EPISODE 42
“Thanks to Amika Mota, Romarilyn Ralston, Frankie Smith, Chayne Hampton, Jason Jones, Carlos Flores, Kenyatta Leal, Tommy Shakur Ross, Sam Lewis, Michael Nelson, Antwan Williams and Eric “Maserati-E” Abercrombie...”
“Ear Hustle” answers questions from listeners. This time around, formerly incarcerated people lend their experiences and lessons learned to a group of kids currently incarcerated at a juvenile facility in Madison, Wisconsin.
The Sentencing Project: Women and Life Imprisonment Webinar
The number of women serving life sentences is rising more quickly than it is for men. Nationwide one of every 15 women in prison — nearly 7,000 women — is serving a life or virtual life sentence. The circumstances that lead women to commit violent crimes are often complicated by a history of sexual and/or physical trauma.
SUCCESS STORY: Romarilyn Ralston
“Romarilyn Ralston earned 3 degrees during her 23 years in prison. Now, she’s working to help other people who were formerly incarcerated to find community and hope through higher education too.”
Assembly Joint Hearing: Public Safety and Education Finance
Monday, April 17, 2023Project Rebound’s Edgar Villegas, Youth Mentor, shares a powerful testimony with the California Legislature alongside Dr. Brady Heiner, Interim Executive Director of the Project Rebound Consortium.
The Last Mile with James "JC" Cavitt
James "JC" Cavitt is the Program Director at Project Rebound, California State University, Fullerton. He is currently pursuing his doctoral degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at Hope International University, having already earned his master’s degree in Social Work from California State University, Long Beach.
Public Safety and Assembly Budget Subcommittee to Education Finance
Project Rebound’s Edgar Villegas, Youth Mentor, shares a powerful testimony with the California Legislature alongside Dr. Brady Heiner, Interim Executive Director of the Project Rebound Consortium.
SUCCESS STORY: Romarilyn Ralston link opens in a new window opens in a new window
"Romarilyn Ralston earned 3 degrees during her 23 years in prison. Now, she’s working to help other people who were formerly incarcerated to find community and hope through higher education too."
