Episode 112 of the Same 24 Hours Podcast is with theRev. Jeff Grant (@revjeffgrant), a successful attorney who “lost it all” and gained a true calling and purpose. ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ From addiction to prison to ministry, Jeff has a fascinating story – and I enjoyed my chat with him so much!⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ He, and his wife and partner-in-ministry Lynn Springer, co-founded Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. (Greenwich, CT), the first ministry in the United States created to provide confidential support and pastoral care to individuals, families and organizations with white-collar and other nonviolent incarceration issues.⠀⠀
Listen on YouTube:
You can also listen in your browser at www.Same24HoursPodcast.com, or in your favorite podcast app (iTunes, Stitcher, Podbean, Spotify) by searching “The Same 24 Hours”⠀
Purchase Meredith Atwood’s new book, The Year of No Nonsense, here.
⠀ About The Year of No Nonsense: ⠀Exhausted and overworked lawyer, triathlete, wife, and mom Meredith Atwood decided one morning that she’d had it. She didn’t take her kids to school. She didn’t go to work. She didn’t go to the gym. When she pulled herself out of bed hours later than she should have, she found a note from her husband next to two empty bottles of wine and a stack of unpaid bills: You need to get your sh*t together.
And that’s what Meredith began to do, starting with identifying the nonsense in her life that was holding her back: saying “yes” too much, keeping frenemies around, and more. In The Year of No Nonsense, Atwood shares what she learned, tackling struggles with work, family, and body image, and also willpower and time management. Ultimately, she’s the tough-as-nails coach /slash/ best friend who shares a practical plan for identifying and getting rid of your own nonsense in order to move forward and live an authentic, healthy life. From recognizing lies you believe about yourself and your abilities, to making a “nonsense” list and developing a “no nonsense blueprint,” this book walks you through reclaiming yourself with grit and determination, step by step.
With targeted, practical chapters to help you stop feeling stuck and get on with your life, The Year of No Nonsense is equal parts girlfriend and been-there-done-that. The best part? Like any friend, she helps you get to the other side. ⠀
From Host Meredith Atwood: Episode 112 of the Same 24 Hours Podcast is with theRev. Jeff Grant (@revjeffgrant), a successful attorney who “lost it all” and gained a true calling and purpose. ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ From addiction to prison to ministry, Jeff has a fascinating story – and I enjoyed my chat with him so much!⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ He, and his wife and partner-in-ministry Lynn Springer, co-founded Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. (Greenwich, CT), the first ministry in the United States created to provide confidential support and pastoral care to individuals, families and organizations with white-collar and other nonviolent incarceration issues.⠀⠀
Listen on YouTube:
You can also listen in your browser at www.Same24HoursPodcast.com, or in your favorite podcast app (iTunes, Stitcher, Podbean, Spotify) by searching “The Same 24 Hours”⠀ Purchase Meredith Atwood’s new book, The Year of No Nonsense, here. ⠀ About The Year of No Nonsense: ⠀Exhausted and overworked lawyer, triathlete, wife, and mom Meredith Atwood decided one morning that she’d had it. She didn’t take her kids to school. She didn’t go to work. She didn’t go to the gym. When she pulled herself out of bed hours later than she should have, she found a note from her husband next to two empty bottles of wine and a stack of unpaid bills: You need to get your sh*t together. And that’s what Meredith began to do, starting with identifying the nonsense in her life that was holding her back: saying “yes” too much, keeping frenemies around, and more. In The Year of No Nonsense, Atwood shares what she learned, tackling struggles with work, family, and body image, and also willpower and time management. Ultimately, she’s the tough-as-nails coach /slash/ best friend who shares a practical plan for identifying and getting rid of your own nonsense in order to move forward and live an authentic, healthy life. From recognizing lies you believe about yourself and your abilities, to making a “nonsense” list and developing a “no nonsense blueprint,” this book walks you through reclaiming yourself with grit and determination, step by step. With targeted, practical chapters to help you stop feeling stuck and get on with your life, The Year of No Nonsense is equal parts girlfriend and been-there-done-that. The best part? Like any friend, she helps you get to the other side. ⠀
On Friday, Sept. 6, 2019, 9 am ET, Khalil Cumberbatch, Chief Strategist at New Yorkers United for Justice, was our guest on The Criminal Justice Insider Podcast with Babz Rawls Ivy & Jeff Grant – The Voice of CT Criminal Justice. Live on WNHH 103.5 FM New Haven, rebroadcast at 5 pm. Live-streamed and podcast everywhere, see below. Sponsored by the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven – Now More Than Ever.
Khalil currently serves as Chief Strategist at New Yorkers United for Justice, a coalition of broad and diverse organizations whose goal is to pass criminal justice reform legislation in New York State. He previously served as Associate Vice President of Policy at the Fortune Society, a reentry organization whose goal is to build people and not prisons, and in leadership positions at JustLeadershipUSA. He is also a lecturer at Columbia University School of Social Work.
Watch on YouTube:
Listen on SoundCloud:
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The Criminal Justice Insider Podcastwith Babz Rawls Ivy and Jeff Grant is broadcast live at 9 am ET on the first and third Friday of each month Sept. through June, from the WNHH 103.5 FM studios in New Haven. It is rebroadcast on WNHH at 5 pm ET the same day. Podcast and Archive available all the time, everywhere.
An article about each show is published a few days later in the New Haven Independent (newhavenindependent.org).
Please “like” us on Facebook! Contact us: jgrant@prisonist.org
Season Three Guests:
Fri., Sept. 6, 2019: Khalil Cumberbatch, Chief Strategist at New Yorkers United for Justice
Fri., Sept. 20, 2019: Aaron T. Kinzel, Lecturer in Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Michigan-Dearborn
Fri., Oct. 4, 2019: Charlie Grady, Outreach Specialist for the FBI CT Community Outreach Program
Fri., Oct. 18, 2019: Michael Kimelman, Former Hedge Funder and Author of Confessions of a Wall Street Insider: A Cautionary Tale of Rats, Feds, and Banksters
Fri., Nov. 1, 2019: Corey Brinson, Former Attorney Convicted for a White Collar Crime who is running for Hartford City Council
Fri., Nov. 15, 2019: Cathryn Lavery, Ph.D., Asst. Chair & Graduate Coordinator for the Iona College Criminal Justice Department
Fri., Dec. 6, 2019: “Free Prison Phone Calls” Show, Guests to be Announced.
Fri. Dec. 20, 2019: John Hamilton, CEO, Liberation Programs
Season Two Guests:
Fri., Sept. 9, 2018: Kennard Ray, CT Unlock the Vote and Candidate for CT State Legislator Fri., Sept. 21, 2018: Louis L. Reed, National Organizer for #Cut50 Fri., Oct. 5, 2018: Sue Gunderman & Beth Hines, CT Reentry Roundtables Fri., Oct. 19, 2018: Venice Michalsen, Assoc. Professor of Justice Studies, Montclair State University Fri., Nov. 16, 2018: Andrew Clark, Director of the Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy, Central Connecticut State University Fri., Dec. 7, 2018: Glenn E. Martin, Founder/Consultant of GEM Trainers and Past-President and Founder of JustLeadershipUSA Fri., Dec. 21, 2018: Fernando Muniz, CEO of Community Solutions, Inc., and community leader Rosa Correa. Fri., Jan. 4, 2019: New Years Retrospective Show Looking Back at Past CJI Guests. Fri. Jan. 18, 2019: Peter Henning, Law Prof. at Wayne State University and “White Collar Watch” columnist for the NY Times. Fri., Feb. 1, 2019: Jeffrey Deskovic, CEO of The Jeffrey Deskovic Foundation who was Exonerated after Serving 16 Years in Prison Fri., Feb. 15, 2019: Jeffrey Abramowitz, Executive Director for Reentry Services, JEVS Human Services, Philadelphia. Fri., Mar. 1, 2019, Rollin Cook, CT Commissioner of Correction Fri., Mar. 15, 2019: Dieter Tejada, Justice Impacted Criminal Justice Advocate Fri., Apr. 5, 2019: John Rowland, Former CT Governor Fri., Apr. 19, 2019: Gregg D. Caruso, Ph.D. Professor of Philosophy at SUNY Corning & Co-Director of the Justice Without Retribution Network at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland Fri., May 3, 2019: Michael Taylor, CEO of Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center in the Greater New Haven area Fri., May 17, 2019: Tarra Simmons, Esq., Attorney & Criminal Justice Reform Advocate, Washington State Fri., June 7, 2019: Louis L. Reed, National Organizer for #Cut50, Part Deux! Fri., June 21, 2019: Marcus Bullock, CEO of Flikshop
Sponsored by the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven – Now More Than Ever.
Our White Collar/Nonviolent Online Support Group meets Mondays, 7 pm ET, 4 pm PT. Details at prisonist.org.
From Rich Roll:
An epidemic of colossal proportions, millions struggle with substance addiction. Suffering in silence, they too often slip through the cracks, desperate and alone.
As a society, it’s incumbent upon us to better address the problem. Improve our collective understanding of its underlying causes. And enhance access to the resources required to heal the decaying hungry ghosts among us.
It is for these reasons I felt compelled to share the story of Rev. Jeff Grant – a former well-respected New York City attorney who got hooked on painkillers and started making decisions so bad, he lost everything.
Like so many, Jeff’s using started rather innocently in the aftermath of a basketball injury. But it didn’t take long before the tectonic plates of his ethical landscape began to shift. Under the influence, he perpetrated a series of financial misdeeds that led to losing control of his law firm. A suicide attempt prompted sobriety, but the long shadow cast by past actions revisited Jeff with a felony fraud conviction and a federal prison sentence.
Video on YouTube:
After serving 18 months, Jeff was faced with re-entry. His old life was no longer an option. He had to create an entirely new one.
Searching for a meaningful spiritual life line to help make sense of his transgressions and inform his trajectory moving forward, Jeff entered the Seminary, earning a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in New York, with a focus in Christian Social Ethics.
Upon graduation, he began serving at an inner-city church in Bridgeport, Connecticut as Associate Minister and Director of Prison Ministries. It is here that Jeff finds his calling assisting convicted felons and their families to navigate the treacherous waters of civilian re-entry.
Now an ordained minister with 16+ years of continuous sobriety, Jeff is the co-founder of Progressive Prison Ministries, the world’s first ministry created to provide confidential support to individuals, families and organizations with white collar incarceration issues. He has been profiled in a variety of media outlets including Inc., Forbes and Business Insider, has graced the stage at The Nantucket Project(where we first met) and hosts the Criminal Justice Insider Podcast.
This is his story.
It’s a conversation about the perils of addiction and the joys of sobriety. It’s about the the opioid epidemic and the prison industrial complex it supports. And it’s about how spirituality and divinity can pave the road to redemption.
Not just a cautionary tale from the perspective of a white collar felon, this is also discussion about what happens to the by-standing family members and loved ones, often overlooked casualties in the perpetrator’s wake.
But ultimately this is a story about absolution. It’s about confronting past misdeeds. Making amends. Finding grace. And giving back to those in need by sharing the experience and wisdom procured along the way.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer: was a German pastor, author, theologian, anti-Nazi dissident, and key founding member of the Confessing Church.
Reinhold Niebuhr: was an American Reformed theologian, author, ethicist, commentator on politics and public affairs, and professor at Union Theological Seminary for more than 30 years
Michael Phelps: Most decorated Olympian of all time, with a total of 28 medals
Our White Collar/Nonviolent Online Support Group meets Mondays, 7 pm ET, 4 pm PT. Details at prisonist.org.
From Rich Roll:
An epidemic of colossal proportions, millions struggle with substance addiction. Suffering in silence, they too often slip through the cracks, desperate and alone.
As a society, it’s incumbent upon us to better address the problem. Improve our collective understanding of its underlying causes. And enhance access to the resources required to heal the decaying hungry ghosts among us.
It is for these reasons I felt compelled to share the story of Rev. Jeff Grant – a former well-respected New York City attorney who got hooked on painkillers and started making decisions so bad, he lost everything.
Like so many, Jeff’s using started rather innocently in the aftermath of a basketball injury. But it didn’t take long before the tectonic plates of his ethical landscape began to shift. Under the influence, he perpetrated a series of financial misdeeds that led to losing control of his law firm. A suicide attempt prompted sobriety, but the long shadow cast by past actions revisited Jeff with a felony fraud conviction and a federal prison sentence.
Video on YouTube:
After serving 18 months, Jeff was faced with re-entry. His old life was no longer an option. He had to create an entirely new one.
Searching for a meaningful spiritual life line to help make sense of his transgressions and inform his trajectory moving forward, Jeff entered the Seminary, earning a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in New York, with a focus in Christian Social Ethics.
Upon graduation, he began serving at an inner-city church in Bridgeport, Connecticut as Associate Minister and Director of Prison Ministries. It is here that Jeff finds his calling assisting convicted felons and their families to navigate the treacherous waters of civilian re-entry.
Now an ordained minister with 16+ years of continuous sobriety, Jeff is the co-founder of Progressive Prison Ministries, the world’s first ministry created to provide confidential support to individuals, families and organizations with white collar incarceration issues. He has been profiled in a variety of media outlets including Inc., Forbes and Business Insider, has graced the stage at The Nantucket Project(where we first met) and hosts the Criminal Justice Insider Podcast.
This is his story.
It’s a conversation about the perils of addiction and the joys of sobriety. It’s about the the opioid epidemic and the prison industrial complex it supports. And it’s about how spirituality and divinity can pave the road to redemption.
Not just a cautionary tale from the perspective of a white collar felon, this is also discussion about what happens to the by-standing family members and loved ones, often overlooked casualties in the perpetrator’s wake.
But ultimately this is a story about absolution. It’s about confronting past misdeeds. Making amends. Finding grace. And giving back to those in need by sharing the experience and wisdom procured along the way.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer: was a German pastor, author, theologian, anti-Nazi dissident, and key founding member of the Confessing Church.
Reinhold Niebuhr: was an American Reformed theologian, author, ethicist, commentator on politics and public affairs, and professor at Union Theological Seminary for more than 30 years
Michael Phelps: Most decorated Olympian of all time, with a total of 28 medals
Philosopher Gregg Caruso has one big problem with punishment: It doesn’t work.
In a world where social determinants like poverty, abuse, and malnutrition play a much larger role than individual choices in shaping the course of one’s life, he argued, a criminal justice system bent on punishment over rehabilitation is not just ineffective; it’s needlessly cruel and counterproductive.
Caruso offered those thoughts on his path from free will skepticism to criminal justice reform on the latest episode of WNHH’s “Criminal Justice Insider with Babz Rawls-Ivy and Jeff Grant.”
“Who we are, what we do, is ultimately the result of factors beyond our control,” he said. “We’re not really morally responsible in the basic desert sense.”
This academic philosophical conviction, that social determinants that one has no control over play a much larger role in one’s life than whether or not one is a “good” or a “bad” person, inevitably led him to the world of criminal justice reform.
Because, as he sees it, the American criminal justice system is predicated on the preeminence of free will, and on the idea that those who suffer deserve to suffer and those who succeed deserve to succeed.
When one has no control over one’s DNA, the circumstances in which one was born, and one’s psychological predispositions, he said, a punitive rather than a rehabilitative criminal justice system just inflicts further harm on those already struggling, and does nothing to solve root causes that lead to crime in the first place.
“A big part of my view is that criminal behavior is a byproduct of social determinants,” he said, “and those are obviously going to be affected by the political structure, racism, poverty, socioeconomic inequality, housing and healthcare inequality, educational inequality. We have to start realizing that those are determinate factors in many peoples’ lives and are responsible in many ways for the kinds of outcomes we see.
“And if we want to address criminal justice, we really want to start addressing those social determinants.”
Instead of locking people in cages without access to adequate education, job training, and health care, he said, the American criminal justice system should follow a “public health quarantine model” that temporarily segregates from society those who have committed crimes and are proven to be a danger to others.
During that quarantine, people should be placed in an environment that resembles the natural and social world they will return to post-incarceration, and they should be provided with the necessary training and health care and resources to help them successfully reintegrate into society once they no longer pose a threat to others.
An overly punitive system simply doesn’t cut down on crime, he said. Roughly 76 percent of formerly incarcerated Americans are re-arrested on new charges within five years of their release.
“The goal,” he said, “should be to rehabilitate and reintegrate.”
“Criminal Justice Insider” is sponsored by The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.
Jeff was interviewed by Tony Savino, News Director of WGCH on April 17, 2019. Big thanks to Tony, Jim Campbell and all at WGCH for all your support. Details below.
Listen to the radio interview (starts at 0:26):
Event: World’s First Confidential Online White Collar/Nonviolent Support Group will Celebrate Its 150th Meeting, April 22, 2019, 7 pm ET
Greenwich, CT – (April 9, 2019) – Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. (www.prisonist.org) proudly announces that it will be hosting the 150th consecutive weekly meeting of the world’s first and only confidential Online White Collar/Nonviolent Support Group on Monday, April 22nd at 7:00 pm EDT.
Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div., who developed and hosts the meeting, explained the significance of the milestone meeting. “We are extremely proud that this group gets bigger and better each week. When we started the group three years ago, we had a dream that people with white collar/nonviolent criminal justice issues living in shame, guilt, fear and isolation could form a supportive community to accept full responsibility for our behavior, make amends, and embrace a new life of compassion, empathy and kindness. We support each other and reach out to others suffering in silence.”
Every Monday evening, Progressive Prison Ministries, through its popular criminal justice resource site prisonist.org, hosts the one-hour meeting. Attendance is steadily increasing. “We’ve had over 125 men and women participating from 21 different states – and overseas,” Grant said.
“While everyone who participates in the forum has been prosecuted for a white collar or nonviolent crime, the group is solution oriented and dedicated to understanding and encouragement,” Grant explained.
Several individuals from the group have volunteered their testimonies online.
“This support group has given me an opportunity to share my thoughts, concerns and emotional trauma with a compassionate and understanding group of people who all traveled a similar journey…” said Jeffrey Abramowitz, Pennsylvania
“Finding the group was such a turning point for me as I was lost. The group helped me with my immense feelings of guilt and how to overcome issues that I never knew would exist for me…” Jacqueline Polverari, Connecticut
”I wish that there would have been a White-Collar Support Group when I got out of prison over ten years ago… my pain curve would not have been so steep.” Douglas Mairena, Virginia
Grant explained, “Most white-collar criminals can’t go back to their old lives and careers, so what choice do they really have? Why not embrace a completely new life, with new options, and new opportunities centered on spirituality and doing the right things? The most fortunate are those who figure out that their attempts to solve problems in isolation are not working, and that they no longer have to go it alone.”
For those who would like to participate each week, Progressive Prison Ministries sends out login instructions with a unique link for that week’s meeting. Participants choose to login via video on a computer, tablet or smart phone that is equipped with a camera, or audio only via phone. Support group information and contact information is at https://prisonist.org/white-collar-support-group. Those currently on supervised release, probation or parole, MUST first discuss participation in the group with their parole or probation officer.
About Progressive Prison Ministries: Established in 2012 in Greenwich, Connecticut, Progressive Prison Ministries is the world’s first ministry created to support individuals, families and organizations with white-collar and other nonviolent incarceration issues. More information is available at Progressive Prison Ministries and on its social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
About Progressive Prison Ministries’ Co-Founders:
Co-founders Jeff Grant and Lynn Springer were recently featured in a twelve-page article in Greenwich Magazine: “The Redemption of Jeff Grant,” March 2018 issue. Jeff is also the former Executive Director of Family ReEntry, a Bridgeport, CT based criminal justice organization. After an addiction to prescription opioids and serving almost fourteen months in a Federal prison for a white-collar crime he committed when he was a lawyer, Jeff began his own reentry – earning a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in New York City with a focus in Christian Social Ethics.
White collar defendants (felons) face a number of obstacles. Many face their past demons and attempt to make amends with victims, family and friends. It is a difficult road and one where there are few supporters. It is a lonely journey discovering how to make people trust again, how to find purpose and how to find forgiveness.
Jeff Grant is celebrating a milestone for providing a support group for white collar defendants … its 150th support group meeting. His life was changed by prison. After an addiction to prescription opioids and serving almost fourteen months in Federal prison for a white-collar crime years, Grant, by then a disbarred attorney, chose a new path. He earned Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, with a focus in Christian Social Ethics and has since co-founded Progressive Prison Ministries.
Progressive Prison Ministries in Greenwich, Connecticut offer an online white-collar/nonviolent support group. They hold their meetings on Monday evenings, 7:00pm to 8:15 pm Eastern and white collar defendants talk about life, forgiveness, coping with the consequences and moving beyond the experience. The program is unique because it proclaims to be the first confidential white-collar/ nonviolent online support group of its kind. As this support group is run by ordained clergy, Grant said that he expects law enforcement will honor what he believes falls under clergy privilege laws. Such privileges vary by state. Florida’s 2018 statute 90.505 “Privilege with respect to communications to clergy” states that:
A person has a privilege to refuse to disclose, and to prevent another from disclosing, a confidential communication by the person to a member of the clergy in his or her capacity as spiritual adviser
Grant told me, “We are extremely proud and grateful to reach this milestone for the group. When we started the group nearly three years ago, we had a dream that people with white collar issues living in shame, guilt, fear and isolation could form a supportive community that would embrace compassion, empathy and kindness for each other.” Through taking his message online, he has expanded reach to states across the country. “People are living with issues in isolation and that benefits nobody,” Grant said.
White collar cases are often complex and the motivations different. One can imagine the cases involving the college entry scandal (known as “Operation Varsity Blues”) is exposing a number of people to an unfamiliar and punitive federal justice system. While those involved (alleged to be involved) in drug cases and other crimes have known the effects of this justice system for years, many white collar defendants are overwhelmed by the consequences.
Grant told me that his 150th meeting is a huge step in forming a community of individuals and families facing incarceration issues; suffering in silence with shame, remorse, and deep regret. Grant said, “Many of us have been stigmatized by our own families, friends and communities, and the business community. Our goal is to learn and evolve into a new spiritual way of life centered on hope, care, compassion, tolerance and empathy, and then to reach out to offer all those suffering from these issues.“
If you would like to be involved in this online White Collar support group, I’m sure that they would welcome your visit to www.prisonist.org.
_______________________
About Walt Pavlo:
Walt is a recognized expert on federal white-collar criminal matters and consults with defendants and attorneys on case strategy, You can reach him at waltpavlo@500PearlStreet.com.
I established 500 Pearl Street as a strategic consulting firm for attorneys and their clients as an advisor on federal criminal cases. I write here on criminal justice matters, particularly related to white collar crime, and speak nationally on the topic. In 2007, I released the book “Stolen Without A Gun” with Neil Weinberg, former Executive Editor Forbes Magazine (now a Reporter for Bloomberg).
Greenwich, CT – (April 9, 2019) – Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. (www.prisonist.org) proudly announces that it will be hosting the 150th consecutive weekly meeting of the world’s first and only confidential Online White Collar/Nonviolent Support Group on Monday, April 22nd at 7:00 pm EDT.
Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div., who developed and hosts the meeting, explained the significance of the milestone meeting. “We are extremely proud that this group gets bigger and better each week. When we started the group three years ago, we had a dream that people with white collar/nonviolent criminal justice issues living in shame, guilt, fear and isolation could form a supportive community to accept full responsibility for our behavior, make amends, and embrace a new life of compassion, empathy and kindness. We support each other and reach out to others suffering in silence.”
Every Monday evening, Progressive Prison Ministries, through its popular criminal justice resource site prisonist.org, hosts the one-hour meeting. Attendance is steadily increasing. “We’ve had over 125 men and women participating from 21 different states – and overseas,” Grant said.
“While everyone who participates in the forum has been prosecuted for a white collar or nonviolent crime, the group is solution oriented and dedicated to understanding and encouragement,” Grant explained.
Several individuals from the group have volunteered their testimonies online.
“This support group has given me an opportunity to share my thoughts, concerns and emotional trauma with a compassionate and understanding group of people who all traveled a similar journey…” said Jeffrey Abramowitz, Pennsylvania
“Finding the group was such a turning point for me as I was lost. The group helped me with my immense feelings of guilt and how to overcome issues that I never knew would exist for me…” Jacqueline Polverari, Connecticut
”I wish that there would have been a White-Collar Support Group when I got out of prison over ten years ago… my pain curve would not have been so steep.” Douglas Mairena, Virginia
Grant explained, “Most white-collar criminals can’t go back to their old lives and careers, so what choice do they really have? Why not embrace a completely new life, with new options, and new opportunities centered on spirituality and doing the right things? The most fortunate are those who figure out that their attempts to solve problems in isolation are not working, and that they no longer have to go it alone.”
For those who would like to participate each week, Progressive Prison Ministries sends out login instructions with a unique link for that week’s meeting. Participants choose to login via video on a computer, tablet or smart phone that is equipped with a camera, or audio only via phone. Support group information and contact information is at https://prisonist.org/white-collar-support-group. Those currently on supervised release, probation or parole, MUST first discuss participation in the group with their parole or probation officer.
About Progressive Prison Ministries: Established in 2012 in Greenwich, Connecticut, Progressive Prison Ministries is the world’s first ministry created to support individuals, families and organizations with white-collar and other nonviolent incarceration issues. More information is available at Progressive Prison Ministries and on its social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
About Progressive Prison Ministries’ Co-Founders:
Co-founders Jeff Grant and Lynn Springer were recently featured in a twelve-page article in Greenwich Magazine: “The Redemption of Jeff Grant,” March 2018 issue. Jeff is also the former Executive Director of Family ReEntry, a Bridgeport, CT based criminal justice organization. After an addiction to prescription opioids and serving almost fourteen months in a Federal prison for a white-collar crime he committed when he was a lawyer, Jeff began his own reentry – earning a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in New York City with a focus in Christian Social Ethics.
“Jeff is a true inspiration to anyone coming home from prison to face the many trials and tribulations that life throws at you. I made a very bad choice in 2009 which led me to a federal indictment and 7 months in Danbury Federal Prison Camp for women and then three months in a halfway house. I had gut wrenching guilt and remorse, and immersed myself in every program available in Danbury. I was seeking self-awareness of who I was and why I veered off my path of good decision making. It was not until I came home and met Jeff Grant that I truly started my journey to redemption and forgiveness. His amazing attitude, coupled with immense experience, brought such clarity to my very foggy existence. Jeff founded a White Collar Support Group and invited me to join in. Finding that group was such a turning point for me as I was lost. The group helped me with my immense feelings of guilt and how to overcome adversities that I never knew would exist for me. I am grateful to Jeff and all the men and women in that group and feel so fortunate to know I am not alone in my journey. Due to Jeff, I am able to give back to the women I now work with within the criminal justice system by utilizing my strengths, experience and educational background. “ – Jacqueline Polverari, MSW, Advocate Women’s Incarceration Issues, Connecticut
“Shortly after my release in September 2015, I was guided to Jeff’s door by complete chance and little did I know that I had just hit the proverbial “reentry” lottery that would help shape and change my life. I asked for his guidance about how I could possibly return to society as a once respected trial lawyer who was now branded a convicted felon. After words of support, Jeff suggested that I join the White Collar Support Group which met each week via the Internet. Not sure that I could even log in, as I was still living in a halfway house. I managed to find a library or satellite to check in, and can honestly say that it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. This support group has given me an opportunity to share my thoughts, concerns and emotional trauma with a compassionate and understanding group of people who all traveled a similar journey and who all have now become good friends. There is no question that those who have experienced the criminal justice system all face common problems, barriers and trauma as we begin our reintegration into society. I am proud to say that I am associated with this fine group of people and hope and pray that some day we can share the lessons and benefits of the peer support and mentoring that has helped me to find my passion and purpose in life. Thank you!” – Jeffrey Abramowitz, Pennsylvania
“I received an invitation from Jeff Grant of Progressive Prison Ministries in August 2016 to attend a White Collar Support Group meeting. I was reluctant and hesitant about accepting the invitation because I had my reservation about what this group was going to tell me about serving time in a Federal Prison and the challenges and difficulties post incarceration. Being a convicted felon, I have endured a multitude of challenges post incarceration. To be frank incarceration was the easy part and the biggest challenge was how I was going to reintegrate myself into society once I got home and how I was seen as “enriched uranium” by others. I left federal prison psychologically and emotionally broken, I was a wreck! I was released from federal prison in the summer of 2008 and it took me seven years to deal with the psychological carnage and to obtain inner peace. Looking back at this journey I wish that there would have been a White-Collar Support Group when I got out of prison and my pain curve would not have been so steep. Getting on Jeff’s call was a breath of fresh air as I was able to meet other men and women who had endured the shame and embarrassment of being a convicted felon. Jeff brings a spiritual component to his group which in my opinion is critical as it helps with the healing process. I applaud Jeff for creating this organization as it helps convicted felons who have been ostracized by society in providing ministerial counseling, empathy, compassion and support. I have met some incredible people in this group and I look forward to being an active participant for many years.” – Douglas Mairena, Virginia
When I first joined the White Collar Support Group, I was nervous and not committed. I heard there were other women on the call but they were not on the first couple of calls I was on. I felt anxious as the only person of color on the calls as well as the only woman. Over time, I developed more trust and became more vulnerable to the group. I have never felt pressured to share or be anyone different on these calls. I now look forward to our weekly time because it is the one time a week when I feel whole regardless of whether I am having an “up” day or a “down” day. There is nothing like a shared experience with people who have walked your walk and know exactly what you are talking about. When new people come to the calls, I am eager to put a metaphorical arm around their shoulders and remind them of what they already know but have temporarily forgotten: “You will survive. You will have some up days. You will have some down days but we are all here for you. And…. Yes, you will survive. Life will never be the same again but you will survive. You will discover that you are really an amazing person in the process. You will survive.”
So many people come to the call in a complete state of panic. Their situation is not what they bargained for. They are losing everything they once knew. They want to know how to make it all go away. They want to know how they can regain everything they are afraid of losing. The calls become a place where your entire humanity, not just your mistakes, are affirmed and upheld as valuable. The calls are the one place of refuge where we are reminded that we are NOT, in any way shape or form, our crimes. The calls are one place where our whole humanity is affirmed. We do not give legal advice but we give soul support that helps build resilience. And in the long run, it is a game of resilience.
The best part of these calls over the last couple of years has been taking relationships off-line. I have met several of the men and women that have been on the calls. They are more than friends. They are Anam Cara, the Celtic word for “Soul Friend.” I love our transparency. I love how we are all striving to be our best selves. I love the support and love I receive. I love the celebrations of our successes no matter how small and I love the encouragement I receive when I am down. Most of all, I have turned this into an accountability group. I still wrestle with why I made the poor decisions I made and committed a financial crime. I do not want to be that person. I want to be a person that makes smart decisions. I want to be a person that is fully aware of the ethical impact of my decisions on other people and also on institutions. On the calls, I continue to get help in the areas that I feel the weakest. I know that because of these calls and the support and non-judgment that I receive, that I am able to grow beyond the limitations that my crime has placed on my life. – Anonymous, Georgia
As a practicing attorney in a one-man firm, I took money from my client trust account to help meet business expenses and to keep my own household afloat. Of course, I knew this was wrong and that eventually it would catch up with me. A few months ago it did, so now I am facing a prison sentence of two or three years.
During the months following my indictment I was fortunate enough to find the website created by Jeff Grant as a ministry to non-violent white collar criminals. Jeff is a former attorney, a convicted felon, an ex-convict, and an ordained minister. At a time when it seemed my life lay in ruins I was welcomed into a caring White Collar Support Group of individuals who are facing or, perhaps more importantly, have already faced, terms of imprisonment for crimes like my own. The majority are former convicts who have a true mission to help each other grow back into this world outside, to share the wisdom earned through their experiences and to acknowledge positive aspects of these years.
The group has weekly meetings, on line with real-time video conferencing. Over the past several months I have felt the power of belonging with a very special new set of friends. So much of my experience has isolated me from the community I used to know. Jeff’s group has provided a fellowship of people with whom I related immediately. This resource is also providing me with practical advice as I prepare to enter the prison system. The group inspires me every time we meet. Though I’m not a member of any faith in particular, I know a blessing when I see one. My profound thanks to Jeff and to those who gather here with him. – Anonymous, Maine
Jay is a member of our Confidential Online White Collar/Nonviolent Support Group, the first in the nation. It meets weekly on Monday evenings. It is offered free of charge to our community. Our 146th meeting will be held on Monday, March 25, 2019. If you, a friend, family member, colleague or client have a white collar or nonviolent criminal justice issue, please join us. Information at: prisonist.org/white-collar-support-group.
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“I think that the corrections system is one of the most overlooked, misunderstood institutions we have in our entire government. In law school, I never heard about corrections. Lawyers are fascinated with the adjudication process. Once the adjudication process is over, we have no interest in corrections. … Nobody looks at it.” – U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy said while testifying before a House appropriations subcommittee, lamenting lawyers ignoring the prison phase of the criminal defense process.
I was an attorney in Pennsylvania for over 30 years. I was also, more recently, a federal prisoner for almost five years. In 2007, I was charged with one count of mail fraud affecting a financial institution (Title 18 U.S.C. Section 1341). I pleaded guilty and served my sentence in five facilities of varying security classifications from June 2008 until April 2013. During the entire time I was incarcerated, I do not recall hearing of a single instance, my case included, where the defense lawyer provided any meaningful prison preparation or counseling for his or her client as part of the representation.
What completely baffles me about that omission is that there is roughly a 97 percent conviction rate in today’s federal criminal justice system, almost all of which derives from guilty pleas, and the outcome in most cases is incarceration. Because this inevitability of serving time in prison is known well in advance of actual confinement, there are numerous prison-related matters that can and should be addressed during that interim period. They include, among many others:
Establishing eligibility for the only early-release program available.
Prison designation and inmate classification.
Requirements for reporting to prison and what to expect upon arrival.
Essential medical procedures for pre-existing conditions.
Given this nonexistence of prison counseling by defense attorneys, one recent approach taken by many clients has been to retain independent prison consultants without conferring with their lawyers.
However, this route usually creates more problems than it solves. Due to today’s climate of mass incarceration, the criminal defense field is suddenly being flooded with former inmates who are magically expert consultants the day after they leave prison. They monitor the court dockets for new cases and immediately solicit new defendants directly. These defendants are extremely vulnerable at that point and retain these “consultants” primarily out of fear of the unknown.
Yet these self-proclaimed experts are too often providing wrong information and making promises that they cannot possibly keep. They are even offering legal advice that conflicts with that provided by the defense attorneys, and all the while they are draining defendants of their resources. Incidentally, this is exactly what happened in my case. I am convinced that there are no more than a handful of credible prison consultants in the entire country.
So, how do we address Justice Kennedy’s concerns?
To me the solution is fairly obvious. It must be the responsibility of the defense attorneys to provide prison preparation services to their clients. Having been both a lawyer and a criminal defendant, I understand how imperative it is for clients to feel they can look exclusively to their defense attorneys for guidance in all areas of their cases. This is especially true where one of those areas ultimately involves a journey through prison. Therefore, the attorneys must either acquire enough knowledge to offer these services themselves, or in the alternative, retain a legitimate prison consulting service to work closely in conjunction with them. I view the latter approach no differently than when a defense attorney deems it necessary to retain any reliable, independent expert to provide essential skills related to the case.
Accepting the above premise as correct, how do we actually convince criminal defense attorneys to incorporate some methodology of prison expertise as an integral part of their cases? Realistically there has to be incentives for them to do so, and we might as well begin with the obvious one. There is no question in my mind that providing this service would be a source of revenue and a profit center for the law firm. Defense attorneys are compensated for their time and skill, yet they are ignoring a critical (and billable) component of their criminal defense representation.
Criminal defense attorneys are leaving it instead for someone else to handle, completely unsupervised and usually at an exorbitant cost to their clients, and that is something that simply should not happen.
I urge any criminal defense lawyers reading this to ask your clients facing incarceration if they would like to incorporate expert counseling on how to navigate their way through the prison abyss as part of their legal fee agreement. I know what their answers will be.
The other significant incentive for defense attorneys would be having clients who were well informed about their forthcoming time in custody. Inmates and former inmates talk about their lawyers incessantly and quite often mention the lack of attention given to preparing them for prison. That is why it was so heartening to hear this issue raised by a Supreme Court justice, because the truth is that every inmate in every prison in America could say the very same thing about their lawyers and it wouldn’t make a bit of difference to anyone.
I submit that any defense attorney who offers clients the strategies they need to manage through confinement and emerge successfully would add substantial value to the legal representation provided. It would bring an element to a criminal defense practice that is not typically available, and there is no better testimonial for an attorney than former clients who are satisfied that they were well represented in all facets of their cases. Word would spread and potential criminal defense clients might just be inclined to gravitate to a law firm that provides a more comprehensive representation by including prison counseling. In my opinion, this would significantly set that particular criminal defense practice apart from its competitors.
Those of us who have taken that shameful and lonely walk through prison doors could have desperately used some help from our defense attorneys to prepare us for what we were about to encounter. I assure you that we would have been eternally grateful for the consideration given to this most important aspect of our cases. I respectfully implore my former colleagues of the bar who practice criminal defense law to heed the words of Kennedy and begin paying attention.
This blog post originally appeared on prisonist.org in July 2016 and as an Op-Ed in The Legal Intelligencer.Jay M. Berger is a graduate of Penn State University and Case Western Reserve University School of Law. Since completing his time as a federal inmate, he authored and published a book titled “The Fall of the Firmest Pillar,” which is a memoir about his journey through the federal criminal justice system. Jay can be reached at bmj253@gmail.com.
