Joel Castón was imprisoned at the age of 18. His predicament made him keenly aware of the challenges that prisons face or endure. So when he was contacted by the Washington DC jail to help create a mentoring program for 18 to 25 year olds, he understood very well what the mission was all about.
Joel built the program and named it Young Men Emerging (YME) and the goal was to promote growth and development in young adults by creating a fair and therapeutic environment as opposed to old punitive and warehousing practices that mark traditional prison spaces, he wrote.
YME was designed to enable seniors incarcerated for 15 years and over to mentor recently incarcerated youth between the ages of 18 and 25. In addition, the program offers counseling sessions, invites guest speakers and offers advice on a case-by-case basis. and teaches financial literacy.
To teach practical financial literacy, Joel built a physical money system and had bills worth $ 5 and $ 100, with each bill stored in the form of laminated paper. The monetary system allows inmates to earn money, get deposits or deductions in their accounts.
“We built this system to ensure these young men gain financial literacy and are sure to earn, spend and save money before they re-enter,” he wrote, according to Business Insider.
He explained that inmates earn money after completing a mission. “For example, we have something that we call a clean community. I gave a guy $ 500 the other day because of his community cleanup job. I gave him a special project: there was dust in our air vents, so I said, ‘Listen, look, get yourself a bucket, put some disinfectant in it and get yourself a rag’ .
Once Joel created a way for inmates to earn money, he created opportunities for the YME community to spend their hard earned money. The mentors got together and pooled their money to buy consumer items.
“This particularly motivated people who don’t have money from family or friends. And people who visit our community – such as stakeholders, organizations and volunteers – have been touched by this. Specifically, someone made a large donation and we were able to purchase $ 5,000 in inventory for the YME store, ”he said.
According to Joel, he and his team trusted the YME money like the government trusted the US dollar. YME money is valuable and when someone does something they are rewarded.
“They can take that money and buy an item, or they can try one of our other equipment. We have a hair salon because my motto is if you look good, feel good and act good. Now when a guy has an outside visitor like family he can feel good and be taken care of. You pay $ 50 for a haircut, $ 25 for movie tickets, $ 100 to play Xbox, etc. Joel said.
Business Insider reports that Joel is the first person in Washington, DC history to be elected to public office while incarcerated. This year, he won a seat on the DC Neighborhood Advisory Board from prison while serving a 27-year sentence for murder. Now commissioner, Joel works with the DC government, policymakers, advocacy groups and organizations to change the culture of mass incarceration.
Joel was paroled in November after serving 26 years in prison.
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