Terria
Coming to Alaska in 1977, I grew up in a home that was riddled with addiction and abuse. In 1984 I became a ward of the State of Alaska that would eventually lead me down a path known as the foster care to prison pipeline. I spent many years in and out of several foster homes, group homes, juvenile detention, homelessness and then eventually prison where I was sentenced to a 20 year prison term for a drug conviction due to my addiction issues.
Upon my arrest in 2005 I made a decision that I was going to change my life while serving my time. I surrounded myself with and sought out mentors. Through their investment in my life I realized my true identity and embraced my worth as a person.
On June 22, 2015 I lost her son after he was robbed and murdered. I am an advocate for change within the criminal justice system and changing the culture within our prisons due to my personal lived experience and being a survivor of a crime.
I am a restorative and recovery consultant and coach, public speaker, activist and advocate. I have been featured on the “700 Club”, numerous media outlets, recovery activist Ryan Hampton’s book “American Fix” and the Van Jones CNN docuseries “The Redemption Project”. My passion is to invest in and help restore men and women who have been directly impacted by crime through restorative practices. My mission is to inspire, encourage and help bring healing to communities around the nation by living out what I believe; my faith and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Karl
I came to Alaska in the 1980's with my parents who were good parents. In my teens I began to rebel and especially after a car accident that took the lives of 3 people. I spiraled out of control into a life of crime and addiction. During my incarceration I started the first prison gang in the State of Alaska that quickly turned into security threat group. I spent years in solitary confinement due to me being the leader of a gang and causing chaos for the staff of corrections. In 2015, after spending decades incarcerated, I made a decision to leave my gang and change my life. My wife, Terria, has been instrumental in helping me make that change though her guidance and peer support. I was released on ankle monitor after I had completed several classes, a faith-based program and a state ran drug treatment program over an 8 year period. It has been my mission to break the stigma surrounding medically assisted treatment and raising awareness on the importance of recovery services being available to ALL individuals incarcerated. This includes MAT inside prisons, recovery from street life, recovery from gang life and educational programs that assist individuals who have been incarcerated for long periods of time and do not understand the way the world works outside prison. Today I am a productive member of society with a career in barbering, I'm have been actively removing my gang related tattoos from my face through laser treatments and I'm an advocate for those who have been or are in the same situation I was in. It is important to me to inspire those who want a different life and to show them that change is possible and that its never too late. My faith in and relationship with Jesus Christ has been my road to recovery.
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