Participants: Yvonne Lewis (Host), Ryan Mack
Series Code: DAS
Program Code: DAS000007S
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00:02 What is money for?
00:04 Is it a helpful resource to use for good? 00:07 Or is the love of it, the root of all evil? 00:09 Actually, it's both. 00:11 But God may have a different definition of success. 00:15 Real success doesn't come overnight. 00:17 It takes hard work and faithful planning 00:21 to use your dollars well, 00:23 it takes more than a little sense. 00:28 Hi, welcome to Dollars and Sense. 00:31 I'm Yvonne Lewis, your co-host 00:33 and your primary host is Ryan Mack. 00:36 He's a financial literacy expert, 00:38 he's an author, a speaker, teacher, 00:41 every time I say your little bio here, 00:45 I feel like I'm rejoicing. 00:46 I will receive every compliment you give. 00:47 Good, good, good. 00:49 You know, one of the things I love about 00:51 what we're doing here is 00:53 we're showing the relevancy of God's word 00:55 and each program is connected to a scripture. 00:58 Absolutely. 01:00 So what's our scripture for today? 01:01 The first scripture is Proverbs 23:7. 01:05 And it says this, 01:06 "For as he thinketh in his heart, 01:08 so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee, 01:11 but his heart is not with thee." 01:14 This is a very sensitive topic for me. 01:16 And this topic is about incarceration. 01:18 You know, in this country 01:20 we have one of the highest incarceration rates 01:22 in the country. 01:23 In the world. Yeah, in the world. 01:25 Five percent of the world's population, 01:28 about 25 percent of the prison population, 01:30 we have, the prison population 01:32 has quadrupled from 1980 to 2008. 01:36 And it continues to rise. 01:38 And we have essentially a lot of, 01:42 spend a lot of time in prison teaching financial literacy 01:44 and I've traveled across the country 01:46 teaching financial literacy to those 01:48 and really working with those 01:49 halfway houses across the country 01:51 as they've been released. 01:52 And I think that the men and women, 01:55 both alike, I mean, is actually, 01:57 women actually have 01:58 one of the highest rates of incarceration 02:00 increases in the country. 02:01 So women incarceration rates are increasing astronomically. 02:06 I've heard that. 02:07 So we've got to do something about this. 02:09 And I think that Dollars and Sense, 02:11 and what God is providing is one of the best solution. 02:16 And the foundation that I always lead with 02:19 whenever I'm teaching in prisons. 02:22 So I believe that it's a new day coming, 02:26 I believe that there's a lot of bring its inside of prison. 02:29 I believe that... What is that? 02:30 What does that mean, bring it? 02:32 I believe it, a lot of brilliance. 02:34 Oh, brilliance. Yeah, essentially it's a... 02:36 We've got so many individuals, 02:38 I've met so many business owners in prison. 02:40 I've met so many individuals who are geniuses, 02:42 literally, geniuses. 02:44 And many of them have caught bad breaks, 02:46 many of them have done stupid things, 02:47 many of them have just had a hard life 02:50 and had bad opportunity 02:51 but regardless of what the situation 02:53 that made them there, 02:55 whatever that caused them to be there, 02:57 there's redemption in them. 02:59 There's redemption in Christ 03:00 that they can lead them to redemption. 03:02 So before we really get into financial literacy, 03:06 we usually read scripture in prison. 03:08 And we go over that 03:09 and then I relate that scripture 03:11 to physical responsibility principles, 03:12 so when they get out that they can start learning 03:15 how to navigate the financial minefields 03:17 that they're gonna encompass. 03:19 So I mean, we have a video, I was at a small business expo 03:23 and I met an individual named Brian Jones 03:25 and he was arrested for a violent crime. 03:30 And he spent a lot of years in prison. 03:33 And this individual, he inspired me 03:36 that he was able to overcome so many obstacles 03:39 and change his mindset around and he embraced Christ. 03:45 That was the most impressive thing about him. 03:47 He couldn't stop him 03:49 before and after the interview was done, 03:51 just going on and on about Christ, 03:53 and I let him go on and on 'cause I was just, 03:55 the more he talked, the more fired up I would get. 03:57 Yeah. 03:58 And it was this one of those conversations 04:00 where he was just a really deep brother. 04:02 Yeah. And so I said, "Man, look..." 04:04 I said, "You inspire me." 04:05 And he had a business and I interviewed him 04:08 and would love to check it out. 04:10 Let's do it. All right. 04:21 This is Ryan Mack, 04:22 Market President for Operation HOPE. 04:24 We are at the small business expo 04:25 hosted by Operation HOPE they're making the rest 04:27 of the Wayne County CRA Association 04:30 and a whole slew of other great resources 04:32 and especially small businesses. 04:34 Now we are here with a special business today. 04:36 What's your name, my friend? 04:38 My name is Brian Jones. 04:39 And I'm the owner of Colby Wayne Clothing. 04:42 Now this is your baby, this is your business. 04:44 And I see you have a great T-shirt, 04:46 "Haters, with Love. 04:48 Thanks for the motivation." 04:49 I'm gonna tell you, I think I need to get 04:51 one of these T-shirts today myself. 04:52 What inspired you to create this business idea? 04:55 Well, it came from incarceration. 05:00 I experienced some unfortunate setbacks 05:03 when I was 18 years old. 05:04 And I became, I got convicted of a violent crime. 05:07 So during the course of my incarceration, 05:10 I was blessed to grow into the understanding 05:12 that God doesn't allow things that happen to you, 05:15 He allows them to happen for you. 05:17 And so I did a lot of introspection 05:20 and while I was doing that introspection, 05:22 I began to examine the things that I was told, 05:25 what I couldn't do, 05:26 what I couldn't be, 05:27 and how, you know, different feedbacks that I receive 05:31 allow me to place the ceiling on over my own development. 05:34 And so once I grow into that understanding, 05:36 it produced a paradigm shift in my thinking. 05:40 And so once that shift became, I began to study myself, 05:45 and invest in myself, 05:46 and I look at the things that I was told as motivation. 05:51 Now a lot of people will say, 05:52 you know, what does God have to do with running a business? 05:56 How does God involve in running a business? 05:59 What would you say to those individuals out there 06:01 who'll say that you don't need God 06:04 to be successful in business? 06:06 I will say that one of the definitions to the word God 06:11 when you look at the Hebrew root, is Elohim, 06:13 which means possessor of force and power. 06:17 All of us have the potential for power 06:20 and we all have the potential to exude and exert force 06:23 that make things happen. 06:25 And so when you look at the Book of Genesis 06:27 which is the beginning, 06:28 one of the first commandments was, 06:31 "Be fruitful and multiply." 06:33 So if a person wants to be successful 06:36 whether it's in business or in any endeavor in life, 06:39 they must first be fruitful 06:41 in the sense of reproducing powerful thoughts. 06:45 And then they must multiply 06:46 in the sense of multiplying those ideas to make it happen. 06:51 Well, I have to commend you because I'm a firm believer 06:55 of using biblical principles in every aspect of life. 06:57 You have done that, you've overcome obstacles. 06:59 And now you have all of these T-shirts, 07:01 what are some words of encouragement 07:03 that you would give to other individuals like yourself 07:05 who'd just need to see somebody be successful 07:07 to make them do what you've done and overcome adversity? 07:11 I would tell in the first, believe in yourself. 07:16 Whether anybody else believes in you or not, 07:18 it doesn't matter as long as you believe in yourself. 07:23 And that's one of the most powerful things 07:25 that a person can have is self belief. 07:28 And the moment that we really grow into that understanding, 07:31 we remove the obstacles that we really placed on ourselves 07:36 from some of the feedback and the circumstances 07:38 that we grew up in. 07:40 So believe in self, be determined 07:43 and, you know, like one of my mentors told me, 07:45 he said, "Don't get ready, stay ready." 07:48 Because you never know 07:49 when opportunity can present itself 07:51 and you have to be ready to take advantage of it. 07:54 Thank you so much for the work. 07:58 All right. Wow. 07:59 That's a Dare to Dream kind of thing. 08:02 You know, because you can get out from under, 08:06 whatever your circumstances are, 08:09 you don't have to let them dictate where you are going. 08:12 Exactly. 08:13 But one thing that I wanted to bring up 08:16 that was important to me is the whole idea 08:20 of believing in yourself. 08:22 I think we have to have confidence 08:25 that we can do something, 08:26 but we can do it through Christ. 08:28 'Cause when we start thinking, well, believe in yourself 08:32 and you told me he isn't a Christian guy, 08:34 so that's not the issue that he's not a Christian, 08:38 but it's just like we need to be God reliant 08:44 and have confidence in God 08:47 that we can do all things through Christ. 08:50 Right, right. 08:51 And I think with that, the sky is the limit. 08:54 There's nothing that we can't do. 08:55 With God, all things are possible. 08:57 Yeah. 08:58 With Christ, all things are possible. 09:00 But if we try to do things on our own, 09:03 first of all, we don't even know that 09:04 that's part of God's plan. 09:06 So to me, it's all about believing that you can do it, 09:10 just like this brother believed he could do it, 09:14 through Christ, he can do all things. 09:17 Yes, it's more what God esteem as oppose to self esteem. 09:19 Exactly. Right. 09:21 Well, I was definitely motivated by his story. 09:24 And every time I've seen an individual 09:27 who is formally incarcerated, who's overcome, 09:30 you know, and I've met so many, you know, I've met so many. 09:33 I've met individuals like a good friend of mine, 09:36 Yousef Shakur who has started his own business 09:39 coming out of prison. 09:40 And he's a follower of Christ. 09:43 And an individual, 09:44 I've met so many thousands of individual 09:47 that we work within Brooklyn area. 09:50 And they were focused on just looking, 09:54 we need to be self-sufficient, we need to be make sure that 09:58 if we can get these principles, again, coming from scripture, 10:02 learning them and then applying them, 10:05 everything just falls in line. 10:07 So every time, again, 10:09 every time I go into the prison, 10:10 we do a lot of scripture reading, 10:12 we do a lot of meditation. 10:15 And then we get into 10:16 some physical responsibility principles. 10:18 And so I've actually created some tips 10:21 for individuals who are, for different stages of them 10:25 in their lives before they go to prison 10:27 if they've been convicted of a crime or whatnot, 10:30 while they're in prison, 10:32 and then after they are released from prison. 10:34 So I'll give a couple of them here. 10:37 Yeah, please. 10:38 Well, the first tip here is essentially, 10:41 again, before you go to prison, 10:44 you have to get connected with someone that you trust 10:46 because this individual that you're gonna trust is 10:49 what they might be handling 10:50 a lot of your financial affairs. 10:52 So hopefully there is someone who can make sure that, 10:55 again, if you can get an attorney 10:57 to get them to setup a power of attorney for use, 10:59 where they can be the attorney in fact, 11:01 because there are gonna be a lot of things 11:02 that are gonna be unaddressed when you go away to prison. 11:05 Just because you go to prison 11:07 doesn't mean that bill collector stop calling you 11:09 or trying to collect debt. 11:11 Many individuals I've heard of, or I've seen personally, 11:14 they've gotten their cars repossessed, 11:16 they've gotten home foreclosed on, 11:19 all these things because they were not able 11:20 to handle their financial affairs. 11:22 So before you get to prison, 11:24 you wanna make sure that you have a person 11:25 that you can trust, will make sure 11:26 you set up power of attorney. 11:28 You wanna make sure you have a joint bank account 11:30 with an individual that they can put money in that account 11:33 where they can handle your affairs for you 11:34 out of that account, 11:36 where they can do things outside of prison. 11:38 You wanna make sure you contact your creditors 11:41 before you go to prison. 11:42 Lot of times creditors just don't know 11:44 that you're being incarcerated. 11:45 So you're going into prison 11:47 and the debt still continues to run. 11:50 And I've see a lot of inmates, 11:51 they'll say, you know, "Well, I just wanna wait, 11:54 and I'm gonna spend enough time in here, 11:55 by the time I get out, 11:57 then I'm not gonna hold this debt." 11:58 Well, that's not always necessarily the case. 12:00 So we wanna make sure that even before and I know that, 12:03 it could be the last thing you're thinking about 12:05 before you go away. 12:07 There are some things you really have to do. 12:09 You know, that is such a good point. 12:11 Sometimes you're sitting, waiting to go to trial. 12:15 Right. 12:16 Your bills aren't being paid. Exactly. 12:18 You know, and you lose your job, 12:21 you can lose your apartment, you can, or house 12:24 because you're not paying your bills 12:26 and then you might be found innocent 12:28 but you've lost everything. 12:30 Right, exactly. 12:31 If you don't have somebody on the outside to do those things, 12:36 to cover those things for you, you can really be messed up. 12:40 Right. 12:41 You know, I wanna go back to something you said. 12:43 You said that you with the people, 12:45 with the inmates you do meditation, 12:48 teach them the word, they're meditating on the word, right? 12:51 Okay, because sometimes people will think 12:53 this meditation is transcendental meditation. 12:56 No, he's not talking about that. 12:58 So meditating on the word of God... 12:59 It's prayer. Yes, yeah. 13:01 I haven't tried the other type of meditation 13:04 but well, I do consider prayer to be meditation. 13:07 Okay. 13:08 You pray, and you're listening to God, 13:09 and it's an opening a channel to God and allowing Him, 13:12 you and Him to have a candid conversation. 13:15 Okay, okay. 13:16 I just wanna make sure because some people will wonder 13:19 like, "Is he talking about like Eastern meditation?" 13:22 No, no, no. No. 13:24 We don't recommend that on Dare to Dream, so... 13:26 No, I've never tried that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 13:28 So we have to have somebody on the outside that we can trust. 13:34 And we can look to handle things while we're gone. 13:38 Right, and there are services out there 13:40 where they can give free legal services. 13:44 You know, there's lot of services 13:46 where individuals can get assistants, 13:48 mainly attorneys will provide free pro bono work. 13:50 How do you find out about that? 13:52 Well, neighborhood legal services, 13:54 I believe one of the organizations 13:56 that provide free legal services across the country. 13:59 And they will help individuals to set them up with attorneys. 14:02 These are all the attorneys 14:03 who just essentially wanna help individuals. 14:05 And then locally in every single state and city, 14:08 especially I mean in the urban cities, 14:10 they have many attorneys again who want to contribute 14:12 and they know that high incarceration rates 14:14 are problematic. 14:16 So I know, Street Soldiers was one organization in Chicago 14:21 that I used to work with who, 14:23 they've done a lot of free pro bono work, 14:26 where these are just individuals, 14:27 attorneys who came together, they formed a club 14:30 and they went out 14:32 and they said let me provide free legal services 14:34 to individual going to prison. 14:36 And a lot of individuals are they don't know their rights. 14:38 They don't know, 14:39 I mean, I encourage the viewers as well, 14:41 I encourage you all to, please, 14:42 if you think that incarceration is a problem in your community, 14:46 then let's start working with. 14:47 You know, work with at risk youth 14:49 and mentoring individuals. 14:51 And make it sure that before they get to that point 14:53 where they start to commit crimes, 14:55 they're being impacted positively, 14:57 so they don't necessarily have to go that way 14:58 in the first place. 15:00 Absolutely. 15:01 So there are many preventative things 15:02 that we can do. 15:04 So, but this is again, these tips are, 15:05 once you've been, I mean, been convicted 15:07 and you wanna make sure you have all your options. 15:10 I know a lot of individuals in prison before they say, 15:12 you know, I'm gonna file bankruptcy. 15:14 Well, that may not necessarily always be the best thing to do 15:17 because you may not be able to even get an attorney 15:20 that can take your case. 15:22 And many individuals who are incarcerated, 15:24 they will try to do is represent themselves 15:26 and because of that 15:28 many of those cases are being thrown out 15:29 because they're not, the court is not deeming them 15:33 with being qualified to represent themselves 15:35 or be a suitable representation to throw out these bills. 15:38 So all these things are things that we just want to make sure 15:41 that just because you're incarcerated, 15:42 you still have, again, 15:44 it might be the last thing you think 15:45 that you wanna think about but you never wanna put it 15:48 completely off the table. 15:49 These are things you really wanna pay attention to. 15:51 Absolutely, 'cause things can happen 15:54 that you absolutely had no inkling of, you know, 15:58 you just didn't know what's gonna happen 16:00 and things go down and then you're, 16:02 "What do I do?" 16:03 Exactly. So yeah, that's important. 16:05 So that's before you get in. 16:06 Now, while you're in, very simple, 16:08 while you're in prison and again, 16:10 I know there have been many programs that had been cut 16:14 and I get a lot of letters from individuals in prison 16:16 saying that there's a program that was cut 16:19 and I was not able to get this level of education 16:22 but usually in most facilities there's always something 16:25 that you might be able to do. 16:27 And do as much as you can, there's a library, 16:30 there's something there, no matter what you can do, 16:32 try to read, try to educate yourself. 16:34 I was at a facility, Otisville, in the north side of New York. 16:38 And they actually had 16:40 a tremendous solar panel program. 16:44 And this solar panel program, 16:46 these inmates essentially were able to learn 16:49 how to create solar panels. 16:50 And they were actually making solar panels on the spot. 16:54 And it was a brilliant program, 16:56 and this was a job that they can do 16:58 while they're in prison making solar panels, 17:01 but then they will have the knowledge 17:03 that when they're released, 17:04 they can get into that industry. 17:06 That's tremendous because that's not something 17:09 that's gonna be outdated. 17:10 Exactly. 17:11 That's something for the future. 17:13 You know, if you help people making license plates... 17:16 Right, exactly. 17:18 What are they gonna do when they get out? 17:19 But if you have them learning a trade 17:22 that they'll be able to use when they get out, 17:24 then that keeps them from going back. 17:26 Right, exactly and that's... So that's tremendous. 17:28 The thing is that you wanna make sure 17:30 that while you're in there and I get it, 17:33 there are many institutions 17:35 that might not have the best resources available, 17:38 not all have, 17:39 Otisville was one of the good ones. 17:41 And I have seen other prisons across the country, 17:44 they're pretty good, federal prisons and whatnot. 17:46 But then there are those 17:47 that don't necessarily have a lot of resources 17:49 but even though they still have libraries, 17:50 they have books, things you can read, 17:52 things you can try to research. 17:55 And try to make sure that while you're in there, 17:57 you're making the most of your time 17:58 'cause the goal is when you're released, 18:01 you can put yourself in a position 18:03 to never have to go back to prison. 18:05 And so then that leads us to, that was before, 18:08 that's during and now while you're out, 18:10 after prison out, this is the most crucial point, 18:12 you've just been released, and you know, 18:15 you're meeting with your parole officer 18:17 and they're giving you maybe their mandate 18:20 that you have to work at this particular job, 18:21 and where it might be a minimal wage. 18:24 See, and this is the reason 18:25 why I go to teach a lot of financial literacy in prison 18:28 because my goal in teaching financial literacy 18:31 and physical responsibility, 18:33 is to make sure that when they are released, 18:35 they are the most confident that even though 18:39 they have a very limited budget, 18:41 they can stretch that budget for as long as possible 18:44 until they can do 18:45 what they believe God has chosen them to do. 18:48 So they might be working at a grocery store, 18:51 or bagging groceries, 18:52 or they might have to take an odd job 18:54 as an admin at a local organization 18:57 that actually hires those who are incarcerated. 18:59 I always say, listen, don't deny this blessing. 19:03 This is a blessing, 19:04 it's gonna put some money in your pocket. 19:06 They found this job for you, 19:07 take it and use it as a bridge job. 19:09 It's a bridge to lead you to somewhere. 19:12 And you might not be, it might not be... 19:14 It's not the final destination, 19:16 that's just were a temporary stop 19:17 to put some money in your pocket. 19:19 So what you need to do is 19:20 take the job, put together a budget. 19:23 And again, the less money you make, 19:25 the more you need to budget. 19:27 Make sure you're putting together 19:28 or going over your credit and a few steps, 19:31 and it'll make improving your credit, 19:33 35% of your FICO scores is paying your bills on time, 19:36 you wanna make sure 19:37 you're paying every bill on time. 19:38 Calling, if you had that person that was handling your affairs, 19:41 make sure you're getting all your affairs in order. 19:43 Calling all your creditors and being very upfront 19:46 and forth right with them to say, 19:47 "Hey I'm out of prison now. 19:49 I'd like to, I've been paying my bills. 19:52 I'd like to set up an arrangement 19:53 to start paying these bills off on time." 19:55 If you had some. 19:57 So 35% is paying your bills on time, 19:58 30% is your balance to lending them in ratio. 20:01 So if you still have debt, how much you owe, 20:04 compared to how much you had the ability to borrow, 20:06 that's 30% of your FICO score. 20:07 So paying down how much you owe 20:10 really lowers your credit score tremendously. 20:13 Do you recommend these consumer credit agencies 20:16 that help people to get their credit under control? 20:20 Do you recommend those? 20:21 You should, that's a great question. 20:24 And that was on the ask for help portion. 20:26 Okay. 20:27 You should never pay to improve your credit score. 20:32 You should never spend a dollar. 20:33 There are too many organizations, 20:36 too many resources out there 20:38 that can actually help individuals do these for free. 20:41 Operation HOPE is one of them, 20:44 there's organization nationally, 20:45 The National Foundation for Credit Counseling 20:47 is another one. 20:49 They have Green Path, it's a great organization, 20:51 they are doing good work. 20:53 Now they have a paid for service 20:55 but I recommend that you don't use that, 20:57 use the free service. 20:58 Again, everything 21:00 that I suggest to those individuals in prison 21:02 and of recently released are free of charge. 21:04 And the Operation HOPE, they'll budget for you, 21:06 they'll help you put together a budget, 21:09 they'll pull your credit, 21:10 they'll eliminate all the errors 21:12 on your credit report 21:13 and you can go back as much as you want, 21:15 free of charge. 21:16 And these are the organizations 21:18 that we needed to be talking to make sure 21:19 that we can get some help. 21:21 So just walk us through. 21:22 HUD has a great program as well, 21:24 so they have great credit restoration program. 21:29 All these thing and more, we should be going to, 21:31 those are the first individuals 21:32 that when you're released from prison, 21:34 you need to talk to, putting together a budget. 21:36 We talked about that on the earlier show, 21:38 the seven steps of financial freedom. 21:40 Well, the first step in getting your house in order, 21:44 these are the steps that you have to do immediately 21:46 especially if you've been released from prison 21:48 is mainly the budget 21:50 and the credit restoration piece. 21:51 So if we're doing that regularly 21:53 and we're going to church and then I highly suggest, 21:57 don't not stop, don't not tithe, okay. 22:01 You're making little bit of money, 22:04 now the time to not turn your back on Christ. 22:07 That's right. 22:08 Now it's the time to say, "Hey, you know what? 22:10 You've been released, you've got a brand new start. 22:12 You can still put that 10%." 22:14 Because that commitment says that one again, 22:17 you have to put together a budget to figure out, 22:19 what is 10%? 22:21 How much are you earning? 22:22 How much are you even, how can you even calculate 10%? 22:25 You have to put that budget together. 22:27 And so if you're doing that, 22:29 all those things will essentially put you 22:31 in a more effective place 22:32 to start getting yourself on that road. 22:34 To then, again, there are other organizations 22:37 that assist you to, 22:38 the last point is entrepreneurship. 22:41 I believe that for those who are formerly incarcerated, 22:44 one of the most effective ways to really getting back on track 22:48 is starting your own business. 22:50 And again, you're making that bridge job, you're making, 22:53 you know, $10 an hour or $12 an hour, that job, 22:56 that they might have connected you with. 22:58 But now you can, they're operational 23:01 there's a free 12-week program. 23:03 In Detroit, they have many organizations 23:04 that also have free entrepreneurship program. 23:07 So find out organization that can help you. 23:10 SBA.gov has a great entrepreneurship program, 23:14 Score has a great program. 23:16 Go on internet, put together a business plan 23:20 and all these SBDCs and other organizations 23:22 that helps individuals to start put together business plans 23:25 free of charge. 23:27 So there's a lot of assistance out there 23:29 that we just need to be using and in the meanwhile, 23:33 another tip is to make sure 23:35 you're talking with your family members. 23:37 Lot of times when inmates, prisoners, 23:39 or formally incarcerated come home, 23:42 they'll immediately talk to their family 23:44 and they won't necessarily tell them their plans. 23:47 They won't tell them their strategy. 23:48 So they'll just say I'm gonna, 23:49 so that many times, their family says, 23:51 "Oh, you're just gonna lay on the couch 23:53 and do nothing?" 23:54 "Well, no, let me tell you my plan." 23:56 'Cause I might need some support. 23:58 And so you're family and friends, 24:00 I mean, they, I'd say, hey, check this out, 24:02 I've gotten a lot of individual jobs 24:04 who were formally incarcerated 24:06 just by talking to their family. 24:08 And in another show that we'll be doing 24:10 the family empowerment program, 24:12 which the family and the community comes around, 24:14 embraces this individual coming back home, 24:16 and then suggest which type of job opportunities 24:19 that they could place somewhere. 24:20 Ah, that's good. 24:22 So all these things are more things 24:23 that we just wanna make sure 24:24 that we're showing formally incarcerated 24:26 brothers and sisters, love and we're embracing them. 24:29 Let them know that they're tremendous, 24:31 they're great, they're valuable. 24:33 And they don't have to go back, 24:35 they don't have to make those decisions anymore. 24:36 That's right. And feed. Yes. 24:38 Feed the mind. Yes. 24:40 You watch Dare to Dream, we have the New Journey on 24:42 which is a program for incarcerated, 24:45 and offenders, and ex-offenders 24:48 that show people 24:49 who have made it through Christ. 24:51 And they're on a new journey now. 24:53 We have a Father's Heart, if you are incarcerated 24:57 and you have children and you just kind of wonder, 24:59 "How can I parent from here? 25:01 What kinds of things we can do?" 25:04 Watch your Father's Heart, Pumped Up Parents. 25:07 I mean, we have programming for you. 25:10 Feed your mind, learn, research, 25:13 do all of these things that Ryan suggested. 25:15 I mean, they are, you're not limited. 25:19 There are so many resources that you just have to tap into. 25:22 Right. 25:23 I mean, and substance abuse has been a huge problem 25:26 with those who are formerly incarcerated. 25:27 Please, we urge, I used to work in New York 25:30 with a great organization called Serendipity. 25:32 And usually there are many nonprofit organizations 25:36 that can provide help for that area. 25:39 But you have to recognize that you need that assistance. 25:42 And you have to embrace that assistance, so. 25:44 And you can't hold a job down if you have substance abuse. 25:46 Exactly. You just cannot. 25:48 You can't be that productive. Exactly. 25:50 I mean, again, these are the things 25:52 that we just have to be very real with. 25:54 And lastly, and I'll do the takeaway, 25:58 we have to make sure if you have children, 26:00 paying your child support. 26:01 Yes. 26:03 It's a huge problem with many of those 26:04 who are formerly incarcerated, 26:06 who don't want to pay their child support. 26:08 They try to find a way to skirt outside of the system. 26:11 We have to find a way to pay child support. 26:12 There are many organizations 26:14 that can help you to alleviate the burden 26:17 of the amount of the child support. 26:18 But you should wanna support your children. 26:20 Absolutely. Well, give us that takeaway. 26:22 Sure, will. 26:29 This message is specifically for those who are incarcerated, 26:32 soon to released, or formerly incarcerated. 26:35 We need you. 26:36 We need the greatness 26:37 God has put on the inside of you. 26:39 We need your brilliance, your strength, 26:41 and all of the blessings 26:42 that you have been predestined to deliver. 26:44 But first, you have to work on you. 26:47 True change doesn't start on the outside. 26:49 True change starts on the inside. 26:51 It starts in our thinking. 26:53 It says in Romans 12:2, 26:54 "Do not be conformed to this world, 26:56 but be transformed by the renewal of your mind." 26:59 We at Dollars and Sense believe, 27:01 you have been crowned with favor, 27:02 you are truly one of a kind, a masterpiece, 27:05 you have great ideas, God's favor surrounds you, 27:07 and goodness and greatness follows you. 27:09 But it doesn't matter what we believe, 27:11 it only matters what you believe. 27:13 And that you are acting according to what you believe. 27:15 You don't need a title to fulfill God's will, 27:18 His purpose for your life. 27:19 No more waiting on your ship to come in. 27:21 With God on your side, 27:22 you have the ability to create your own ship 27:24 and sail anywhere in the world you wanna go. 27:26 There are no excuses. 27:28 Moses was a stuttering 80 year old murderer 27:30 that God chose to teach, "Thou shalt not kill", 27:32 and lead his people from slavery. 27:34 Joseph was a convict but he was chosen 27:37 to be the head of all the land of Egypt. 27:39 Colonel Sanders was a 65 year old broke man, 27:41 but God chose him to start KFC with only $105 in his pocket. 27:45 What did God choose you to do? 27:47 Let us at Dollars and Sense help you figure that out. 27:49 Email us at dollarsandsense@3abn.org 27:53 or chat with me 27:54 on the Dare to Dream Network Facebook page. 27:56 Be the change you wanna see in the world and remember, 27:58 the purpose of life is a life of purpose. 28:01 Next time, on Dollars and Sense. |
Revised 2021-06-15