We share our lessons with thousands of people in jails and prisons across the United States, as well as through our website. Many participants write to us on their own, expressing gratitude for the hope and guidance they’ve found in our courses. While the images on this page are AI-generated, the messages themselves are published exactly as we receive them—unedited and authentic.
ANGELA ROBBINS
On September 11, 2024 FCI-Aliceville hosted inspirational and motivational speaker Michael Santos for the Peer
Success Program and three classes of the Life Choices Program (LCP). It was a rousing success for every
attendee and Mr. Santos's speech was very energizing, as well as eye-opening for many. (I am one of the unit
leaders in the Peer Success Program and liaise between AIC Blair, the staff and the team members in the unit
where I live.) It was gratifying to be able to listen to his talk and watch the women in the room respond to his
encouragement and advice.
Most of the women in the room are current participants in what I call 'the Santos program'. The Peer Success
Program encourages everyone to get online with the Prison Professors Talent (a non-profit organization) website
and begin to memorialize their Re-Entry Plan, their bio and their journey from Prison to success, so the 135
women already logged on to his website were fertile ground for Mr. Santos's words. Each of us left the seminar
thinking about the things they needed to do to begin making themselves stronger students, stronger employees,
stronger advocates for the Santos program, stronger mothers, stronger daughters and sisters and aunts. We
walked away with an agenda on how to make our time in prison work for us, not just as something to "serve" as a
punishment.
I also really appreciated how Mr. Santos made us aware that, as people who had made bad decisions in the past,
we need to earn our place in society. It was refreshing to have some of my peers reminded that we NEED to be
positively contributing to society, not society serving our needs. Occasionally some of my colleagues forget this
facet, but overall I, and many others, enjoyed his talk immensely.
After lunch we reconvened at the Recreation building to hold a training seminar - the first annual one for the Peer
Success Program - and many staff attended to add their thoughts and presence to our hard work at rebuilding the
prison morale. It was a humbling event to be a part of for me personally. I have been in several prisons (2
military and 3 federal) and none of them had administration that wanted to change the prison culture or provide
the women incarcerated with a more positive mind frame. Many women here may not see the bigger picture,
having only been at one facility, or new to prison, but it is a dramatic change from the prison administrations of
the past. This was also one of the things that Mr. Santos reminded us of: the huge changes that resulted from
the prison reform advocacy he and his organization do on a daily basis, as well as the changes that stem from
the First Step Act.
At the training seminar we discussed the Wellness Wheel, with eight different spokes that comprise a person's
entire life (Intellectual, Spiritual, Occupational, Social, Emotional, Environmental, Physical and Financial). We, as
mentors, can use different techniques to bring these spokes into better alignment and therefore be better mentors
for our peers. We also had circles for training that dealt with Re-Entry, Resume writing and Parenting from
Prison. AIC Blair is a true visionary for putting it all together and by the way she brought every different asset at
her disposal to bear fruit in the training seminar. It was also a benefit to us in the Program to have Mr. Santos
come through and see the hard work we are doing as we use all the literature his organization gifts us with and
the strong words of encouragement he shares. We are definitely striving for excellence!
I am grateful to be a part of this Program and so thankful that I was able to attend the speech given by Mr.
Santos. It was a truly inspiring day.
