Navigating the return to every-
day life for formerly incarcerated
individuals is no small feat. Youth
Justice Fund (YJF), a non-profit
based in Ypsilanti MI, works
to assist formerly incarcerated
youth reacclimating to society.
Executive Director Aaron Kinzel,
who spent 10 years in the prison
system, aims to provide mental
and financial support to get for-
merly incarcerated individuals
back on their feet.
YJF’s
website
thoroughly
explains the mission, stressing
healing, reconnection and educa-
tion as core values and ultimate
goals for each client and the non-
profit at large. Within these val-
ues, there exists a commitment
to securing housing, employment
and transportation. Financially,
YJF aims to assist clients with
paying their rent, DTE or water
bills, as well as provide them with
food. For those with small chil-
dren, YJF looks to provide dia-
pers, formula or other necessities.
Last year, founder Deborah
Labelle led a retreat in Dexter,
Michigan for the Incarcerated
Children
Advocacy
Network,
ICAN, and YJF clients. YJF cli-
ents
participated
in
outdoor
activities, such as fishing and
swimming
—
activities
they
couldn’t experience as youth in
the criminal justice system. Not
only were there recreational
activities, but the retreat also
focused on trauma therapy and
discussing mental health to pro-
vide YJF clients with support, a
sense of community and under-
standing among each other. YJF
is currently seeking $5,000 to
lead another retreat this year.
The stigma surrounding peo-
ple with a criminal past in tan-
dem with the pandemic has led to
a rapid decrease in available jobs
and has made finding employ-
ment even more difficult for YJF
clients and returning citizens
everywhere. These challenges
have made YJF’s efforts to help
clients apply for unemployment
insurance among other govern-
ment benefits within the past few
months even more influential.
Struggling to reintegrate
Pat Bates, a member of YJF
who met Kinzel at a panel a week
out of prison, reflected on his
own
experience
transitioning
back home and the support he
received from YJF.
“What I didn’t want to do was
come home and be selling drugs
or committing crimes or any-
thing like that, but I also didn’t
want to be somebody’s slave,”
Bates said. “With Aaron and the
Youth Justice Fund they found
me opportunities. The biggest
resource that I’ve had since I’ve
been home is the Youth Justice
Fund.”
Since Bates’s return home, YJF
has provided him immense aid,
including a car that has made his
career pursuits more feasible.
Additionally, Kinzel has pushed
Bates to pursue higher education
beyond the Associates degree he
earned prior to his incarceration.
“[Bates] had an associates
degree while he was in the sys-
tem, but I’m going to make sure
I push Bates further because
he’s a smart individual,” Kinzel
said. “When he comes to a bump
in the road I can say, ‘Bates, you
know what, steer a little left, this
is what I did.’ And if he needs
resources I can connect him with
people, give him a little financial,
whatever he needs to make sure
that he keeps climbing that hill.”
Bates explained that without
support and resources, many
returning citizens resort to com-
mitting crime for the sake of sur-
vival. Kinzel admitted that, upon
his return, he considered robbing
people while struggling to accli-
mate to society.
“The one thing about people
who come home (from prison)
is that we are very proud, but
that pride can get us into trou-
ble because we don’t have these
resources
or
opportunities,”
Bates said. “So we might go take
another pass, so to speak.”
Kinzel elaborated, emphasiz-
ing that in many communities
with high rates of crime and pov-
erty, there are few to no resources
to help former inmates get back
on their feet.
“We know these communities,
we know what it’s like living in
poverty, living in crime-ridden
areas without opportunities or
resources,” Kinzel said. “Coming
home now all these years later, it’s
been like a new prison experience
in a weird way. When you go into
prison you have to learn this new
environment, you have to adapt.
But then when you come home it’s
almost like the same thing….You
have to build a reputation, you
have to make connections and
network and (find) people who
are on your team.”
This “new prison” experience
that Kinzel described comes from
an intense societal stigma against
formerly
incarcerated
indi-
viduals. Kinzel highlighted the
stark variation in mental health
resources based on a communi-
ty’s affluence. In most privileged
environments, Kinzel suggested
that emotional support is far
more accessible.
“A 16-year-old kid kills them-
selves in a privileged communi-
ty,” Kinzel said. “There’s all types
of trauma counseling and therapy
for them in high school. But an
eight-year-old kid in the city of
Detroit sees death and murder
all the time and they get a teddy
bear and maybe a t-shirt and bal-
loons.”
The essence behind Kinzel’s
example is clear: Socioeconom-
ic divisions play a major role
in access to healthcare and, by
extension, strongly shape the way
children learn to cope with trau-
ma and violence in adulthood.
“We’re broken little boys in
really tough communities and
then we have to become hard-
ened, aggressive, hyper mascu-
line teenagers, to prove ourselves
in a community where we had to
survive,” he said.
Therein lies a central prob-
lem — a societal ignorance
about where formerly incarcer-
ated individuals like Bates and
Kinzel “come from.” This lack of
understanding produces a sense
of indifference toward civilians
coming out of the criminal justice
system and disregards the trau-
matic circumstances that might
have led them into the system in
the first place.
The gap between socially con-
scious and unconscious individu-
als in regard to the prison system
and larger American systems
remains drastic. This persistent
ignorance perpetuates a stigma
that formerly incarcerated indi-
viduals are unworthy or lesser
members of society, presenting a
significant barrier for them when
finding sustainable employment
opportunities.
Professional pursuits
The pervasive stigmas encoun-
tered by returning citizens are
not only unfair, but also untrue.
Incarcerated individuals often
hold leadership positions during
their sentences — which enforce a
large variety of clerical and criti-
cal skills — but employers don’t
value these experiences when
they’re compared to applicants
with a more traditional work
background.
“Just think about a guy in pris-
on who’s the man of the yard,”
Bates said. “You might have one
guy that was a law clerk, a parale-
gal in a law library, you got anoth-
er guy and he’s a 4.0 student in
Jackson college, the only college
they offer, and you might have
another guy who was in the rec-
reation department and he was
coordinating all types of events
and activities, huge things that
people out here get paid really
good to do. That’s what I was. I
was the rec official, I organized
events and everything. But then
you come out here and you’re just
a piece of shit. You’re nothing.
You were important in prison —
just think about the culture shock
in that alone.”
Without any structure in place
to aid the return of formerly
incarcerated
citizens,
Kinzel
emphasized
how
important
participation
from
businesses
around Ann Arbor is. Employ-
ers like Phillis Engelbert, owner
of the Lunchroom LLC and the
Detroit Street Filling Station,
have become a key resource for
rehabilitative pursuits. Though
small businesses should not be
the backbone of these community
efforts, their contributions can
be incredibly impactful. Engel-
bert speaks openly of her pas-
sion for criminal justice reform
through helping individuals with
employment, accountability and
rehabilitative spaces, and patrons
of both her restaurants know the
importance behind these prin-
ciples.
“Phyllis is a prime example
with The Lunchroom,” Kinzel
said. “Maybe some of you have
connections or family that might
own a business — if they’re will-
ing to hire someone that’s been
in the system, that’s a huge help.
Or just taking donations at busi-
nesses too is another way. Or
volunteers, interns, to just kinda
get the word out that this is some-
thing that we need to build as a
community.”
Engelbert has found incredible
success in doing just that and her
businesses are both financially
stable and creating rehabilitative
communities.
“(My
employees)
are
the
brightest bright spot. Our crew
is upbeat, professional, respon-
sible, caring and accountable to
the business and each other. They
are a pleasure to be around. It is
because of their hard work that
our business is succeeding,” she
wrote in the Detroit Street Dis-
Batesch.
“I don’t want handouts for my
clients,” Kinzel said. “But I want
them to get a helping hand and
that first step so they can become
productive citizens and people
that are community members.”
Of course, money is what pays
the bills, and returning citi-
zens often come away from the
prison system with very little.
But a network of volunteer posi-
tions, internships and connec-
tions make one person’s efforts,
like Phyllis’, more sustainable in
the pursuit toward community
enrichment.
Performative activism
Both Kinzel and Bates empha-
sized the toxicity of performative
activism, imploring University
students, white allies and those
from wealthy, Eurocentric-based
backgrounds to invest in their
communities and engage in on-
the-ground, tangible support in
order to catalyze justice reform.
“I think what a lot of people
who come from privileged areas
think is that they’re gonna come
in and save the day,” Kinzel said.
“You know, they throw a little
money sometimes in the sys-
tem or they volunteer, and then
they’re good. That’s not what’s
gonna change society. We need
people that are from privileged
communities, we need all races,
all
ethnicities,
all
religions,
everybody. We all need to work
together to fight oppression.”
Kinzel emphasized the impor-
tance of letting those who have
been oppressed guide our com-
munities in the right direc-
tion. He referred to a tendency
amongst privileged individuals
to participate in protest for the
sake of performative signage and
social media posts, only to return
to the comfort of their homes an
hour later, feeling as though they
have changed the world. He pro-
posed more productive alterna-
tives, like engaging in mentorship
programs, advocating for policy
reform,
challenging
personal
biases and prejudices and sup-
porting previously incarcerated
individuals in their career search.
“We need people that are
gonna treat us like human beings,
we need people that can be men-
tors. College students need to
reach out to some of my partici-
pants and help them get navi-
gated.”
For college students looking to
help returning citizens, Kinzel is
constantly looking for mentors
and tutors for his participants
that are starting their higher
education or working in the Ann
Arbor or Detroit area.
“But the thing is you have to
actually come and be a part of
these communities,” Bates said.
“Come and dig in the trenches
with us, get your hands dirty. I’d
like to see more actual work than
crying and shouting.”
University of Michigan stu-
dents or any residents in the Ann
Arbor area can volunteer with
the Youth Justice Fund by fill-
ing out this form or donate using
their Gofundme page.
Systems and cyclic oppression
Questions about prison reform
and policing –– such as commu-
nity policing, police budgets and
the prison industrial complex and
their relationship to civilian soci-
eties –– have been at the forefront
of many American minds follow-
ing an outburst of civil rights
activism in recent months. Bates
and Kinzel’s stories illuminate the
urgency of disrupting the current
system.
“(The
prison
system)
was
designed and is doing exactly what
it was intended to do — which is to
marginalize, oppress and control
certain populations. And these are
populations that are living in pov-
erty, populations that are predom-
inantly and desperately impacted
as communities of color, these are
people that to society, — at least
the elites in the world and to poli-
ticians — are throw away people.”
Kinzel explained that the cor-
porate entity behind the prison
system is what makes the opera-
tion so powerful — similar to slav-
ery, incarceration is economically
“too big to fail.” As Kinzel puts it,
“It’s the best experiment in United
States history of business mal-
practice.”
The University of Michigan is a
community largely revered for its
diverse intellect and passion for
social justice; however, Kinzel dis-
cussed how it often feels as though
universities exploit these commu-
nities and individuals for research
purposes.
“I work part time for the Uni-
versity of Michigan as faculty
on the Dearborn campus and I
see it in Dearborn, I see it in Ann
Arbor,” Kinzel said. “They want to
do this research, they want to get
the stories from people like myself
and Bates, but they don’t invest
much in us and those communi-
ties. It saddens me and angers me
simultaneously. It doesn’t mean
that there aren’t people with good
intentions in these spaces, but I
think overall universities very
often become corporate bureau-
cracies and are just trying to make
a buck off of us.”
In positions of privilege, such
as our own — being the University
student body — we must confront
and actively work to uplift these
communities, no matter how dis-
tant they seem from our lives at
U-M.
Aforementioned
opportuni-
ties to do so, such as tutoring, and
serving as a prominent academic
or professional mentor for these
returning citizens, is one way to
pursue helpful contributions.
Bates and Kinzel remind us
that we are capable of incredible
change when we work as a collec-
tive.
“Let’s be real, the people in
power are more wealthy.....if you
don’t get wealthy white folks on
board for justice reform, shit’s
not gonna happen,” Kinzel said.
“But we also need Black folks, we
need Indigenous people, we need
Latinx people, we need Hispan-
ics, and Arab Americans — every-
body’s gotta be sitting at this
table. But, when I say we’re hold-
ing hands, it’s gotta be equal. But
help us, those who have lived the
oppressed experience, help us lead
you in the right direction. Because
we know the answers.”
The Youth Justice Fund:
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Michigan In Color
6 — Wednesday, September 16, 2020
By Jake Halperin
©2020 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
09/16/20
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
09/16/20
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
Release Date: Monday, September 16, 2020
ACROSS
1 “We’ll tak __ o’
kindness yet”:
Burns
5 Made, as a tunnel
8 “Oh, no you __!”
13 Item inspected
with a flashlight,
perhaps
14 Commute but not
pollute
15 “We’re
broadcasting”
sign
16 Remaining
17 John McClane in
“Die Hard,” e.g.
19 Have something
20 Ont. neighbor
21 Lips sound
22 B sharp
equivalent
25 Weapon that
stuns
28 Promise not to
prosecute
30 Peeper
31 RSVP facilitator
32 Junk __
33 The Game of Life
pieces
36 Wreck room?
37 Rely (on) for
support
38 Kitchen tool brand
39 “You got it”
41 Brown or pale
order
43 “The Jungle”
author
47 Friend of Natalie,
Jo and Blair on
“The Facts of
Life”
48 Indication of a
Realtor’s success
51 Put back in the
hot oil
53 Article in the L.A.
Times?
54 Email address
part
55 What an X may
mean
58 Sea level shift
59 Con artist’s asset
60 Speaker’s spot
61 Homey lodgings
62 Don José in
“Carmen,” e.g.
63 Vote of
agreement
64 Showbiz “grand
slam” comprising
the awards found
in the circled
letters
DOWN
1 Allstate
competitor
2 Bring up to
speed
3 Govt. building
flier
4 Vet’s patient
5 Enjoy, as a
restaurant
6 Monroe plays
one in “Some
Like It Hot”
7 Birthstones, say
8 Daytime talk
pioneer
9 Like much beer
10 Seductive
aspect of the
Force
11 Strategic math
game
12 Sample
14 Ludlum spy
Jason
18 24-hr. stores
next to many BP
stations
20 Wharf
23 Half of seis
24 Does as told
26 Sicilian smoker
27 Seacrest of
morning talk
29 Mother’s Day
month
33 Annoyed look
34 Trade show
35 Totally collapse
36 Hindu title
37 Island garlands
39 Short-stemmed
brandy glass
40 App buyers
41 White gold et al.
42 Glasgow guys
44 Verdi’s
penultimate
opera
45 Lassie, for one
46 Emulating
cavalry
members
49 “That’s awful!”
50 A-bomb tryout
52 Movie guru
with his own
grammar
55 Sports rep.
56 To be paid
57 Vote of
disagreement
58 Game no one
wins
puzzle by sudokusnydictation.com
WHISPER
100 Characters.
Bare your soul.
SUDOKU
WHISPER
“i have the
emotional
fragility of a
pinecone.”
“‘Health
informed’
is a lie, they
don’t care if
students
die!”
09/10/20
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
11 Home of Thule
U.S. Air Force’s
12 In great demand
24 __ dixit: assertion
32 John’s instrument
33 Light-wave units
Disclaimer: Not all the writers of
this piece are POC. Although MiC
is an exclusively POC space, we
felt this piece was important to
share as a collaborative work as it
upholds the standards, values and
mission of MiC.
SAMANTHA NELSON,
CALLIE TEITELBAUM,
SAMANTHA CANTIE,
ANNIE KLUSENDORF &
GABRIJELA SKOKO
MiC & Daily Staff Writers
A three person mission rehabilitating Southeast
Michigan’s formerly incarcerated community