I thought this year would never come... I remember when I agreed to take this plea bargain and come to prison for my crimes, my brain was still pickled from all the meth and alcohol I was ingesting daily, and I remember my mentality was, " who cares how long they give me, I won't be alive for it". I can't tell you how much of my life I lived with that mentality, partly because I lived fast, I…
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Mission Statement
To provide people affected by gangs and crime with the skills, strategies, support, and resources to continue on the path of redemption, healing, and positive change
The Strategy
To inspire people to take ownership of their own lives by giving them the space and opportunity to learn a new way to live. This is accomplished through volunteering our time and energy in supporting others who are committed to positive change and seeking a better life. The members of New Freedom bring passion, commitment, honesty, and a desire to build the relationship between the people of the community and the people at Twin Rivers for a safer community
Using this time to challenge deeply rooted habits and beliefs in order to begin a new freedom
Bridging the gap from gang member to community member through stategic introspection
Building partnerships with community based organizations to create paths for individuals to succeed
Transforming individuals by providing skills that lead to a meaningful lives
Latest stories
Today was a great day in my history. We officially launched 🌱Thrive SBC to the Santa Barbara County justice impacted community. We have been working on this purposeful application since last October. I am thankful for Code for America, Santa Barbara County Public Defenders Office, Gaucho Underground Scholars, Timothy Malstead, Jeanmarie Levy, Filsan Abikar, Stephen T. Simpson, and Hashim Mteuzi…
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Since I started working out almost 30 years ago, I always thought about how great it would be to train others...I'm one of those people that when I am interested in something I put All my energy into, and try to learn the science behind it, not only how it works, but Why!? (probably my ADD )And with Health and Wellness, that's a long journey! I was expelled from Jr high and then dropped out of…
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Listen to what Kimothy has to say while serving his sentence... Over the years, I've been paying attention to what's going on in the world, as well as what's going on around me... during my observation, I've come to the conclusion that a lot of our thinking and mental mind states are in critical condition. A lot of men believe that the measure of a man is defined by how skillful they are in acts…
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It doesn't happen to me that often, but having to juxtapose preparing for a future beyond the razor wire, concrete and steel bars while serving a LWOP sentence is indescribable. It mirrors sentence similarities that exist between capital punishment and LWOP, allow me to explain... I strive daily to be a positive role model by which others may gauge their ability to achieve success, I'm fully…
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Being released after serving a decade in prison. Victor allowed himself to be vulnerable and share his experiences and lessons that he had learned up until this point in his life. He expresses what had led him to prison and some of the difficulties that he faced while incarcerated. He shares his story in hopes of allowing others to learn from his experiences.
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Take a look at the very first New Freedom graduation that took place at the Monroe Correctinal Complex in 2018 Check out the youtube video so that you could hear directly from the particpants themselves
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A Description about something My name is Daniel Perez, I am 24 years old and was born in Yakima Washington. My environment brought gang violence and crime. When my brother passed in 2009 I decided to cope with my grief by turning towards the camaraderie of gang lifestyle and using violence as an outlet. I came to prison at the age of 15 with a 20 year sentence, I then directed my life towards…
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