Welcome back to this person I met. My name is Kayla, and the voice you just heard is Johnny walker. He's the community engagement specialist from A Brighter Way, an organization serving formerly incarcerated people, assisting them in the tedious process of reentering society. Johnny and I sat down in the downtown library on a cold february afternoon, where he generously shared his story and new life after not mere years, but decades of incarceration.

Johnny, like many of us, grew up surrounded by a large community of family and friends, the most important to him being his mother. Despite her passing, her love still stays with him, a reminder that love knows no bounds even in death.

In this episode, Johnny shares his battle with trauma and his emergence on the other side. Taking it one day at a time, Johnny says, is the most important step to healing and finding yourself again, no matter how impossible it may feel.

Welcome back to this person I met! You might notice something new in this episode, or someone new. As you all may know, Maya, the host of this podcast, is off to college. And that means someone new has to take over. My name is Kayla, and I, coincidentally, am her younger sister! For the next few years, I will be the new podcast host, and I am beyond excited to share my experiences with you all.

The voice you just heard was Jennifer St. John, the social media manager and trauma informed peer led reentry navigator of a Brighter Way. From previous episodes, you may remember a Brighter Way as a nonprofit dedicated to helping those previously incarcerated build a better, stable life. In this episode, Jennifer shares her journey battling her trauma and finding herself again through all of it.

Hi, and welcome back to This Person I Met! Today’s interviewee is Jen Peacock, the policy director for the Michigan Center for Youth Justice, which is an organization focused on ensuring that youth in the juvenile justice system have equitable access to qualified legal representation.

To give you some background, Michigan has a “decentralized system,” which means that juvenile court services and programming are managed at the county level. This means varied application of practices and significant differences in treatment – “justice by geography.”

And while the system for youth is not identical to that of the adult legal system, attorneys, administrators, prosecutors, and judges all still play major roles in influencing the outcomes of youth in the juvenile system.

As Jen mentioned, one of the biggest things we can do as community members is educate ourselves – which I think applies both to juvenile justice, but also any topic, especially ones relating to social causes. You can find more information about MCYJ at miyouthjustice.org, or follow MCYJ online @mi.youth justice. Thank you so much for tuning in, and I’ll see you next time!

Music: Bella Vista by the Sea by Daniel Robinson, courtesy of Uppbeat.