In this powerful episode of Life Switch Conversations, Dr. Derron Simon sits down with Britney Allen Jones, MSW — a social worker, woman in long-term recovery, formerly incarcerated leader, and founder of The Chad Lake Foundation.

Britney’s story begins long before the letters behind her name. She shares what it was like growing up as the daughter of an incarcerated father, carrying unresolved trauma, experiencing substance use, losing loved ones, and eventually finding recovery, faith, purpose, and a mission to serve others.

This conversation goes deep into the real issues behind incarceration and reentry:

Trauma that goes unnamed.

Addiction as a disease, not a character flaw.

Recovery as a pathway to healing.

The failures of punishment-only systems.

Post-Incarceration Syndrome.

The need for treatment, housing, support, and compassion.

Why people with lived experience must be at the policy table.

Why rural communities like Kentucky can become powerful places for grassroots change.

Britney also shares the heartbreaking story behind The Chad Lake Foundation, named in honor of her brother, Chad Lake Raymond, who died while incarcerated after being denied adequate medical care. His story fuels her work to remove barriers, support people coming home, advocate for rehabilitation over incarceration, and bring dignity to people impacted by the justice system.

This episode is honest, emotional, faith-filled, and deeply necessary.

Britney reminds us that recovery is real, redemption is possible, and people are more than the worst thing they have ever done.

To learn more or connect with Britney and The Chad Lake Foundation:

Website: thechadlakefoundation.org

Email: Britney@thechadlakefoundation.org

🎙️ Listen on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

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❤️ Like if you believe in rehabilitation over incarceration

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In this powerful and intellectually rich episode of Life Switch Conversations, Dr. Derron Simon sits down with Alejo Rodriguez, founder of Participatory Justice Associates, for a conversation that goes far beyond traditional reentry talk.

This is not just a discussion about laws.
This is a discussion about power.
Who holds it.
Who defines it.
Who gets erased from it.
And who must reclaim it.

Alejo brings lived experience, academic depth, legal insight, community wisdom, and historical perspective into one of the most thought-provoking conversations we have had on the show.

Together, Dr. Simon and Alejo explore how directly impacted people are too often invited to share their stories, ideas, and pain — only to have institutions absorb the work, rebrand it, fund it, and erase the people who created it.

That is what Alejo calls structural erasure.

And once you hear him explain it, you may realize you have seen it everywhere.

🧠 A MESSAGE ABOUT STRUCTURAL ERASURE

Structural erasure happens when institutions take ideas born from impacted communities, reshape them, fund them, institutionalize them, and then forget — or refuse to acknowledge — who created them.

That has happened in history.
That has happened in prison programs.
That has happened in reform movements.
That has happened in advocacy spaces.

The question is:

How do we move forward without erasing the people who carried the torch first?

A MESSAGE ABOUT TRAUMA ATTENTIVENESS

It is not enough to say an organization is trauma-informed.

Who measures that?
Who defines that?
Who holds institutions accountable?
Who decides whether the work is actually safe, culturally aware, historically aware, gender aware, and rooted in dignity?

Alejo challenges us to move from language to practice.

Not just trauma-informed.
Trauma attentive.

A MESSAGE TO DIRECTLY IMPACTED LEADERS

This industry belongs to those who know it from the inside.

The post-release space, the reentry space, the justice reform space, the restorative justice space — this cannot be built without the people who lived it.

We are not just the testimony.
We are not just the panelists.
We are not just the stories.

We are the architects.

Connect with Alejo Rodriguez and Participatory Justice Associates on LinkedIn.

📩 CONNECT WITH LIFE SWITCH CONVERSATIONS
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Want to be a guest, collaborate, or support the movement?
Email: info@2ndchancenetwork.com

🎙️ Listen on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify

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❤️ SUPPORT THE MOVEMENT
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⬇️ Drop your thoughts below
❤️ Like if this spoke to you
🔁 Share with someone who needs to hear this
💬 Tag a justice leader, returning citizen, scholar, organizer, policymaker, reentry advocate, faith leader, or community builder who needs this conversation.

#LifeSwitchConversations #2ndChanceNetwork #AlejoRodriguez #ParticipatoryJustice #ParticipatoryJusticeAssociates #StructuralErasure #TraumaAttentiveness #GatekeeperSyndrome #ReentryMatters #ReturningCitizens #LifeAfterPrison #JusticeImpacted #RestorativeJustice #CriminalJusticeReform #MassIncarceration #LivedExperienceLeadership #PostReleaseIndustry #CommunityPower #DignityCenteredWork #SystemChange #TransformationalJustice #SocialJustice #EconomicJustice #EducationalJustice #HealthJustice #InstitutionalDistrust #CommunityOrganizing #RecidivismReduction #Transformation

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🔥 NO RECIPE. NO GROCERY RUN. JUST WHAT YOU GOT.
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Welcome to the very first recorded episode of What You Got? with Big U — the cooking show where Big U takes whatever is already in the kitchen and turns it into something real.

In this first episode, Doc Simon opens up his kitchen and shows Big U what he has: canned pink salmon, penne pasta, spinach, peppers, onions, tomato paste, heavy cream, Parmesan cheese, eggs, flour, butter, garlic, and a few seasonings.

That was enough.

Big U walks him through the whole thing — salmon patties, Cajun seasoning, garlic, cream sauce, spinach penne, plating, taste test, and plenty of laughter along the way.

This is not fancy cooking.
This is real cooking.
This is kitchen creativity.
This is making something out of what you already have.

From Morgantown to Detroit, from prison meals to home kitchens, from survival cooking to real flavor — Big U shows that food is more than a recipe.

It is resourcefulness.
It is culture.
It is confidence.
It is family.
It is fun.
It is what you got.

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🍽️ ON THE MENU
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✅ Cajun-style salmon patties
✅ Creamy tomato-Parmesan sauce
✅ Spinach penne pasta
✅ Garlic, peppers, onions, and pantry flavor
✅ Big U’s real-time coaching
✅ Doc Simon’s first salmon patty experience
✅ The official “What You Got?” kitchen test

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📩 WANT BIG U TO COOK WITH YOU?
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Send us what you have in your kitchen.
Big U might cook with you next.

Email: info@2ndchancenetwork.com

🎙️ Watch and listen on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

⬇️ Drop your thoughts below
❤️ Like if this made you hungry
🔁 Share with someone who needs Big U in their kitchen
👨🏾‍🍳 Comment: “WHAT YOU GOT?” if you want more episodes

#WhatYouGotWithBigU #BigUCookingShow #2ndChanceNetwork #LifeSwitchConversations #CookingWithBigU #WhatYouGot #NoRecipeNoProblem #PantryCooking #HomeCooking #SoulFood #ComfortFood #CajunCooking #CreoleCooking #SalmonPatties #SalmonCroquettes #CajunSalmon #CreamyPasta #SpinachPasta #PennePasta #KitchenCreativity #BudgetMeals #EasyMeals #AffordableMeals #CookWhatYouHave #FridgeRaidCooking #PantryMeals #RealFoodRealPeople #FoodWithPurpose #SecondChanceCooking #ReturningCitizens #LifeAfterPrison #ReentryMatters #SecondChance #FoodAndCulture #CookingShow #FoodPodcast #YouTubeCooking #DetroitFood #PrisonToPurpose #Transformation #FamilyCooking #GoodFoodGoodPeople #NoGroceryRun #JustWhatYouGot