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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#LifeSwitchConversations #2ndChanceNetwork #BritneyAllenJones #ChadLakeFoundation #RehabilitationOverIncarceration #RecoveryIsReal #RedemptionIsPossible #JusticeImpacted #FormerlyIncarcerated #WomenInRecovery #WomenInReentry #SubstanceUseRecovery #TraumaHealing #ReentryMatters #LifeAfterPrison #PostIncarcerationSyndrome #PICS #SecondChance #HumanDignity #CriminalJusticeReform #PrisonReform #RestorativeJustice #RuralKentucky #LifeSwitch

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.

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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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#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

In this powerful episode of Life Switch Conversations, Dr. Derron Simon sits down with Clement Benedict, founder of The ROLE Initiative — an organization built around Responsibility, Opportunity, Leadership, and Empowerment.

Clement shares his journey from Brooklyn, destructive role models, incarceration, and hard personal reflection to becoming a leader focused on restorative justice, youth development, reentry, career readiness, and community transformation.

This conversation goes deep into identity.

Who are you becoming?
What role are you playing in your own story?
What happens when the people you looked up to were leading you toward destruction?
How do you teach accountability without crushing someone with shame?
And how do we help young people find a legal path to the same goals they are chasing the wrong way?

💬 KEY MESSAGE FROM THIS EPISODE

Everybody has a role to play.

But sometimes you have to stop playing the role your environment handed you and start becoming the person you were created to be.

Responsibility is not shame.
Opportunity is not entitlement.
Leadership is not image.
Empowerment is not talk.

It is mindset.
It is discipline.
It is healing.
It is preparation.
It is choosing a legal path to the life you were trying to build the wrong way.

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🌱 A MESSAGE TO YOUNG PEOPLE
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Whatever you are tempted to do illegally, ask yourself:

Is there a legal way to use that same skill?

If you understand cars, learn mechanics.
If you understand hustle, learn business.
If you understand sales, learn entrepreneurship.
If you understand technology, get certified.
If you understand influence, become a leader.

Do it the legal way.
Stability and sustainability can follow.

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📩 CONNECT WITH THE ROLE INITIATIVE
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Learn more about The ROLE Initiative and its work in reentry, youth development, digital literacy, professional development, and workforce training.

Website: www.theroleinitiative.com
Instagram: @role_initiative9 / @theroleinitiative9

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📩 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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⬇️ Drop your thoughts below
❤️ Like if this spoke to you
🔁 Share with someone who needs to hear this
💬 Tag a young person, mentor, returning citizen, educator, entrepreneur, workforce leader, or reentry advocate who needs this conversation.

#LifeSwitchConversations #2ndChanceNetwork #TheROLEInitiative #ClementBenedict #ReentryMatters #ReturningCitizens #LifeAfterPrison #SecondChance #YouthMentorship #RestorativeJustice #JusticeImpacted #TraumaInformed #Accountability #LeadershipDevelopment #ProfessionalDevelopment #CareerReadiness #WorkforceDevelopment #DigitalLiteracy #Entrepreneurship #ConflictResolution #EmotionalAwareness #CommunityTransformation #PurposeAfterPrison #RecidivismReduction #Transformation

n this powerful episode of Life Switch Conversations, Dr. Derron Simon sits down with Bonnie Sultan, a justice consultant and strategist whose work lives at the intersection of business discipline, system reform, trauma-informed care, and human dignity.

Bonnie’s journey into justice work began early — through personal exposure to Rikers Island, correctional staff, families, mental health, and the collateral consequences surrounding incarceration. That experience shaped how she sees the justice system today: not simply as policies, agencies, courts, jails, and prisons — but as people.

People living inside.
People working inside.
Families waiting outside.
Communities carrying the consequences.
Survivors of harm.
And systems that too often forget the humanity of everyone involved.

💬 KEY MESSAGE FROM THIS EPISODE
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The justice system does not need more checklists without humanity.

It needs people who remember that every policy, every facility, every court process, every supervision rule, and every reentry plan affects real human lives.

A person is not a file.
A person is not a risk score.
A person is not a violation.
A person is not a label.
A person is not their worst day.

Justice work must be rooted in dignity, compassion, accountability, trauma awareness, and practical systems that actually help people heal, rebuild, and return safely to community.

🧠 A MESSAGE ABOUT TRAUMA

Before we ask, “What’s wrong with you?”
We must learn to ask, “What happened to you?”

Trauma is not a side issue.
It is often the foundation of the story.

If we do not understand trauma, we will misread pain as defiance, fear as disrespect, withdrawal as manipulation, and survival behavior as criminal intent.

A trauma-responsive system does not excuse harm.
It seeks to understand the root so real healing and accountability can begin.

📩 CONNECT WITH BONNIE SULTAN
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Connect with Bonnie Sultan on LinkedIn to learn more about her consulting work, justice reform strategy, trauma-informed systems change, and community-based solutions.

www.sultanjusticeconsulting.com

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📩 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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⬇️ Drop your thoughts below
❤️ Like if this spoke to you
🔁 Share with someone who needs to hear this
💬 Tag a policymaker, reentry advocate, justice consultant, faith leader, social worker, correctional leader, or returning citizen who needs this conversation.

#LifeSwitchConversations #2ndChanceNetwork #BonnieSultan #JusticeReform #ReentryMatters #ReturningCitizens #LifeAfterPrison #SecondChance #TraumaInformed #TraumaResponsive #RestorativeJustice #CriminalJusticeReform #MassIncarceration #YouthJustice #JuvenileJustice #ReentrySupport #JusticeImpacted #RecidivismReduction #CommunityReintegration #HumanDignity #SystemsChange #DiversionPrograms #AssessmentCenters #PublicSafety #CommunityHealing #AccountabilityAndCompassion #Transformation

In this powerful episode of Life Switch Conversations, Dr. Derron Simon sits down with Cierra Cobb, co-founder and executive director of iKare NC, host of the Black Light Mass Incarceration Show, wife of an incarcerated man, family advocate, paralegal, and passionate voice for those impacted by the criminal justice system.

Cierra brings a perspective that is too often ignored:

The family does time too.

She speaks honestly about loving her husband Jeffrey through incarceration, the financial and emotional weight placed on families, the cost of phone calls, commissary, visits, scanned mail, restricted communication, and the spiritual strength required to keep going when the system makes love expensive.

This conversation goes beyond policy.

It is about marriage under pressure.
Children impacted by incarceration.
Women holding families together.
Youth being pulled into the system.
Mental health behind prison walls.
Autism and neurodiversity in correctional settings.
Advocacy, podcasting, family support, and fighting to make sure people are not forgotten.

❤️ A MESSAGE TO WOMEN LOVING SOMEONE INSIDE

You are seen.
Your pain is valid.
Your love is not invisible.
Your fight matters.

This road is hard, lonely, expensive, and emotionally exhausting — but you are not alone.

Keep fighting.
Keep praying.
Keep building.
Keep your relationship with your Most High strong.
And never forget that love has no location.

🌱 A MESSAGE TO THOSE STILL INSIDE

You are not who they say you are.

You are not just your charge.
You are not just your sentence.
You are not just what happened five, ten, twenty, or thirty years ago.

Educate yourself.
Discover your talents.
Take the classes.
Read the books.
Prepare for reentry.
Keep your foot on the pedal.

You are somebody.

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📩 CONNECT WITH CIERRA COBB & iCARE NC
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Website: www.ikarenc.com
Email: cierra@ikarenc.org
Podcast: Black Light Mass Incarceration Show
Social Media: Search Cierra Cobb

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📩 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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❤️ Like if this spoke to you
🔁 Share with someone who needs to hear this
💬 Tag a wife, husband, mother, father, advocate, youth mentor, faith leader, reentry worker, or family member who needs this conversation.

#LifeSwitchConversations #2ndChanceNetwork #CierraCobb #iCareNC #BlackLightMassIncarcerationShow #FamiliesOfIncarceratedPeople #PrisonWives #JusticeImpactedFamilies #MassIncarceration #ReentryMatters #ReturningCitizens #LifeAfterPrison #SecondChance #YouthMentorship #AtRiskYouth #PeerSupport #FamilySupport #MentalHealthMatters #PostIncarcerationSyndrome #AutismAwareness #Neurodiversity #PrisonReform #CriminalJusticeReform #RestorativeJustice #WrongfulConviction #FaithAndReentry #WomenInAdvocacy #CommunityHealing #Transformation

In this powerful episode of Life Switch Conversations, Dr. Derron Simon sits down with Dr. Clover A. Perez, founder of A Beautiful Heart Ministries, a formerly incarcerated woman, scholar, author, speaker, advocate, and national voice for women impacted by incarceration.

This conversation is raw, beautiful, spiritual, and deeply necessary.

Dr. Clover shares how the loss of her son, federal prison, grief, anger with God, healing, and purpose shaped the woman she is today. She speaks openly about being judged, being labeled, being triggered after prison, and still choosing to walk in dignity, faith, and service.

Her message is powerful:

A woman should not be defined by incarceration.
A woman should not be reduced to her worst moment.
A woman can be wounded and still be beautiful.
A woman can grieve and still lead.
A woman can come home from prison and still have purpose.

💬 KEY MESSAGE FROM THIS EPISODE
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Through pain comes purpose.

Dr. Clover reminds us that incarceration may strip away many things, but it does not have the power to take away your name, your value, your dignity, your faith, or your future.

Healing is not always quick.
Healing is not always clean.
Healing is not always complete overnight.

But healing is possible.

And sometimes the very wound that almost destroyed you becomes the place where your ministry, mission, and purpose are born.

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❤️ A MESSAGE TO WOMEN COMING HOME
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Your past has not disqualified you.

That is a lie.

You are still valuable.
You are still beautiful.
You are still capable of leadership.
You are still worthy of love.
You are still called to purpose.

Do not let anyone define you by the worst thing you have been through.

Stand firm in who you are.

📩 CONNECT WITH DR. CLOVER A. PEREZ

Organization: A Beautiful Heart Ministries
Website: abeautifulheartministries.org
Personal Website: cloveraperez.com
Book: The Compatibility Code
Social Media: Search Dr. Clover A. Perez / A Beautiful Heart Ministries

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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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❤️ Like if this spoke to you
🔁 Share with someone who needs to hear this
💬 Tag a woman, mother, returning citizen, advocate, faith leader, reentry worker, counselor, or family member who needs this conversation.

#LifeSwitchConversations #2ndChanceNetwork #DrCloverPerez #ABeautifulHeartMinistries #WomenAndReentry #WomenAfterPrison #ReturningCitizens #LifeAfterPrison #SecondChance #FaithAndHealing #GriefAndPurpose #PurposeAfterPain #TraumaHealing #MentalHealthMatters #JusticeImpactedWomen #WomenInAdvocacy #PrisonReform #CriminalJusticeReform #RestorativeJustice #RecidivismReduction #FamilyRestoration #HealingJourney #FaithAndReentry #PostIncarcerationHealing #Transformation

In this powerful episode of Life Switch Conversations, Dr. Derron Simon sits down with Mark Rice, a transformational justice leader whose own lived experience with incarceration became the foundation for a life of organizing, advocacy, education, and system change.

Mark shares how entering Wisconsin’s prison system as a young man opened his eyes to racial injustice, mass supervision, long sentences, technical violations, and the ways systems can trap people long after release.

But his story did not end there.

Through education, community organizing, faith-based leadership, and justice campaigns, Mark became part of a movement working to change the way communities respond to harm, incarceration, reentry, and public safety.

This conversation is not just about prison reform.

It is about building power.
Changing narratives.
Investing in people.
Centering lived experience.
Reducing incarceration.
Supporting reentry.
And creating safer communities through restoration instead of exclusion.

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✊🏾 A MESSAGE TO RETURNING CITIZENS & FAMILIES

You are not your worst mistake.

You are a son.
A daughter.
A parent.
A spouse.
A leader.
A builder.
A person with purpose.

And when we come together, organize, and build collective power, we can change policies that once seemed impossible to change.

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🙏🏾 A MESSAGE TO FAITH LEADERS
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Churches and faith communities have a moral voice.

That voice is needed.

Not just inside the sanctuary — but in prisons, courtrooms, communities, statehouses, and reentry spaces.

If we believe in redemption, restoration, mercy, justice, and human dignity, then we must show up for the people and families most impacted by incarceration.

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📩 CONNECT WITH MARK RICE & WISDOM WISCONSIN
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Website: wisdomwisconsin.org
Social Media: @WisdomWisconsin
Search: Mark Rice / Transformational Justice / WISDOM Wisconsin

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📩 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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⬇️ Drop your thoughts below
❤️ Like if this spoke to you
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