{"id":438069,"date":"2026-08-20T05:58:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T05:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/438069\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T05:58:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T05:58:14","slug":"life-after-prison-this-oakland-program-offers-a-place-to-start-over","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/438069\/","title":{"rendered":"Life after prison: This Oakland program offers a place to start over"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jesse Cornish spent 18 years in Solano State Prison. In June, three days before the 39-year-old was released, he learned he would have no parole.<\/p>\n

People released from prison without parole do not have a parole officer, someone who can supervise them and serve as a resource, connecting them with housing, substance abuse treatment, and other programs.<\/p>\n

That meant Cornish, who grew up in Oakland, would have to find a place to live, secure a job, obtain an ID card, get a bus pass, buy a cellphone, and figure out how to navigate life \u2014 on his own.<\/p>\n

In California, people released from prison receive $200 in so-called \u201cgate money\u201d to help cover those expenses. But formerly incarcerated people and advocates say the amount is outdated and insufficient. The allowance was established<\/a> in 1973 and has never been adjusted. (If it had kept pace with inflation, it would be worth<\/a> more than $1,500 today.)<\/p>\n

Unable to find a place to live, Cornish slept on his sister\u2019s couch. His mother and brother, who had been part of his support system, died while he was imprisoned. He applied for jobs but was repeatedly turned down. It was hard for him to find a ride to places.<\/p>\n

After a month and a half, \u201cmy confidence took a major hit,\u201d Cornish said. \u201cI ran into obstacle after obstacle.\u201d<\/p>\n

One day, he remembered he\u2019d applied to a reentry program before he was released from prison. He figured his application was probably still on file, so he reached out to the organization.<\/p>\n

Cornish eventually landed an interview with the nonprofit Creating Restorative Opportunities and Programs, or CROP<\/a>, and was accepted into its \u201cReady 4 Life\u201d residential fellowship that provides job training, life skills, leadership development, and mentorship.<\/p>\n

\"\"Jesse Cornish, center, chimes in during a personal leadership session. Credit: Sarahbeth Maney for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a no-brainer for us to pick Jesse,\u201d said Michael Stone, a senior lead coach at CROP who interviewed Cornish. \u201cHe had the character that I was looking for, somebody who had that grit.\u201d<\/p>\n

CROP is one of several local nonprofits aiming to serve the nearly 27,000 people released from California prisons in the past year and the roughly 900 people on parole in Alameda County, according to data from the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation<\/a>. Like Cornish, many people returning home face discrimination and restrictions when applying for jobs or an apartment and accessing public services. CROP\u2019s staff, many of whom are formerly incarcerated, say they want to help people transition back into society so they don\u2019t return to prison.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe that the people closest to the problem are closest to the solution,\u201d Stone said.<\/p>\n

From survival mode to stability<\/p>\n

\"\"Some of CROP\u2019s Ready 4 Life fellows, clockwise starting top left: Tyun Dodson, Jael Serrano, Jesse Cornish, Ivan Gonzalez, Kylin Smith, and Ismael Lopez. Credit: Sarahbeth Maney for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n

In late July, Cornish and nine other formerly incarcerated people, whom program organizers call \u201cfellows,\u201d moved into CROP\u2019s headquarters in West Oakland. For the next 12 months, they will attend workshops from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, a schedule intentionally structured like a traditional full-time job.<\/p>\n

The fellows learn how to shift from a survival mindset to a prosocial one. They build credit and save money, send emails, create digital resumes, and develop other essential life skills.<\/p>\n

\"\"Program fellows Jacque Baskin, left, and Jerry Madriz troubleshoot together on a laptop. Credit: Sarahbeth Maney for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n

During the second half of the program, fellows choose a professional track and receive job training and connections to employers, with the goal of securing sustainable employment after graduation. Career tracks include business-to-business tech sales, peer support, and skilled trades, in partnership with the Oakland Adult and Career Education<\/a>, according to Alex Kimmons, CROP\u2019s communications manager.<\/p>\n

CROP hosts the fellowship every summer and fall in Oakland. The nonprofit also offers the program in Los Angeles in a hybrid format, but fellows do not receive housing there.<\/p>\n

Participants receive a $1,000 monthly stipend. Of that, $600 goes into a checking account they can use immediately, while $400 goes into a savings account they can access upon graduation to help cover moving costs for their own place. CROP also provides $100 a week for groceries and transportation for field trips and other off-site activities. CROP provides laptops to fellows, many of whom had never used a laptop before the fellowship, for note-taking and teaches them how to navigate the internet.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to give them a soft landing so they don\u2019t have to stress about where they\u2019re going to live, what they\u2019re going to eat, and what they\u2019re going to wear,\u201d Stone said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Stone walks fellows through mindset development, leadership, and other self-help issues. Credit: Sarahbeth Maney for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n

\"\"A program fellow\u2019s notes from a leadership development training. Credit: Sarahbeth Maney for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n

\"\"Program fellow Lionel Hanson laughs after reading a prompt during a reentry support and career development session. Credit: Sarahbeth Maney for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n

\"\"Dodson shares his perspective during a leadership development session. Dodson, 50, was sentenced to life in prison at age 18. He was released after serving 32 years. Credit: Sarahbeth Maney for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n

The program is designed to address some of the biggest barriers people face after leaving prison: housing insecurity, unemployment, and a lack of support from people who understand the challenges of reentry.<\/p>\n

A 2018 study by the Prison Policy Initiative<\/a> found that formerly incarcerated people are 10 times more likely to experience homelessness than the general public. Among California\u2019s unhoused population, 70% have a criminal record, according to a 2018 report<\/a> from California Health Policy Strategies.<\/p>\n

CROP President Terah Lawyer said the program aims to provide holistic, wraparound support while preventing recidivism.<\/p>\n

Since its inception in 2023, 130 people have graduated from the program, Braden said. The recidivism rate among Ready 4 Life alumni is 0%, according to a draft independent evaluation by Public Profit, an outside firm, and CROP\u2019s follow-up interviews with graduates.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is unheard of in reentry programs,\u201d said Lawyer, who was incarcerated at 18 and sentenced to 15 years to life. She was released in 2017 after serving 15 years at the Central California Women\u2019s Facility in Chowchilla.<\/p>\n

A different kind of startup created by formerly incarcerated people<\/p>\n

\"\"Matthew Braden, CROP\u2019s director of operations, co-founded the organization during his incarceration. Credit: Sarahbeth Maney for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n

In 2008, Ted Gray, incarcerated at High Desert State Prison, and his father Mitch, who visited him frequently, established CROP as a nonprofit to fund in-prison sports and music programs that fostered interracial solidarity. The following year, Gray was transferred to Soledad Correctional Training Facility, where he met Jason Bryant, Richard Mireles, and Matthew Braden. The four men bonded over their desire to improve themselves and the people around them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started to question what it would take to transform the culture of our environment because it was so criminogenic,\u201d Braden told The Oaklandside.<\/p>\n

Over the next decade, the men created and led self-help programs in the prison gymnasium. They launched a first-of-its-kind state-certified alcohol and other drug counseling program. They galvanized participants to raise more than $32,000<\/a> to send a 19-year-old to college. (People incarcerated in California typically earn between 8 and 37 cents per hour, according to the Prison Policy Initiative<\/a>.) They facilitated leadership coaching workshops for hundreds of local community college students. They also wrote a book<\/a> compiling stories from men serving life sentences at CTF Soledad.<\/p>\n

In 2019, Mireles left prison after the state Board of Parole Hearings found him suitable for release. A few months later, a judge resentenced Braden, finding that he had served time for a murder he did not commit, and ordered his release. The following year, Gov. Gavin Newsom granted clemency to Gray and Bryant and commuted their sentences.<\/p>\n

\"\"Braden built a gym for fellows living on CROP\u2019s West Oakland campus. Credit: Sarahbeth Maney for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n

While incarcerated, Braden and the other co-founders had promised one another that if they were ever released, they would meet in Sacramento \u2014 \u201cbecause that\u2019s where the decisions are made,\u201d Braden said \u2014 and find a way to turn their prison programming into something that could benefit other formerly incarcerated people.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe easy answer was reentry,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s a space that\u2019s been broken since its inception.\u201d<\/p>\n

They rented a small apartment in Folsom and sat around a kitchen table, developing a pitch deck and business plan. They envisioned a one-stop shop where people leaving prison could find housing, job training, and other support to set them up for long-term success.<\/p>\n

\"\"Posters encouraging self-reflection are displayed throughout the classroom. Credit: Sarahbeth Maney for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n

Braden said they wanted to address common drivers of recidivism, including barriers to employment, housing insecurity, and a lack of peer support.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of reentry programs out there are segmented and siloed, and the services are meager at best,\u201d Braden said.<\/p>\n

The four men met with state leaders and started building support in 2020. According to Braden and Bryant, lawmakers from both parties supported their idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven strong right-wing politicians felt it makes financial sense,\u201d Braden said. California spends $128,000 a year to incarcerate one person, according to the state Legislative Analyst\u2019s Office<\/a>. \u201cThat\u2019s millions of dollars on incarceration versus a one-time investment to go through our program, and that person will never go back to prison.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2021, the founders secured $28.5 million in funding \u2014 including $27 million from the state Legislature and another $1.5 million from then-state Sen. Nancy Skinner \u2014 to turn their vision into reality.<\/p>\n

CROP launched Ready 4 Life in January 2023.<\/p>\n

\"\"CROP\u2019s facilities, located on Adeline Street, include an office for staff, a classroom for programming, and residential units and common areas for the fellows. Credit: Sarahbeth Maney for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n

Formerly incarcerated people with peer counseling experience work as \u201ccoaches,\u201d providing instruction and mentorship. Every other Friday, fellows participate in community service, such as volunteering at a soup kitchen or cleaning local parks.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just about investing in yourself, but also seeing your value in the community because you\u2019re a part of the community,\u201d Lawyer said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe it\u2019s hard for someone to fail when they\u2019re surrounded by people who are cheering them on,\u201d Bryant said.<\/p>\n

Bryant, now 47, was sentenced to 26 years to life in prison at age 20. He was released after serving 20 years.<\/p>\n

Stone, affectionately known as \u201cCoach Stone\u201d among the program\u2019s staff and participants, spent 20 years in California prisons on a 25-to-life sentence, moving from Delano to San Quentin, where he was paroled in 2020.<\/p>\n

A barber, artist, and self-taught basketball and softball coach on prison yards, Stone used sports and art as his therapy and as a way to teach other men discipline and emotional awareness.<\/p>\n

\"\"Stone, known as \u201cCoach Stone\u201d among CROP staff and program fellows, started coaching people while serving a life sentence in California prisons. He was released in 2020 after serving 20 years. Credit: Sarahbeth Maney for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n

When he was released at age 50, he lived in a bare-bones transitional home off International Boulevard in East Oakland, where he said he saw a man gunned down right outside his building. The noise and the crowds triggered his post-traumatic stress disorder.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithin the first four months of my release, I was ready to go back to prison,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Instead, he joined CROP as a coach. He\u2019d met the four founders while they were in prison and reconnected with them on the outside.<\/p>\n

Before prison, Stone said, he\u2019d never had a bank account or credit history and had never filed taxes. In his current role, he walks fellows through financial literacy, healing from trauma, and a \u201cresponsible mindset.\u201d<\/p>\n

Admission to the program is competitive. CROP received more than 800 applications for its first cohort, while about 300 people applied to join the sixth and current Bay Area cohort. The organization rigorously vets applicants because \u201cwe are investing in each and every person that comes through the program,\u201d Stone said. \u201cOnce they graduate, we are co-signing their character when they\u2019re going out and looking for careers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jael Serrano, one of CROP\u2019s current fellows, served four years and three months at the Central California Women\u2019s Facility.<\/p>\n

Growing up, Serrano said, she felt neglected by her parents and had a strained relationship with her siblings. She felt insecure and struggled to socialize with others. She turned to substances to cope.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always told myself, \u2018I\u2019m not smart, I\u2019m not worthy,\u2019\u201d she said during a leadership training session, which The Oaklandside observed Monday. \u201cI got lost in my addiction because I never felt good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

She learned about CROP while incarcerated and applied for the fellowship. As she prepared for her release, she had a Zoom interview with Stone. She was accepted into the program immediately afterward.<\/p>\n

\"\"Serrano, center, listens to Stone during a leadership development session. Credit: Sarahbeth Maney for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n

Serrano has enrolled in college and has focused on building her confidence and networking skills. She\u2019s pursuing a career in social work and peer counseling to support others facing similar struggles.<\/p>\n

She said she\u2019s grateful for the chance to rebuild her life after incarceration.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven before prison, I felt stagnant, and I wasn\u2019t doing anything with my life,\u201d Serrano said. \u201cNow that I\u2019m here, I feel like I\u2019m growing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cornish said the program has given him something he struggled to find during his first two months home: stability and a path forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout this program, I would probably be walking the streets or at a homeless shelter,\u201d he said. \u201cNow I can just focus on getting my mindset right and building my career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cornish plans to attend trade school and start his own painting or highway paving business so he can create jobs for other people leaving prison.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to pay it forward,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For CROP\u2019s founders and coaches, the ultimate goal of the program is to equip people returning home with the tools and support to build stable lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bottom line is most of us are coming home, and the question is, who do you want living next to you?\u201d Stone said. \u201cDo you want an individual who has done the work, has gotten the support, has a job, and is a responsible taxpaying citizen? Or do you want someone who has no support, has gone back to their survival needs, and is falling back on what they know best, which is crime?\u201d<\/p>\n

This story has been updated to clarify Alex Kimmons\u2019 role with CROP.<\/p>\n

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