Urban Incarceration: Breaking the Cycle - Stopping the Next Generation from Going In (pt-6)

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With over 15 years of advocacy experience and more than a decade specializing in educational and court interpreting, Eloisa V. Baez is passionate about empowering individuals and families through access, representation, and support.

Throughout her career, Eloisa has been a trusted advocate for clients navigating complex systems such as education, healthcare, and legal services. 

Advocacy isn’t just a service — it’s a calling. Everyone deserves a voice, and I’m here

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This episode was hosted by Sterling Brown

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
When we look at a child, we don't normally think
this kid is headed down thewrong path, but the truth is
some already are, not becausethey want to be, but because the
cycles already have been set inmotion.
We're not just calling out thesystem.
We're confronting the cyclesthat feed it.
Cycles that begin in brokenhomes and end behind steel doors

(00:21):
.
Cycles that pull kids out ofthe classrooms and drop them
into the courtrooms.
So, whether you're a mentor, aparent or just someone who cares
, lock in with me, because if wedon't reach them now, we may
never get another chance.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
If you have ever been told by someone that you're not
capable of attaining success,if you have made mistakes or
lived in an underprivilegedneighborhood, then this podcast
is for you.
You are now locked in toStruggle to Success.
Struggle to Success aims toinspire individuals to navigate
life's challenges with courage,fortitude and unwavering

(00:58):
determination.
So if you're in your carjogging or somewhere else trying
to find the calm in the storm,then join Struggle to Success
airing every other Saturday.
Remember life is trials.
Stay focused.

Speaker 1 (01:16):
I had just turned 17.
It was one of thosegrave-filling mornings where the
sky pressed low, juvenilecourts sat quietly on Benjamin
Franklin Parkway.
People passed it like it wasjust another building, but for
me it was the beginning ofsomething I'll never forget.
No mom, no dad, no brother,just me, a body in a hoodie and

(01:37):
jeans walking into a system thatdidn't know my name but already
had a box to put me in.
My father serving life, mybrother locked up again, my mom
gone and me in a court fortruancy, for skipping school,
for being out too late in NorthPhilly with my foster cousins.
I stood before the judgethinking I could handle it.

(01:58):
I'd been on my own for so long.
Asking for help didn't evencross my mind.
I told him my mom was working.
I mentioned my dad and mybrother trying to show I just
wasn't out here wiling.
But that only made me look moreforgotten.
35 minutes later the judgelooked me in my eyes and said
Sterling, for your safety, I'mrecommending that you be placed

(02:20):
in a secure child facility.
I didn't expect that.
I thought I'd walk out the sameway I came in, but instead I
sat in my first holding cellCold steel, chipped paint, stale
air.
The ride out of the city toSlayton Farms changed everything
.
I wasn't just skipping schoolanymore, I was in the system,

(02:40):
surrounded by other youths withcharges I couldn't even
comprehend.
And in that moment I realizedsomething this cycle doesn't
wait for you to catch up.
If you don't break it, it willbreak you.
I got you, but I wasn't free.
My body left Slayton, but mymind stayed locked.
Same surroundings, samepressure, no real direction.

(03:03):
Between 18 and 25, I lostsomething important hope.
I stopped dreaming, I stoppedbelieving.
And when that happens,negativity doesn't feel like
danger, it feels like comfort.
You drowned in it but itdoesn't feel like drowning when
someone else is swimming in thesame water in the same way.
That's how I caught my firstadult charge, not because I was

(03:27):
evil, but because I was emptyand I was trying to fill the
emptiness with status and streetvalidation.
I thought money, clothes andfast respect would fix me.
They didn't.
I had to look in the mirror andmake a real choice.
Not a temporary decision, not asurvival mode, but growth.

(03:48):
And I'm still choosing that,because becoming a man isn't
about how many people fear you.
It's about how many peopletrust you when things get hard.
Being a man means showing up foryour kids, for your people,
even for yourself.
That means breaking bad habits,walking away from old systems,

(04:09):
building real discipline All thethings I used to run from.
Now I run towards it.
Today I'm a father, a formerpolice officer, a correctional
officer.
I've been the one in handcuffsand the one holding the keys.
I've seen it from both sidesand what I see now hurts.

(04:29):
The youth are getting younger.
I've seen 13-year-olds in cuffs.
I've seen kids sentenced tonumbers older than they are, but
because no one intervened earlyenough.
We can't ignore what's fuelingit Broken homes, no guidance,
poverty, falling schools, no jobprep and a society that tells

(04:52):
them that their only options aresports, rap or the streets.
They're not chasing pain.
They're chasing what the worldtells them looks like success,
and too often that success showsup as fast money, fake love and
a short ride to a long sentence.
Let's talk real.
You might say that's not my kid, but if you survive the cycle,

(05:14):
then every kid is connected towhat we've tolerated.
Yes, they have to make theirown choices, but we have the
power to give them betterchoices.
So when we talk solutions,here's how we start to break the
cycle.
So when we talk solutions,here's how we start to break the
cycle.
Number one mentorship.
We need more brothers.
We need more big brothers,uncles, coaches, real men

(05:35):
showing up and showing the way.
Number two early intervention.
Reach them early, teachemotional intelligence, teach
self-worth.
Don't wait until high school.
Number three communityaccountability.
We can't keep glorifying thestreet life.

(05:57):
Let's celebrate those who grow,not just those who survive.
Number four law enforcement.
With compassion, as someonewho's worn the badge, I'm
telling you you've got to dobetter.
Show up, engage, build.
And number five jobs,opportunity and education.
We need more trade schools,apprenticeships, after-school
programs, real options, becausea child with no path will find

(06:18):
their own and this usually leadsto prison or pain.
If you've made it out, you oweit to ones who are behind you.
Your story matters, yourpresence matters.
You don't need to be perfect,just present.
Be an example of what survivingthe storm looks like, because
if we don't show them strength,they'll chase the false version

(06:39):
of it.
If you're struggling today,you're not broken.
You're unfinished, but youstill have time to finish strong
.
And if you need help, dial988-SUICIDE-IN-CRISIS-LINE or
1-800-RUNAWAY for youth needinga safe way out, or Boys Town,

(06:59):
which is 1-800-448-3000 forfamilies in crisis.
Let's break the cycle togetherright now, right here, together.
Next, on Struggle to Success,we're going to talk about
stopping the cycle before itstarts.
But what if you're already init?
What if you're trying to moveon?
But we don't hire felons.

(07:20):
You're still on paper, yourrecord's sealed, but not
forgotten.
In our next episode, we'redigging into the legal
roadblocks parole, probation andexpungement.
If you've ever felt like yourpast was holding your future
hostage, then episode 17 is foryou.
And remember life is trials.
Stay focused.

Speaker 2 (07:40):
Thanks for checking out this episode of Struggle to
Success.
To connect with the show, youcan email us at
struggletosuccessp at gmailcom.
Make sure you like andsubscribe so that you never miss
an episode.
And remember life is trials,Stay focused.