"Shame and guilt force us to push people away and isolate, vulnerability begs for us to connect." 

Thanks to Grace Gamez for the wisdom and summing up the problem with those four simple words, "hurt people hurt people."

And Erec Toso, the legend himself, thanks for spending your Saturdays with us knuckleheads.

Go buy his book and read all about it.🙂

Night Bloom

*Recorded from a live talk for Creative Mornings Tucson

CMTucson

Let’s face it: finding a place to rent when you have a felony record is difficult *understatement* and often discouraging.

Here are a few tips to help you navigate the process and find a place that you can call home.

1. Be upfront about your past
2. Write a letter explaining situation
3. Talk to someone before submitting rental application
4. If possible speak to the homeowner, and if not then speak to the property manager.
5. Avoid HOA’s (because they suck)
6. Save up 3 months of rent
7. Reach out to your network

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Check out the H2F Youtube Channel: Handcuffed to Freedom

Contact us at handcuffed2freedom@gmail.com

If you’d like to support the work we do, you can at https://www.patreon.com/handcuffedtofreedom

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Hcft2Frdm Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cuffed2freedom

John Fabricius and I discuss the impact that disenfranchisement laws have on people with a felony conviction and how his fight to change those law has given him purpose after prison.

ATAC: www.aztracco.com

ATAC Info: info@aztracco.com

AFSCAZ: www.afscarizona.org

ACLU: www.acluaz.org

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Contact us at handcuffed2freedom@gmail.com

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Facebook.    Instagram.

Leah Farrington was released from Perryville prison January 27, 2019. Since being released she enrolled in the Paralegal Studies Program at Yavapai College. In 2020 she was chosen as the face of Yavapai College, was chosen as Paralegal Student of the Year, and was awarded the President’s Award for Academic Excellence carrying a 4.0 GPA since enrolling. She will be graduating in May with honors and is enrolled at ASU starting in May for a bachelor’s degree in Justice Studies.  Leah spends much of her time volunteering with the ACLU Smart Justice campaign and is a Smart Justice Leader and Super Volunteer with the organization. She also volunteers with Puente Human Rights Movement.  Leah is a Mama, a wife, a sister, an aunt, a student, an employee, a friend, and a feminist.

leahannfarrington@gmail.com

https://www.smartjusticeaz.org/

http://www.puenteaz.org/

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Join our mailing list!

Contact us at handcuffed2freedom@gmail.com

If you’d like to support us, you can at www.patreon.com/handcuffedtofreedom

Check out our Youtube where we have more resources at Handcuffed to Freedom

Facebook.    Instagram.

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Join our mailing list!

Contact us at handcuffed2freedom@gmail.com

If you’d like to support us, you can at www.patreon.com/handcuffedtofreedom

Check out our Youtube where we have more resources at Handcuffed to Freedom

Facebook.    Instagram.

Erec Toso directed prison writing workshops for ten years. He has taught writing at the University of Arizona for 25 years. His memoir, Zero at the Bone: Re-Writing Life After a Snakebite was published by the University of Arizona Press in 2007. He has published essays, poetry, and fiction in The Sun -- A Magazine of Ideas, Northern Lights, and other literary journals.

He is currently working on a book about the prison writing workshops and restoring a hundred-year-old house in central Tucson.

Creative writing stats (for the left-brained people)

Contact Erec at netoso@email.arizona.edu

Night Bloom: Composing Humanity in a Prison Writing Workshop

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Join our mailing list!

Contact us at handcuffed2freedom@gmail.com

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After serving 20 years in prison Manny now serves as a Reentry Manager in Pima County’s Behavioral Health Unit. He uses his experience to help others navigate the challenges of re entering society after Incarceration and helps assure that community members with criminal justice experience have a voice in the county’s justice reform efforts.  

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Join our mailing list!

Contact us at handcuffed2freedom@gmail.com

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Check out our Youtube where we have more resources at Handcuffed to Freedom

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