We continue a series of conversations with #CROPOrganization's Ready for Life Associates. We want to welcome KC Matthews to our show today. He is a committed Associate in CROP's Virtual Training Program and we're honored to have him share his life journey and reentry experiences on The Prison Post. KC is a formerly incarcerated black trans man living in California. He is dedicated to abolishing the prison industrial complex through community building and remaining connected with those on the inside. It is important for him to bring his experience of advocacy to fight against the obstacles inflicted by the punitive criminal justice system. KC Matthews is a Housing Navigator for TGIJP (Transgender variant intersex Justice Project) in San Francisco. He is a passionate criminal justice reform advocate. KC is serious about advocating for equal opportunity rights for gender equality and housing for LGBTQ folks. He lives and works in San Francisco. KC's goal is to help justice involved LGBTQIA individuals struggling with housing. He joined our Ready for Life Cohort a little over two months ago and shares his insights and experiences with our community and we are happy to have him on The Prison Post. Creating Restorative Opportunities and Programs' (CROP) Ready for Life Program provides: Three months of Leadership Development provided by CROP, Financial Literacy provided by Beneficial State Bank, and IC3 Digital Literacy training provided by Linked In. CROP also provides three months of career training in Business to Business Sales in Tech. We have partnered with Code Tenderloin and Checkr to provide this training and employment opportunities upon graduation. CROP Organization provides a $1,000 monthly stipend to our Associates as they go through our six month program. In this episode, Jesse shares stories from his personal life growing up in the foster care system, the breakdown in that system, the choices that led to his incarceration, the challenges of being justice involved, and his experience after nearly two months in CROP Organization's program. Jesse talks about his experience of the digital literacy aspect of the program where he is at the head of the class. He shares how the community we are creating has become a great support system and positive environment for him to thrive in. In short, Jesse shares the raw about his childhood in the foster care system, being in the revolving cycle in the carceral system, changing his life and juggling fatherhood, career, and building a future worth having for his sons. He is truly a tremendous person. We appreciate Jesse's efforts as he is the first person to arrive to class on a daily basis. We encourage him to keep striving for his future worth having! #CROPOrganization #LeadershipDevelopment #ThePrisonPostPodcast #ReimaginingReentry #WorkingTogethertoRestoreLivesandHealCommunities #ReadyforLife #ReadyforLifeAssociates Please consider donating to support our stipend program for our Ready for Life Associates at https://www.classy.org/give/298752/#!/donation/checkout Please subscribe to The Prison Post Podcast and follow us on our social media channels at https://linktr.ee/CROPOrganization