An ode to activism: a love letter to Return Strong

Happy Monday family!

We are coming up at the end of the first month of this new year and quickly approaching the 2023 Nevada Legislative session!!

I'd like to take this time to recognize our organization, staff, its members, and our director Jodi. The work we do, the accomplishments we've had up until this point, and the ones we have yet to make wouldn't be possible without every single one of you.

Speaking personally, Return Strong has had not only a direct impact on my family's well-being but on my personal and professional development as well. When I met Jodi, Return Strong was but an idea. Honestly to me, it was maybe even a dream because it seemed too big of a fight to take on. Yet here we are. What was once a dream of building a community through connecting impacted people and collectively driving change in the state of Nevada through the stories and lived experiences of incarcerated people and their families is now a reality.

I met my husband when I was 13 years old.  We are both the oldest of first-generation children of immigrant families and as such, we have an unofficial duty to help our parents navigate the systems and processes of this country. From a young age, kids like us have helped with things such as interpreting at the store or school meetings to completing documents for DMV services, public assistance benefits, etc.

I was not new to navigating governmental processes yet years ago life would lead me here, baffled at the complexity of corrections in this state and in need of guidance that NDOC couldn’t and wouldn’t provide. Everything was an issue. From something as small as deciphering the process for my husband to be able to get prescription glasses to big things like fighting his wrongful conviction. There were no avenues that we were aware of to get the help we needed. No process for us to follow. We reached out to the family services representative which is the only known way to get assistance but were met with condescension and ultimately left with more questions than we started with. The only thing we could count on with NDOC is that they were consistently inconsistent.

“You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world and you have to do it all the time” Angela Davis

Roadblock after roadblock and years of feeling like a very small fish in a tank full of sharks, I finally started looking for other ways to get the answers we needed and found this group. When I met Jodi and she told me the vision that she had for Return Strong, I remember thinking that those dreams were too big and now I know there is no such thing. Angela Davis said, “You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world and you have to do it all the time”. Jodi embodies that through Return Strong and the work we do every single day.

We are much more than a support group. We are activists. We advocate for human rights and give a voice to those who have none. In a short amount of time and almost no resources, Return Strong has created tangible and meaningful change in the state of Nevada that has directly impacted my family and I'm sure so many others in positive ways. Had they not stepped in when they did and pushed back on the implementation of the revision of AR 258, my husband would still be getting only $2 out of every $10 I sent to his account. These are funds that can be used for things like food, medical co-pays, and personal hygiene products, and he went a few months without access to this because we couldn't afford for 80% to be taken.

Return Strong's involvement directly influenced the governor's decision to put a pause on these deductions but most importantly, it was the catalyst in passing legislation that ensures that all families are protected from these predatory deductions by capping them all at 25%.

If you haven't already, inform yourself on how to get involved in this legislative session. Your stories matter. Your experiences matter. They help create change that makes a positive difference in this system moving forward.

I have learned to speak up for my family by taking up space in places where Latinos and families of the incarcerated aren't normally seen in this state and quite honestly don't feel comfortable in. By educating myself on the topics that impact us and talking about them in public comments, legislative session hearings, board of prison commissioners’ meetings, and any other space that is obligated to give me a voice, I am seizing opportunities to make changes for my family and other impacted families. As time passes and I continue to do this work, I'm slowly finding that my voice trembles less and less and that I am slowly but surely doing MY part in radically transforming the world.

 I have Return Strong to thank for that.