Mental health found me in prison. No, I have never been incarcerated, but I can relate to what it feels like to be locked up without a key to freedom. As a criminal justice major, I started my career in a private prison, eventually advancing to the federal level. Working in the federal prison system was a new world to me. As I walked the halls of the buildings, I began to see how much our experiences influence our paths. I remember meeting a Black Psychologist who helped me recognize the beauty of positively impacting lives, even in such a transactional space. Most impactful was the experience of working with those justice-involved individuals that led me to mental health.

Through them, I learned how sentencing disparities, policies, unjust laws, socio-economic problems, and at the most basic level, trauma affected their ability to engage in the world. I learned that people are more than just what you read in their case files; there is so much value in listening to their stories. I saw how prison affected people, even how self-imposed imprisonment influences mental health. The road to prison led me to this very moment of operating in my purpose, helping people get the key to their freedom.