Yema Lee grew up surrounded by crime in West Oakland. Members of her family started selling cocaine and heroin when she was eleven years old. At twelve, she committed her first burglary. Lee, now 41, spent a total of eight years in jail and prison during her twenties and thirties. Each time she was released, it seemed impossible not to return. When you come out of prison and jail, its like starting all over again, she said in a recent interview. Its like theyve got a leash or a choke chain on you. ... And I never had anything or anyone to go back to. With the help of programs that support people reentering society, Lee eventually broke the cycle and now works as a peer mentor at the Gamble Institute, a nonprofit that provides mentoring and support to formerly incarcerated people. She and nineteen other former inmates are sharing stories of their difficult upbringings and their often-intense struggles to rehabilitate their lives after incarceration as part of The Welcome Home Project, a new photo exhibit and book featuring their personal narratives. Taken together, the stories and photos of Welcome Home offer striking portrayals of the hardships and traumas of 20 formerly incarcerated individuals, their challenging roads to recovery, and, perhaps most importantly, their personal and professional accomplishments in spite of it all.
Posted on: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 11:24:35 +0000
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