What I Learned as a Kid in Jail

https://www.ted.com/talks/ismael_nazario_what_i_learned_as_a_kid_in_jail

This is a Ted Talk that was done in November of 2014. Ismael Nazario was involved in the juvenile justice system as a teenager and than involved in adult prison as a young adult. He spent 400 days on Rikers Island in New York. 300 of those days were spent in solitary confinement. He discusses the lack of discharge plans available for the teens so that they can have a successful, positive re-entry. However, he speaks about the impact that correctional officers can have to help positively influence the teens in the jail. In Riker Island, Ismael shares how the male officers tend to meet to the teens where they are at. Most of the young men that come into Riker Island have a lot of anger and hostility and take it out through physical altercations. He explains that the officers will fight inmates one-on-one because "they understand how it is." It gets handled the way they know and both walk away like men. It's like the fighting brings them together in a sense and respect is gained. Ismael tells a personal story of this exact thing happening while he was in jail. He points out though, that correctional officers need proper, appropriate training on how to deal with not only the adolescent population, but the mental health population as well. The officers play a significant role until a disposition is reached in these teens' cases. Ismael questions why they can't play a mentor role until then.

Ismael talks about how better programming can be used to help shape teens for a successful re-entry. He shares that things like reading and writing music was what helped him stay sane through solitary confinement. He questions why we can't target musically inclined or better incorporate art therapy that suits the interests to the inmates. The building that the teens are housed in on Rikers Island is nick-named the gladiator school, because it is just a bunch of young men trying to prove that they're tougher than everyone else. Ismael claims the danger that comes with that kind of culture and that institutions need help changing the culture where teens feel like change is possible and they don't need to continue the lifestyle that got them into trouble. He mentions that while he was in prison, it was sad to hear so many conversations about guys already planning to pick up where they left off before they went into prison. On the opposite had, he was encouraged to meet some of the most intelligent and talented people he has ever met.

Ismael ends his talk by expressing the things he would tell his 15 year old self if he could. He would encourage himself to be educated and that the people you are with and places you go can have life altering effects on you, either good or bad. These are the messages that we need to send to youth. He claims that we shouldn't be treating them like adults and putting them into cultures of violence.

I really enjoyed this Ted Talk because of how personal it was and that it wasn't just a bunch of numbers and statistics. We were able to hear real stories of what it is like to be a kid in prison. I thought Ismael hit some really good points that we need to be aware of. With the proper training, the juvenile justice system could really utilize important people in the prisons, like correctional officers, cooks, etc. So long as there is adequate training for adolescents AND working with mental health. He speaks on important treatment issues are treatment, but at the very end of his talk, mentions the importance of prevention, which I thought was great. Treatment is important because it is happening in the here and now, but as social workers looking for prevention methods should always be in the back of our minds.