1 comment on “Books”

  1. Jeff (JT) says:

    Hello! My Name is Jeff (JT) Taylor. I am the Maine State Prison (MSP) Vice-President of the NAACP. I have been on the NAACP Executive Board for approx. 6 years.
    I brief background of my-self, I have been a Resident at the prison for 15 years. For the past 12 years I have been educating myself and involved with Restorative Justice (RJ) and continually learning restorative healing through the restorative lens. Currently I am a student through the University of Maine (Rockland) campus and I am close to receiving my bachelor degree in Liberal Art Studies with a minor in Mental Health & Human Services (MHHS). Before I graduate, I plan to sign up to receive a second bachelor in MHHS.
    Utilizing the RJ practices to apply to my life, I have learned who I was as a person at the time and who I truly am. Taking responsibility for ALL of my behaviors demonstrated in the past, understanding how my behaviors caused much grief to others including my family & my-self! I wrote an apology letter to the family that my selfish actions caused a life of grief to!!!
    I have been on a RJ Steering Committee comprised of Maine Department of Corrections (MDOC) staff, admin, residents, district attorney, former employee of Restorative Justice Institute (RJI) Ryan Anderson, we created a 20 week curriculum. The first 10 weeks residents of the population learn the history of RJ practices. the following 10 weeks the residents apply pieces learned to their lives.
    Currently under the NAACP umbrella, I am a Peer Support who provides services to the population on a daily basis. I also do reentry/transition planning with the residents, we are looped in by zoom with the Maine Prisoner Reentry Network (MPRN) which is the HUB of resources for Maine & other states to help with individuals incarcerated state wide.
    Also, I am currently in the process of potentially doing 2 mediations with MDOC staff & residents. If everyone is in agreeance of doing the mediation, we will have mediation! I have been in the process of creating a Peer Support program under the NAACP/RJ umbrella. The Peer Support Services are through the RJ Lens. The NAACP is currently taking the Certified Intensive Peer Support Specialist (CIPSS) training through Maine's Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) Office of Behavioral Health (OBH). The CIPSS training is the format for the NAACP Peer Support Training & Services program. CIPSS has RJ practices in the training. Thank you for all your amazing insight through the RJ Lens. I would greatly appreciate any & all information you have and are willing to share with me to help in my endeavors!!!

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