🗣️ Dr. Kim Nugent is a leadership development expert and author of "From Prison to Possibilities" who created a peer-to-peer mentorship program operating in prisons across multiple states. After receiving an unexpected call in 2018, she began training inmates to become certified mentors for other inmates, creating structured 6-month programs focused on behavioral change, employability skills, and release planning.
In this prison mentorship conversation, Stacey and Mark talk with Dr. Kim about why 68% of released inmates are rearrested within three years (recidivism statistics), how peer-led mentorship in prisons reduces recidivism up to 40%, and why men with life sentences often make the most committed prison mentors. She shares powerful transformation stories, including how facilities with her inmate mentorship program saw rule violations drop dramatically - from 300 per month on average to just 6 violations total over three years among program participants.
Dr. Kim explains the difference between mentors, coaches, and teachers in prison settings, why incarcerated individuals respond better to peer guidance than staff instruction, and how ownership of mentorship programs creates lasting behavioral change. She also discusses the ripple effects of prison reform through mentorship: correctional officers seeing inmates differently after graduations, families noticing behavioral changes in their incarcerated loved ones, and participants developing their own community bylaws and leadership structures within facilities.
CHAPTERS:
0:00 - Prison Recidivism Statistics: The 68% Problem
1:16 - How Dr. Kim Started Prison Mentorship Work
2:24 - What Makes an Effective Mentor in Prison
4:01 - Who Becomes a Prison Mentor
6:09 - Why Life Sentence Inmates Make the Best Mentors
7:23 - What Makes This Prison Program Different 10:19 - Can Outside Volunteers Be Prison Mentors?
14:29 - The 6-Month Inmate Mentorship Program Structure
15:39 - Training Inmates to Become Mentor Trainers 16:35 - Prison Violence Statistics: 98% Rule Violation Drop
17:07 - Seeing Transformation in Incarcerated Individuals
18:18 - When Correctional Officers' Perspectives Changed
19:09 - Behavioral Change: People Do Better When They Know Better
Connect with Dr. Kim Nugent: Book: "From Prison to Possibilities: Paving Your Path Through Peer Mentorship" - Amazon Website: https://DrNugentSpeaks.com
Related Topics: prison mentorship programs, inmate mentors, recidivism reduction, prison reform, behavioral change in prisons, peer mentorship, prisoner rehabilitation, criminal justice reform, reentry programs, incarcerated mentorship, prison violence reduction, life sentence inmates, correctional officer training, second chances, inmate leadership development
📲 Connect with Our Hosts: Stacey: https://www.instagram.com/staceymgrant/ Mark: https://www.instagram.com/mark_lubragge_onair/
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