The Inside Circle Podcast with Eldra Jackson III

Discover the transformative journey of Heru Enkamit, who found liberation after 27 years of incarceration. His life's tapestry is woven with poignant moments of awakening pulled from the street, prison, fatherhood, work with Inside Circle, and his journey from release to entrepreneurship. Join us for a thought-provoking dialogue that inspires deep reflection on your own life choices.

Flight instructor, life coach… felon? Sarah Hainstock trusted the wrong person and ended up serving time in the Ohio State prison system for drug trafficking. What she experienced during her 18 month sentence was marked by chaos, absurdity, and a profound sense of waste. With one in four adults in America now having a criminal record, Sarah's goal is to help those in power realize that we are failing our citizens.

Sean Wilson knew better, and fortunately, he never forgot who he was and what he was destined for. In the 17 years he was incarcerated, he dedicated himself to learning as much as he could, even finding a loophole in his prison’s  maximum book policy by requesting photocopied versions of books. Now, 6 years later, he is the organizing director of Dream.Org's Justice team, committed to working with anyone and everyone who wants to address and reduce the footprint of mass incarceration in this country.

Experience the inspiring journey of Justin Danforth from incarceration to serial entrepreneurship. After serving a sentence of over 14 years in the North Carolina Department of Corrections, Justin's life took a remarkable turn and through daily dedication and unwavering commitment, he was able to transform his life. Join us and prepare to be inspired as Justin shares his story of perseverance, resilience, and finding purpose.

Discover the inspiring story of Stacey Gonzalez, a former alcohol addict turned Therapeutic Counselor and Men's Coach. Join him as he shares how he overcame his struggles and now dedicates his life to helping men embrace their masculinity, overcome their traumas, and tackle their greatest obstacles. Explore the pivotal role that love played in his transformation and gain valuable insights into how you can make needed changes in your life.

Calen Robertson was born and raised in Spokane, Washington. He was gang-impacted from a young age and through a personal epiphany he came to understand the preciousness of time and decided to stop wasting his own. He now actively works to bring kids in his community out of gang life through safe community partnership with the organization New EDS 101.   

Tommy Shakur Ross was paroled in 2022 after being imprisoned for over 36 years. Shakur was formative in launching radio programing at San Quentin, producing stories for KALW in San Francisco and in 2017, Shakur received an award for excellence in journalism by the Northern California chapter of the Society for Professional Journalism. In this episode Shakur talks about key milestones that led to the healing of his childhood traumas and how the gift of empathy transformed him into a formidable force for good in his community. Check out Shakur’s work at www.weareuncuffed.org.

A survivor and product of the streets of San Francisco, community activist, Jabari Jackson was raised in a violent, chaotic world that was defined by addiction, crime and incarceration.  After decades in and out of prison, Jabari shares how change became possible for him. Today, he’s committed to the restoration of underserved communities and lives to fight for restorative justice and the recovery community.

In this episode, we turn the microphone around and ask podcast host and Co-Executive Director of Inside Circle, Eldra Jackson III, a few questions about the work that Inside Circle does. Eldra was an inmate at New Folsom Prison when he found Inside Circle and began the inner personal journey that eventually led to his release in 2014 and his current leadership role. Today, he’s a coach, healing circle facilitator, writer and sought after public speaker on the topics of at-risk youth advocacy, effective criminal justice rehabilitation and turning around “toxic” masculinity. Tune in to hear from this living example of successful rehabilitation and re-entry.

Join host, Eldra Jackson, as he sits down with Dr. Trina Clayeux, the extraordinary CEO of Give An Hour, a non-profit that provides population-based, no-cost access to mental health care for veterans, formerly incarcerated people, refugees, survivors of mass shootings, and many more. In this uplifting conversation, Trina discusses how she turned her personal story into a life’s work driven by ethics and dedicated to meeting communities where they are and providing long-term support for healing. Tune in to enjoy this living example of how we can all come together to care for ourselves, our families, and our communities.