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Lets Just Talk About It Podcast with Chuck
This Podcast is geared toward giving people a platform to share their personal story because so many people have a story, but they have nowhere to share it, but they do now, it's called Let's just talk about it Podcast because I believe every voice matters!
Lets Just Talk About It Podcast with Chuck
(Ep.100) A Changed Mindset with Guest, Advocate Michael Marshall
How does one navigate life after losing a parent at a young age? Michael Marshall joins us to share his deeply moving journey growing up in Portsmouth, Virginia, where he faced the heart-wrenching loss of his mother to breast cancer at the tender age of nine. From the cultural stigmas surrounding mental health in the black community to the silent struggle of unprocessed grief, Michael's story is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the transformative power of seeking help.
Michael recounts his challenging transition from the bustling pace of New York City back to Cavalier Manor. The move brought significant behavioral and academic hurdles, further complicated by negative influences and a stern upbringing from his grandfather. Despite the stability provided by sports, Michael's tumultuous life led to him being put out of his home. These experiences, however painful, were pivotal in shaping his character and guiding him toward advocacy.
Michael's tireless dedication to restorative justice and prisoner reentry shines throughout our conversation. As an advocate for formerly incarcerated individuals, he passionately discusses the systemic issues faced by children of incarcerated parents and the urgent need for comprehensive support systems. From policy changes to the importance of involving victims in the healing process, Michael's insights are both inspiring and essential. Don't miss this powerful episode—subscribe now and be part of these thought-provoking conversations every Friday.
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Hey, welcome back to another episode of let's Just Talk About it podcast. I'm your host, chuck, and if you're here for the first time, this platform was created to give genuine people just like you an opportunity to share a portion of your life's journey. So, with that being said, today I have Michael Marshall on with me today, sharing a part of his journey growing up in the city of Portsmouth, virginia, and also his passion as an advocate to help men and women with their reentry from prison back into society. So, hey, you don't want to miss this amazing conversation today. As a matter of fact, do me a favor Go and grab your husband, your wife, your children, or even call a friend and gather around to listen to my conversation with Michael on let's Just Talk About it podcast. Hey, let's jump right in.
Chuck:Welcome back to another episode of let's Just Talk About it podcast Today. I have Mike Marshall on with me today. How's it going, mike? Hey, doing great, chuck. Thank you for asking, brother. Yes, sir man, good to have you on. I'm glad to be here, mike. I love to jump right into my interviews to have those genuine conversations with genuine people just like yourself, you know, just to share a portion of your life's journey.
Michael Marshall:So the first question I want to start off with is where are you from? Where did you grow up at? Well, originally, when I was younger, my mom was actually living in public housing. We were in Ida Barbar Public Housing for the earlier part of my years and then, from there, when my mom passed away, we went to live with my grandmother in Cavalier Manor.
Chuck:Wow, so your mom passed away at an early age.
Michael Marshall:Right, yeah, so I believe I was nine years old when my mom passed away from breast cancer. She was 35 years old.
Chuck:Did that impact you? You know, like being a young guy growing up in Outer Barber, Did that impact you a lot?
Michael Marshall:Yeah, so you, you know here we go. So when you think about someone, nine years old, um, growing up without a mother, you know we didn't know about being traumatized at that point, we didn't know about the pain and suffering that comes with. You know the emotional scars that you know one endure. From luc, you know life continued to go on and so, as kids, you continue to do what kids do, you play, you enjoy, you know whatever life is and but as you get older, you know you realize that some of the behavior that you probably have developed has been a result of having that hole, that missing piece of your life. And yeah, yeah, and so a great deal of my life, um, never really knew why. You know, um, I just couldn't, you know, let that part of me go, let that part of life go, and and so it always came back for me, always, and so, um, yeah, man, that was, that was a tough blow at nine years old, very tough, wow, you the oldest. No, so I, so I'm number five of seven. Yeah, so I had a total of seven siblings.
Michael Marshall:I've lost several siblings along the way.
Michael Marshall:I lost one of my sisters early on in life, when I was living, actually, because I was in New York After my mom passed. I went to New York for a short period of time to live with some family and when I was in New York my sister was there also with me one of my sisters and she had met this older guy and ended up getting in a relationship and she was back and forth from New York back to Virginia. And we get that phone call one day, man, that they had found my sister in the house and she had expired, had passed away from, looks like somebody had poisoned her. But we never really found out. And you know again, you know the trauma, the grief, the hurt, the pain, yeah, yeah, it was deep, right, yeah. And so then you know, I had lost another sister to breast cancer at the age of 33, I want to say I, I believe 33 or 34. I lost my baby sister to breast cancer. So she would go, she would, you know, I mean dying from the same sickness that my mom had.
Michael Marshall:But you know, man, these things, man, life still go on yeah and you still process it the best way you can, but they affect you in so many areas of your life. So I always continue to be affected, because I remember a lot of times you don't want to go to counseling because we've been taught in the black community that it's taboo for to talk to someone about you know, your loss or your grief, and so what happens in the house stays in the house. That's what your parents told you when I was growing up. Don't you tell nobody?
Chuck:what's going on in?
Michael Marshall:this house. Right, that's right.
Michael Marshall:Yeah, and so, man, for a long time I couldn't talk about the thing that I had to do. It was only when I became an adult man that, you know, I began to really kind of seek out because I couldn't understand why I wasn't functioning. You know the way, in terms of in relationships, man and I didn't make the connection, and then one of the therapists had told me and this is why I'm an advocate, man for nail, nail. It used to be a time where you know, I'm not talking about it, I feel like that. You know, I'm the tough guy. I got my chest poked out and I said you know what? I got this, that's what I used to say. I got this came at me and, man, but at some point, yeah, yeah, so at what point, man, do you, you can't suck it up forever. And I kept trying to suck it up, suck it up, suck it up, but at some point, man, you, you explode because you can't suck it up anymore. And that's what happened in life, man, you know, because everything I was sucking up, man, it was going nowhere, but inside of me, and, and that can cause a person to at some point you, it's got to go, so you end up exploding, right. So and so, man, yeah, and so today, you know, I've been real.
Michael Marshall:I'm very actively, um, supportive of people, man, who may not want to go to therapy and counseling, because I know that the brothers, in particular afric-American men, you know we're less likely to go to get treatment because we've been told again that you know you got it and uh, but what do you do, though? What do you really really do? And that's why you're seeing right now, man, a lot of people are emotional, bankrupt, emotional, mentally, psychologically scarred man, because they don't know how to deal with the trauma and the pain, and so hurt people, hurt other people. And so, you know, yeah, and and that's what we're seeing now, a lot of hurt people are running around hurting other people because they don't know what to do with all of those emotional things that they, that they, have endured through life, man, and so, uh, so, yeah, so I, I strongly, again, I strongly, man, recommend, you know someone, man, that's been having these type of things, that has challenged them, to seek out some help.
Michael Marshall:Man, you know, put aside, man, that ego man. You know we become egotistical maniacs, and so we don't want, you know, no one to know that we're hurting deep inside right and but you know it's better man to get that out you than to keep it in you. Because I right and but you know it's better man to get that out you than to keep it in you, because I can tell you one thing for sure, man, it's definitely gonna stagnate you in a lot of ways. But, yeah, chuck, so I you know.
Michael Marshall:So, man, um, but losing loved ones like that man at an early age, man, it left a hole in my heart, man, but now and I know how to work through those things, even with the recent loss of my brother, pain is pain, you know, hurt is hurt, but because I learned how to work through it and seek out the type of resources you know what I mean I really feel that can be beneficial to me. I think the healing process has been a little better for me this time than it's ever been before. And so you know that death there with my brother man, you know me and my brother man, we're very close. Wow, you know I got four brothers, man, everybody that knows us know we're very close. So but the loss of him, man, really thankful.
Chuck:Yes, it's deep man. You never know what people go through, man, you never know what they've come through to be the way they are today. Exactly, yes, you're exactly right. If we hold that emotion on the inside, eventually it's going to come out in the wrong way.
Michael Marshall:Yes, yeah.
Chuck:So, as you you know, you transitioned from New York City back to Cavalier Manor. How was that for you from that point on growing up?
Michael Marshall:Yeah, so right. So, look, that's an interesting question. I'm glad you asked that because when I came back from from new york I'm born and raised from, you know, from portsmouth. Now when I went to new york, I was, it was at an early age and so I had cousins, man, you know, it was like on steroids to cry in there. Compared to you know, compared to you know, you know, they used to call me country man because you know, you're coming from the south and you know, and they get a chuckle out. You know, I mean that accent there and so.
Michael Marshall:But, man, I'm being in a big city, man, you know, at 12 years old, learning your way, trying to figure things out, because my father was, you know, was there but and I had an uncle that was there, but my grandmother on my dad's side supposedly had been, you know, providing, and I remember one day, man, when she told me that you know providing. And I remember one day, man, when she told me that, you know, she just didn't have all the resources that she needed to take care of me and one of my sisters that was there in New York. She used to tell my grandmother back here in Virginia. She said y'all need to get Mike out of New York because he's running wild. I didn't even realize at 12 or 13 how wild that I was running man, because I wasn't even in my right grade, and that's another thing, man. You know, I had to come back to Virginia.
Michael Marshall:When I got back to Virginia, my grandmother had to get me in my right grade, because my grandmother in New York she kind of dropped that ball and I wasn't even in school for a whole year, wow, and so that that pushed me behind for a whole year, and so eventually, when I got back in Virginia system though, I eventually caught back up and I don't think I really truly caught back up, but I think that I was yeah, yeah. So I don't think I truly caught up in terms of my age and stuff, but I caught up in terms of academic Right, and so yeah. But when I came back trying to readjust, I noticed that I was a little more advanced for a 12 or 13. I can't remember that, probably 12 or 13. Right, but I was so advanced in my behavior man was just had adjusted to city life, and so even when yeah, so even when I came back here in Virginia, man, I still had another type of mentality at that early age. Wow, because I had a young cousin that they taught me all the bad things, man, you know, they was hustling a little weed and you know, and this is at early ages, right, and so I got it.
Michael Marshall:Yeah, and so I get exposed to some things that I shouldn't have got exposed, that my grandparents here back in Virginia probably did not even have a clue. But that was city life, man, it was just a fast pace and um and so. But eventually I got back in and in school and, you know, started playing sports. Man, I was, you know, I'm pretty good. I played football, um, at Waters, w Waters, I don't know if you remember Waters, yeah, I remember, you know. Yeah so.
Michael Marshall:I, yeah, I played for Mounted, but I was at Waterloo though, okay. But you know, in the eighth grade you can play JV, jv, that's right, so I played JV, right, yeah, so I played JV. Yeah, so back during that time. So I played JV football and I was probably one of the few that was on the JV basketball in the eighth and ninth grade.
Chuck:So I was real active in sports. Yeah, all around sports man.
Michael Marshall:Yeah, yeah, man, I was real active Football was really true to my sport. I played tailback for two years, man, up until you know school. Just, you know, I guess, life and trauma, crisis, and the trauma again, man, just, I never shook it, man, and I remember, man, remember, man, I just stopped going man around about the 10th grade, you know, I said, well, you know, um, I'm not going no more man. And and I pretty much, man, made that decision on my own.
Michael Marshall:And when I did, my grandfather never forget my grandfather's, you know was a type of guy he was, you know, very stern, very strict man. You know, he was a hard working guy, you know military, you know, had done security, he was, you know, but he was a hard-working guy. You know military, you know, had done security, he was, you know, but he was a hard-working man. He said, either work you know, work school, or military, or you know, you ain't gonna stay in my house. And I remember, man, I was doing all the bad stuff and I got caught, man, and I was a man, I was, I was really a bad guy, man at an early age, gotcha and unfortunately, because of the exposure, man, mm-hmm and so, but that led me, man, to my grandfather putting me out, and that's, you know, because of you know.
Michael Marshall:I mean, I had a gun in his house and you know all the bad things, man, that you don't think about when you're young, you just think that it's normal. Okay, we got a little gun and you know, we don't you know, but it wasn't like that we were running around hurting people, it was just the thought of it that we had. It wasn't like that, right, yeah, because it wasn't like on the level of violence what we see today. But as young guys, we, you know, just was exploring down those kind of avenues. That wasn't safe for us. But I can't even tell you right now how I even got the weapon, but but I was young, you know.
Chuck:Yeah, I got you right. I got you, yeah, wow. So moving on, man, we met on saint brides correctional. You know what I'm saying?
Chuck:that was my first time meeting mike marshall and right, yeah going back when I, when I met you, right, you was all about getting out or helping the guys in there to get their lives back on track. That's all I saw Mike Marshall doing was a man that was determined when he got out, it was no looking back. And now you're doing the same thing, helping guys who come and women, I believe who come out to help them to stay out. Correct, correct, wow, correct, correct, wow.
Michael Marshall:And you have a have a documentary man that you executive produced called the Reentry Advocates of Virginia Documentary man. Talk about that. So before I get there, so let me go back a little bit. All right, let's go back. So yeah, so let me let me rewind, Like so, when I was in the system, I never really accepted that was going to be my life or that's who I was. That's what I'd done, but that wasn't who I was. Wow.
Chuck:Does that make?
Michael Marshall:sense, okay, that's what I'd done, I'd done a crime that ended me there, but that wasn't who I was. Because, if you think back, man, a lot of us came up, you know, in well-to-do families, two-parent homes, I mean, excuse me, two-parent families, you know, sort of middle class, you know, but we still made some bad decisions. It wasn't because we wasn't raised properly, because I got a good upbringing, although you hear my earlier journey about me, my journey of a winding road going down these different paths. That happened because of Mike's choice. Journey about me, my journey of a winding road going down these different paths, that happened because of mike's choice, not because that I was right. I didn't, I didn't have to go down there, right? Yeah?
Michael Marshall:so you can, so we can relate right. So before there even was, you know I mean a, a having a little firearm or having some weed, or you know I mean doing something that was illegal. There was a time where mike wasn't exposed to any of that and that he was raised, going to church, um, doing all the positive, productive things, had a little job and those sort of things. But I got off track. I got off track because I made a decision. I made the poor decision, poor choice that I wanted. Right, exactly, man. And so, even if I fail when I fast track this story to respond to what you were saying, I end up inside of a prison at an early age in which you didn't know I had been to prison before. Unfortunately I had been. I got charged at 17 years old, me and some more guys from around Cabellet Mountain. We got charged with, you know, it's kind of petty, petty robbery charge. You know, uh, nobody was hurt, anything like that. It was petty, but it still was a was a charge. Right, it's still valid, um, and so I didn't learn anything when I was incarcerated for that short three years that I went in at an early age and so I lived the same lifestyle that I knew I was planning on living when I got out and I did what I was is I positioned myself around even more sophisticated criminals, you know, and trying to plot and scheme on how we were going to get. You know all these ideas to get back in the drug game and make lots of money, that type of thing because I was not ready for change. Change is something that comes from winning. You know what I and so when I met you by that time I want to say I was in my late 20s, wow. And so everything had evolved. So now, as I played the tape all the way through right which that's what I was doing I had played the tape all the way through, mike. What are you gonna do? This is your second time. You're in late 20s. You got two children. Um, what are you going to do? This is your second time You're in late twenties. You got two children. What are you going to do when you get out? Because I will never forget, a guy told me.
Michael Marshall:He said man, if you go back out there with the same thing, he said, if we go back out there like that, he said, man, it may be a luxury for us to make it back because they die. And I said, whoa, it may be a luxury to come back. He said, yeah, dying. And I said, whoa, it may be a luxury to come back. He said, yeah, because they're dying out there. And that stuck with me and I remember man from the rest of my being and doing and serving my sins. I said to myself.
Michael Marshall:I said, man, I'm going to find a way to come up with a strategic plan that's going to line me up for success. But I got to start living the way that I want to live out there. I started not to accept the prison, man, you know, I used to get up, man, and when y'all used to see me moving about my mind, man was focused. I was focused, and if a man's mind don't change, progress is impossible. Wow. And so when my mindset changed, everything started changing around me.
Michael Marshall:I prayed, I said God, you know, god, just show me the way I put down having whatever kind of reputation you think that you had, emotionally, psychologically, spiritually. I put all that in the trash, can, man? Because I knew that if I didn't change before I got out, it was impossible for me to now get to that time and be able to open these gates, these doors. And I'm going back out there and I had not put in no work. You got to put in work, man, and I put in a lot of work. Man, right, like, and I put in a lot of work man, yeah, you have, Like you said, chuck, I put in a lot of work with working with people, that I thought that would better position me to be successful and to do the thing that I enjoy doing, which was giving back. I found my passion, which ultimately, you find your purpose. My passion was helping other people.
Chuck:Yeah, that's for sure.
Michael Marshall:Right. And so that right. And so when I was released, the first first thing I then I ended up taking the same trade I had. I was working in norfolk state in food service, because that's what I done when I was inside, you know, I mean I. And then I started working in a library. So when I went, when I worked in a library, inside institution, I learned the whole dewey decimal system I could. I used to get quoted the back of my head, right I, you know, because I became obsessed with books, right, right and reading, and that's what propelled me. You know, when I came home and you know, I got a job in Norfolk State, they told me they had never hired, nobody.
Michael Marshall:But this is how critical it is, you never know who's watching you. The same man that I was working for as an aide, mr Owens, may he rest in peace he was the first person that went and advocated for me. And so when you invest in, you know how you got investments. People invest in houses, they invest in the stock market, they invest in you know what I mean other things in life but when you invest in a human being, man, and you invest in a human infrastructure, you're talking about changing lives. That man changed my life when he invested in me, and so you know what I reciprocated, that what he done for me is what God has allowed me to do for other people. I invest in the human infrastructure of people.
Michael Marshall:I believe that there's hope after prison, there's hope after jail, you know, people don't have to continue to go back on that perpetual cycle, and so I've learned that it has to be a mind changing experience. So people that I've engaged in those type of conversations now and not just that man I give them the blueprint that I had. I got the blueprint to stay out. I've been off for 20 years now, but that was a systematic approach and process that kept me where I'm at today, and I credit God man, I came to this interview and not credit God for everything that he does. He changed that criminal mindset that I had, you know, because I never considered myself a thug anyway. I just had a criminal mindset, you know. But criminality right, yeah, and God changed that, chuck, and I'm thankful, man.
Chuck:Wow, mike, shout out to you. Man Shout out to you. Thank you, brother, shout out to you. So let's talk about the documentary. Can we talk about that now? Yeah, yeah.
Michael Marshall:So let's delve into the documentary. I never see things just solely about me. I like to bring other people along. My work has been centered and geared around advocacy. So I do a lot of advocate work because people need a voice, and so in the Bible it talks about being that voice in the wilderness. And I have said to God, let me be that. Yeah, let me be that voice in the wilderness for others. And I have a voice right now.
Michael Marshall:Over the last 20 some years, every platform or every space that I have been in, I have been able to be an advocate, not just about Mike, because God had blessed me and I could have went on and found a whole nother industry to get in and made me a little bit of money or more money, and been OK. But that wasn't enough for me and so the documentary came about. I've been wanting to work on a documentary for the last 15, 16 years and so, but I didn't have all the resources to try to bring it together. Man, but when you faithful to god, man, god will make room. He will make room for those gifts y'all. And this is what's happening. So I brought along all these other advocates because that really what you see in the documentary really is not the full. It's called a proof of concept. Okay, the proof of concept is to show people what's to come see the. It's a full documentary. I'm trying to do a 90-minute documentary. That got it done. It's proof of concept. We just needed some content to put out there to show other people that this is the direction we're headed. These are some of the areas that we want to address.
Michael Marshall:You know, when it comes to reentry and everybody that knows me knows I have a strong passion for kids that have parents incarcerated, because when I think about my own life I realize that it's so many, and especially in the African-American community you know the families are broken because the males are not there. When you can walk on a prison campus and you can see a father and a son and maybe sometime a grandson on the same institution, that's a problem. That's a problem. And that cycle man is what got us where we're at today.
Michael Marshall:No one is out here guiding these young men, these young kids, man, and they're looking a lot of them. You know people. It's easy for us to look at them and judge them and say, yeah, and I'm not justifying the behavior, but what I'm saying is we got to go deeper. We got to go to the root cause of how these young men got these guns in their hands. Absolutely, you know what I mean.
Michael Marshall:There's violence and it goes back to violence. People hurt, people hurt other people, right. And so when you look at these young men that's out here, man and not just young men, young women now they're committing some of these violent acts, man, is because they're lost and they're looking for someone to guide them and it's just not there. And so what they do? They turn to what they think they love the most and those are the people that they can identify with, and those are people that's out there in the streets doing what they do. But, man, we got to go to the root of this problem, man, because if not, you know, I can't even imagine what it will look like 15, 20 years from now. You know what I mean, with so many young people dying and so many continue broken homes. So I'm looking for solutions, man, on how I can be in a partner. So I've only got these advocates. So I have all these advocates that are mentors, right, and so they are willing to work and do work in the community, to work with other organizations or whoever that wants to partner with us, so we can you know what I I mean be a voice to that missing piece. You know we're not going to change everybody, but we want to do, we're trying to do, our part.
Michael Marshall:So the documentary is only to give a little bit exposure to what advocates are doing out here, because a lot of times they're not going to make the news, they're not going to make podcasts, they're not going to you know me be recognized on any kind of platform, getting awards, but they're doing the work behind the scenes because they like the boots on the ground but people never see them, right, right, but they're moving. And so when I done this, I said I wanted to get these individuals exposed to sharing their stories, their stories of overcoming their past, because you know, we released look, 95% of the people in prison will be out one day, right, so they're coming back to your communities anyway, whether people want them. And I want to show these type of things in the documentary to show that we have a major issue when it comes to employment. You know what I mean barriers when it comes to housing barriers, people not getting enough substance abuse services because they don't have access to it. Again, mental health right, and so when we think about, you know, all of these different barriers before people and they don't have true access to it. Because we don't have a whole lot of prisoner reentry programs and I can really point out I don't want to go, you know. I mean I don't want to go deep into how many we have, but we still are in dire need.
Michael Marshall:Restorative justice that particular piece is something that I have put a lot of focus and emphasis on, because, while I believe that a man or woman should get a second chance or first opportunity after they have served their time, they're becoming taxpaying citizens, so we expect people to pay taxes, but they can't vote. Something is wrong with that picture. So we need some policy changes. We need, you know, because a lot of policies they're old on our books in Virginia and in some other states, depending on what state you're in Now. Virginia has came far in terms of doing some reentry work or providing some reentry services during pre-incarceration, but it's still not enough. We still haven't went far. Still not enough. We still haven't went far.
Michael Marshall:But I'm gonna go back, because the restorative justice is just basically people um being held accountable for the crime that they're committed, because I believe that families that have been greed and been hurt I don't think that we, you know I mean want to overlook that and minimize that. And so I've had a big um. I've been having a lot of discussion around pointing out you know, how do we involve victims in our documentary? How do we, how do we interview them? Because I want them to know that we do care about that too. Yeah, right, exactly, and it's not just about me, uh, my friends making parole or getting a light of sentence or whatever. We got hurting people out here and people have to be held accountable.
Michael Marshall:Then some people, you know, may never you, but I think that it speaks volume when a man can say, yeah, I'm out, but I have not forgotten about the wrong that I've done.
Michael Marshall:But can I make it right and hopefully that the family would understand I can't bring your loved ones back, I can't undo what I've done, but what I can do, moving forward, is not let that crime be in vain.
Michael Marshall:And so when I think about, you know, those particular incidents where I've talked to victims and I've talked to their loved ones and families who have not gotten to the point of forgiveness.
Michael Marshall:I go and I have talked to advocates that does the work that I do and I've been sharing with them that it needs to be a greater push for that restorative justice piece because we don't hear about it a lot, because we always hear about people wanting a second chance or another opportunity and we always hear about you know me, woes me, and but we sometimes often intentional or unintentional forget about the ones that have been impacted by something that we've done and still hurting, and so you know, and so a lot of my work, and even with juveniles, when I think about young people, if there was something that we could implement, they need to understand the impact of their decision nature right, because these are kids killing kids and they don't realize that your behaviors and your choices of doing what you do don't impact just you in that person, it impacts everybody that's connected to you as the perpetrator as well as the victim.
Michael Marshall:So everybody on both sides, so nobody wins. So how can we break this cycle? You know, I mean this perpetual cycle of young men who have this self-hate and I'm going to be honest with you, I really believe that a lot of it man has have this self-hate, and I'm going to be honest with you I really believe that a lot of it, man, has came from self-hate, because you can see a man just like you, that looks just like you, and it's so easy for you to pull the trigger and kill him Because you're looking at yourself. And so if it's self-hate, then we need to be trying to teach them about love, love and forgiveness and loving yourself first, because you can't love anybody until you love yourself. Wow.
Chuck:Mike man, that documentary is going to be dope man to include the victims in it. Yeah, To show people you know that you are concerned not only for a person just getting out, but for people who are hurting. You know what I mean.
Michael Marshall:Right for a person just getting out, but for people who are hurting, you know what I mean when you talk about.
Chuck:So the young people. The young guys need to see the impact that they're having. That would be great absolutely victims yeah, share their journey so they don't see the pain that they're causing in them. You know exactly.
Michael Marshall:Yes, yes, because sometimes you may see it play out in a courtroom setting, but you don't necessarily see any follow-up with that. You see the pain and hurt come from a loved one losing this book and you see how they act. So just imagine like over the year, they don't, they don't, that don't never go anywhere, and so they could easily become a family, can become a, an aggression for a family member who lost us. Let's say, you lost your daughter and you just you're angry with the world, man, and so again it goes back to that hurt thing, man and the people, man. And if victims and perpetrators could sit down and talk, I think that it could be some healing man on both sides. Man, I just do, and, but people may not be ready for it all the way. Right, yeah, but for those that are, I think it'd be a great start. Yeah, exactly, and so that's been one of the things, as advocates, that we really are focusing on how do we mend these gaps, man? What services and resources do we need? So that's where we at Chuck.
Chuck:Is that hard to find? Man Like the resources to make things happen?
Michael Marshall:You know, Chuck, that's the elephant in the room. You know it's that it's not enough funding, because it's just these small parts of funding that's on the table and it just. You know, if you don't really have an inside, you know right, then you know you can't fund this stuff. It takes dollars and cents to run programs and so you can't run them free. But you know you do have people that can volunteer and some of these nonprofit organizations you know they utilize a for different.
Michael Marshall:You know services that you might want, let's say you want to do art, therapy or whatever. These these things cost me and it just costs period. It just takes resources to be able to run successful programs and so, um, we don't have a lot of access to it and it's just uh, um, it's just unfortunate, but hopefully that you know that we will see more money or more funding going towards criminal justice reform and hopefully that that type of funding will trickle down to you know city and I mean state and city localities that in all cities because you know we don't have reentry in all cities we have social services who may do some bits and pieces with some reentry stuff, but it's not a comprehensive reentry program that each city has other than norfolk if somebody wants to donate to what you're doing, how can they do that?
Michael Marshall:so here we go. So right now we we have not been set up to do any type of, you know, financial donations or anything, but what I will say is that I can leave my. If someone would love to like to talk to me or get involved or be a collaborative partner, or if they even have, you know, a skill set that they would like to offer, they want to join the advocates group and be, you know, a part of us, then I would love to talk to them more about how they can get involved with us and, you know, if you want my information, I can give you that too.
Chuck:Got you, got you, got you. As we close, mike, if somebody was to ask about you who is Mike Marshall, what would you say? Who is Mike Marshall today? Today?
Michael Marshall:Michael is unlike Mike. Michael has been transformed by the renewing of his mind, because when a man's mindset changes, everything changes, wow. And so I believe that today I'm enough for him to cultivate, or help or allow people to cultivate in me what was already there. And so Michael is a better person today because of his relationship with God, with family, with friends. And so I also, man, want to leave this final thought and encourage whoever that the audience and all here on this broadcast that may be listening and this is just you know what I mean for those that will be returning back to the community or those that are already out in the community. I always leave my final three points, which is, I always tell people whether you're coming home from prison or whether you're already out. Man, the first thing is get you a solid plan and write it down. I used to think that that was cliche, but a man without a plan must be planned. You got to have a solid plan or blueprint. You gotta have it, man. It can be tweaked, it can be changed along the way. Get you a solid plan if you can really come home or if you're already out, cultivate that plan with someone else.
Michael Marshall:Second thing is, I would say, find a mentor or several. My success joke has been based around me having strong men, building up a man who was trying to be the man that I am today. Had it not been for me having strong mentors, I don't think I could have successfully survived the last 21 years, because there have not been just a clear road, a clear path for me. There have been some challenges along the way, but those mentors I've had several great mentors in my life and so I encourage you you know you're not too old to ever have a mentor. I got one right now, and so you know iron sharpens iron right. So if not one, find two or three. And the third thing you know what I mean. I have to say incorporate God, have God at the center of your life. Man Absolutely. And I believe that that will be, you know, the recipe for a man becoming successful, if he's not already there, wow.
Chuck:Wow, shout out to you, man. I appreciate you being on, I appreciate your words, what you're doing, the documentary how can they find a documentary?
Michael Marshall:Well, so because we're in a development stage right now, probably won't even come out for another, probably 90 days.
Chuck:Okay.
Michael Marshall:So we're still filming. We're still it's because, like I said, that's a proof of concept. It's just to kind of get the word out there that we're working on it. Okay, we're trying to draw more people to it, okay.
Chuck:Got you. So thanks again, man, for being a part of let's Just Talk About it podcast. I really appreciate you, Mike.
Michael Marshall:Okay, man. Thanks a lot, bro, Chuck. I enjoyed being with you.
Chuck:Yes, sir, I enjoyed you too, man. Thanks again. All right, buddy. Wow, what an amazing conversation. Shout out to Michael for having this dialogue with me. You know so many amazing things in our conversation today, but the thing that really stuck out to me was his heartfelt passion for helping people to find a better life after reentry back into society. He says that if you have a plan, a mentor and, most of all, god, that you could be successful on your reentry journey. So shout out to you, mike, for your advocacy work. Again, thank you so much for always tuning in to let's Just Talk About it podcast, and please check out my website. Just Google let's Just Talk About it podcastcom and then hit that subscribe button to receive all the new episodes every Friday. You can also find me on Facebook. Just type in Chuck L-J-T-A-I, which means let's Just Talk About it. So, as always, until next time, don't hold it in, but let's just talk about it. Talk to you soon.