Prison: The Hidden Sentence Podcast

What would you do if your loved one was incarcerated? Would you leave or stay? Amy Rolack did both. When her childhood sweetheart got incarcerated, she broke off the relationship. After ten long years, she reached back out to him, and now they are married. Join your host Julia Lazareck and her guest Amy Rolack as they talk about what it's like to have a prison relationship. Discover how Amy coped...

Let people know the struggle you’re going through to lift the stigma and raise awareness. Julia Lazareck’s guest, Nora Raleigh Baskin , shares her discovery about mass incarceration. Nora is an award-winning writer in troduced to the issues of social justice when she attended a fundraiser for an organization called RTA. She wasn't shocked as much as ashamed at how little she knew an...

Has life ever handed you a bunch of lemons? Our guest has been there and shares how she took those lemons and found a way to make lemonade and improve her life.  Joining Julia Lazareck today is Dr. Tamara Pelosi . Dr. Pelosi suffered from severe emotional trauma with her husband's imprisonment.   When someone is taken into the prison system, it can affect the whole family. Join in the co...

How do you make an impact on mass incarceration? Testify your story, and don't put so many expectations on your incarcerated loved one. Julia Lazareck's guest in this episode is Latasha Drax, the founder of I.M.P.A.C.T.  Beyond the Wall. Latasha is committed to helping build families and strengthen relationships impacted by incarceration. She was married to her husband for 16 years while he w...

When you experience trauma, you can either become a victim or a cheerleader.  Matt Duhamel  of  The Outspoken Offender  interviews Julia Lazareck on her podcast to discuss the backstory behind her book  Prison: The Hidden Sentence™ .  Julia is a cheerleader to others who are going through what she went through by sharing the information they need. Julia wants you to r...

Sexual offenses are often considered one of the most heinous crimes, especially those committed against children. But is there a path towards redemption for people incarcerated for these crimes? Julia Lazareck is on air to answer this question as she talks to a survivor of incarceration for sexual offenses, Jim . Jim shares his story with remarkable honesty, candor, and transparency as he discusse...

Incarcerated women deserve to move forward with life. We can have a fresh start, be happy and live meaningful lives if only we know how to find the much-needed resources. Join Julia Lazareck and the Executive Director of New Hour   Serena Liguori  as they delve into seeing yourself in a different light, thinking healthy thoughts and moving forward. New Hour is a nonprofit dedicated to su...

What happens to the family left behind by people who are incarcerated? Most importantly, what happens to their children? The Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Foundation is a program that supports children that have been neglected, abused, and are in foster care. Gail Dennis, CASA volunteer and Toastmasters speaker, sits down with Julia Lazareck and talks about how CASA has not only changed...

Having an incarcerated loved one is hard enough but when the pandemic happened, it was made even harder. Join Julia Lazareck and Charrise Lothamer in this conversation about challenges encountered regarding visitation of an incarcerated loved one during the pandemic and how it differs prior to pandemic. Charrise is an advocate and participates with several groups that support families and advocate...

It's hard to live life without a mother and having your mother incarcerated is not something. This is the case with one of Evelyn Pacheco ’s granddaughters. Evelyn's daughter has been in and out of jail for the longest time. So now it's Evelyn's job to take care of her granddaughter and help her live a life different from her daughter’s. Julia Lazareck brings Evelyn on the show to talk about her s...

How do you tell a child that mommy or daddy is in prison? Julia Lazareck sits down with  Dr. Avon Hart-Johnson , the author and Co-founder of  DC Project Connect , who explains how parents or guardians can tell the truth about incarceration when talking to children. Dr. Avon points out the importance of understanding the adverse effects of incarceration and how adults can avoid further e...

Having a loved one incarcerated can be a difficult situation, and it can become doubly difficult when you factor children into the mix. How do we help children deal with the burden of having parents in prison? How do you organize prison visits with children? Julia Lazareck sits down and talks with Neela Hoeppner  about the trials and challenges her family faced, and continue to face, during h...

Brandi Weiss  was thrown into the dark caverns of the prison system when her two sons were incarcerated. Her eldest son went through tumultuous times in his youth and was in and out of prison for 7 years. He now is out of prison and living a successful and happy life. Her youngest son was sentenced at 17 years old to 25 years in prison for a heinous crime. He is one of many of incarcerated pe...

For people behind bars, dying in prison may be the ultimate suffering anyone can experience. We are honored that Dr. Danica Hubbard  is sharing her story with us for the first time about her journey and her father's incarceration. Her bravery and vulnerability are admirable, and anyone who has or had an incarcerated loved one will relate to her story. She describes her father as a successful...

A lot of individuals who go to prison don’t get enough support that can help them get out of the muck instead of being mired deeper in it. As a speaker, educator, and community advocate, Robert Van Strawder  is passionate about providing that much needed support to incarcerated youth and their families. A lot of this passion comes from his own experiences in inner city struggles and run-ins w...

Prisons have been around since the beginning of time, and the family members on the outside are the often forgotten victims of incarceration. Joining Julia Lazareck on the show today are  Barbara Allan  of Prison Families Anonymous and  Carolyn Esparza  of the InterNational Prisoners Family Conference. Both are founders of their organizations and authored books that contain the...

Addiction is real and does not discriminate. Anyone can fall deep into it and become an addict. While others escape its grasp, not many can say the same thing. There are so many people out there who are suffering from addiction, fighting their way into recovery. Brittany Dodd-Santiago was one of them.  Brittany Dodd-Santiago  became a reality star when she appeared on Love after Lockup a...

When my brother was incarcerated I never heard the word PREA. It wasn't until I started talking to people in the prison system and meeting Jameelah that I understand, now, the importance of knowing what is considered sexual assault and how to receive education and support. PREA is the Prison Rape Elimination Act that everyone should know about. It's one of those subjects that people don't talk abo...

Happily ever after isn't always what you think it will be. Happily ever after doesn't mean always having a smile on your face. When everything is taken away from the family, you get to appreciate the things that never mattered before. Lisa Schonfield  was a mother, grandmother, wife, and well-known in the community for her dedication and hard work. Here's the story of three generations experi...

A picture is worth a thousand words, especially for an incarcerated loved one. The mere smiles of their families and friends etched into a piece of paper can make such a difference in their wellbeing while doing their time. With Pelipost , the official Photos-to-Prison App®, it has become easier for families to send photos to their loved ones in any prison around the country. Founders Joseph Calde...

Visiting a loved one in prison is very stressful because you don't know if you'll be able to see or be allowed to visit your loved one, what the visit is going to be like, how the guards are going to treat you, and how hard it is to see and leave your loved one. Welcome to Season 2 of Prison: The Hidden Sentence. In this season's first podcast, Julia Lazareck shares what it was like to visit her b...

I’m here today with Marie who has had two sons that were incarcerated. She’s going to tell us a little bit about the history of her sons, how they got to where they’re at, what it was like when they came home and also recidivism where they went back to prison, broke parole and where they are today.   For more stories and information, visit our website: https://prisonthehiddensentence.com Love...

If you are a woman, could you imagine being turned away from visiting your loved one because of the type of bra you’re wearing?  Well, nowadays you can be turned away from a visit if you are wearing an underwire bra. Phyllis witnessed an event with an elderly woman who, well, let’s hear how she tells the story. For more stories and information, visit our website: https://prisonthehiddensenten...

The 10th annual InterNational Prisoners Family Conference was held October 10-12 in Dallas, Texas.  One of the bright lights in the conference were readings from the poetry of Nicole Richardson.  Her writings are compelling and draw you in and you’ll want to hear more!   For more stories and information, visit our website: https://prisonthehiddensentence.com Love the show? Subscribe...

10th Annual International Prisoners Family Conference was held in Dallas, Texas, October 10-12, 2018. Carolyn Esparza has been leading the way and bringing people together at every one of these conferences for the past 10 years! Her insight to the affects of incarceration on families and communities has enabled her to bring important information and informative speakers to the conference so that e...