The “cradle to prison” pipeline is a phenomenon where adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can affect the probability of one becoming incarcerated in adulthood. Despite Marin’s affluence, there are many children with ACEs, with 47 percent of residents reporting one or more ACEs. In response, there are multiple efforts to raise awareness surrounding the impact of ACEs.
An ACE is defined as any potentially traumatic experience in childhood, such as abuse, a family member who struggles with substance abuse or food insecurity. Around 98 percent of people in prison have experienced one or more ACE, compared to 64 percent of the general population, and those with four or more ACEs are 20 times more likely to end up in prison. The short documentary “Reflections Behind Bars”directed by Jacob Kornbluth and an accompanying panel attempted to showcase these statistics to promote change early.
At a viewing of the documentary on Sept. 26th, viewers learned how the childhoods of current incarcerated individuals in San Quentin Rehabilitation Center may have contributed to their current incarceration. The film was followed by a panel of five speakers: Antonio Zavala, Markelle Taylor, John Wallace, Jahmeer Reynolds and Brian Gonsoulin, many of whom are former incarcerated individuals, while others created initiatives to help children with ACEs.
All of the panel members had experienced ACEs and were looking to spread awareness. John Wallace, for instance, experienced childhood trauma and is now helping to empower children in underserved communities through music.
“Uncovering childhood trauma as an African American or colored man is not an easy thing to do. I am a survivor of abuse for many years from my father, and when he passed away, he left me with so many scars, and those scars sent me to prison for over eight years,” Wallace said.
According to the documentary, individuals can be kept out of prison later in life through childhood assistance to combat ACEs, reducing the $182 billion that the government and families of incarcerated individuals spend annually.
School systems can be a resource for students experiencing hardships at home, but Wallace’s experience shows that some situations surrounding education can also increase the number of ACEs a child experiences.
“We had to walk a mile to school every morning from Marin City to Martin Luther King Jr. Academy in Sausalito. The adverse childhood experiences that I experienced some days were [while I was] walking, when people would yell the N word to us and throw things out of their car at us. I was a kid,” Wallace said.
Antonio Zavala was a panel member and is currently a program director for Youth Transforming Justice, an organization working to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline.
“We work to keep students and youth out of probation and in the classroom,” Zavala said.
Similar to the way some drive past San Quentin without acknowledging its presence, people often forget that there are children in Marin experiencing ACEs.
“[In Marin] it’s easy to forget some of the pain that youth are suffering because you look around and there’s just all of this beauty,” Zavala said. “We wait far too long for a young person to make a mistake, and at that point fault them for that mistake as opposed to pausing a little bit and asking the question: ‘What happened to you to get you to the point where you feel like it’s okay to lash out at other people?’”
According to Zavala, one of the most effective ways to support youth is to intervene at school.
“What we’ve
started to do now is go into elementary schools and start building community-building circles with youth where we’re discussing emotion regulation and resiliency building,” Zavala said.
According to Zavala, suspension is one of the most significant indicators that a person won’t graduate from high school. Not graduating is an indicator of ending up in prison, as only 30 to 40 percent of people in prison have a high school degree. One way Youth Transforming Justice helps students at risk of dropping out of high school is through their suspension diversion program, which focuses on accountability and community building instead of pure punishment.
“We’re the only organization that has a suspension diversion program, and it’s been around for the last 20 years. It’s helped allow students to stay in school to continue furthering their education and getting closer and closer to graduation,” Zavala said.
The San Rafael City School District and Novato Unified School District are two high school districts that are currently participating in this program, and Youth Transforming Justice is looking to expand into more local schools.
Ida Green is a Tamalpais Union High School District (TUHSD) board trustee who attended the film and panel as an audience member. Green said that the board supports the work going on in school wellness centers and their potential to help children with ACEs.
“It’s a safe space where kids who are having stressful or have had traumatic experiences can go and work with somebody and seek the help that they deserve and need that is personal, that’s private, that’s protected,” Green said.
Wellness is an important resource for students; however, according to Zavala, the students who are sent to wellness are often the ones with externalized reactions to trauma, which does not account for all students with ACEs.
“[Schools need to be] supporting some of the youth who just are not showing up on the radar, who are in the back of the class very quiet and tuned out, because they also need that support. Sometimes trauma is internalized,” Zavala said.
Zavala suggests partnering with local organizations and digging deeper when students act out to find the root of the problem.
Wallace is an example of a student who did not receive the support needed when he went to a TUHSD school.
“What I wish I had as a kid was a safe place to say, ‘Hey, I need help,’ because I was at Tam High School, sitting as a freshman, squirming in my chair, because my pants were stuck to my legs from the welts busted open from the night before being beaten by my father. I remember one of the teachers said, ‘Hey, are you okay?’ And I protected [my father],” Wallace said.
In situations like Wallace’s, peers are often key to helping other students feel safe enough to open up.
“If you suspect that something might be a little off with a friend, that’s a time to try and open up a dialogue. It’s an opportunity to help somebody,” said Green.
It is important to remember that school does not have to be a scary place for students who experience ACEs. Jahmeer Reynolds was a panel member a
nd a founder of the Marin County Cooperation Team, an organization that supports youth in Marin. His story shows that school can be a sanctuary, especially for those in unstable households.
“School was my refuge. From my principal, Mr. Ramsay, to the school’s secretary, Ms. Bethea, my social studies teacher, my track teacher, school was my refuge,” Reynolds said.
There is another film viewing and panel on Nov. 12 at the Mill Valley Library from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., open to the public. The panel will include the Marin Poet Laureate, the film’s director and system-impacted individuals. To register to attend, visit the calendar on the Mill Valley Library’s website.
If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse, there are resources to help. The domestic violence hotline offers confidential support 24/7 and can be reached at 800-799-SAFE (7233).
