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I dream in color By SHAVAUGHN MOSS ~ Lifestyles Editor ~ shavaughn@nasguard.com: Derek Adams has committed the cardinal sin. It's the one thing that haunts a man for his lifetime. It's the one that makes it hard for him to get up, dust himself off and become a productive member of society because usually no one allows him to. It's because he's been to prison! Adams, who isn't educated beyond a ninth-grade level, is a man who fell, picked himself up, "took the bull by the horns" and is today a self-sufficient, well-admired and much sought after member of society. He's one of those ex-cons who has made it. He's one of those persons who has refused to let the words ex-con or former prison inmate define him. He is now a productive citizen with two thriving businesses to his credit, and has made a success of his life. This is not the case for many people that have stood in Adams' shoes. But there is an organization that is seeking to help persons like Adams, and help them get back into society and do what Adams has done. The National L.E.A.D. (Leadership, Esteem, Ability, Discipline) formed by Troy Clarke seeks to provide programs to post-prison and correctional facilities inmates upon completion of their sentence, to harness their leadership potential while directing it to a positive goal, transforming that individual into a person who has a strong self-esteem, one who is able to accomplish whatever task is set before them and develop the discipline to live their lives with purpose. The LEAD institute would like to see more Derek Adams' developed. "There is no secret that the greatest failure of our community is our inability to effectively reintegrate and re-socialize those persons that have paid their debt to society, said Clarke president and chief executive officer of LEAD. "We have found that a lot of persons who have been incarcerated in Her Majesty's Prisons find themselves repeat offenders all because the community does not accept them as well as they don't have the skills for readjustment, the passion or will to re-integrate effectively. When they leave, there is no follow-up program so we decided we'd start our program, so that we could help them re-transition back into the community, said Clarke, 42, a former 12-year Royal Bahamas Defence Force officer, and former Royal Bahamas Police Force Reservist of four years who also did a three-year stint as a parole/probation officer in the prison system. He has a degree in law, a degree in criminal justice and a degree in social work. He launched LEAD on September 7, 2009, and is in the process of accepting the organization's first group of former inmates for its first six-month semester. There will be two six-month semesters annually. Persons in the LEAD program will be given counseling to deal with post-release issues like family integration, including how to become effective parents and information on child-rearing effectively, group counseling, substance abuse counseling, family counseling and parenting classes, conflict resolution and anger management classes. Tutoring in academic areas will also be offered according to Clarke who says many former inmates have a low literacy rate. Through the program, guidance will also be offered to them on fitting into the job market if it's the right place for them, as well as on how to become entrepreneurs, writing a business plan, developing a cash flow and developing a product and service strategy. "We want to harness the leadership potential in the individual, directing it to a positive goal, for people with strong self-esteem with the ability to accomplish whatever task is set before them and discipline to live their lives with purpose," said Clarke. Having grown up in the inner city with a single parent, Clarke was active in discipline groups like the Royal Ambassadors, Boys Brigade, and he says it was there that he learned and developed a liking for structure and discipline. He admits to having faltered, but acquired the skills he needed and was strong enough to get back up. "That's why our theme is: All men fall, but the great ones get back up. "It just so happens that by the grace of God I acquired the skills and was able to combat a lot of societal ills that were thrown at me, but a lot of other young men don't, so we want to provide training for men and women in crisis, and using our own personal experience, education and other trained experts in the field, we know that we can help them become productive citizens." With this action plan, Clarke approached the middle-aged Adams who is on LEAD's board of directors to show other former inmates what can happen if they do the right thing. "The reason why I consented to doing this is because it could help a brother or sister who has fallen and has no idea how to work themselves back up," said Adams of both joining LEAD and talking to The Nassau Guardian. "There are so many things against you . . . society, the way people think, and all of us have fallen and failed, but those who get branded with the name ex-con or been to prison, it tends to put a dark cloud over them and that dark cloud seems to follow them everywhere they go. I saw that after I came out," he said. Adams who spent six years incarcerated at Fox Hill Prison, has been out for 24 years. But, he says it was only his pride and a determination never to take another wrong step in life that has gotten him to where he is today — a businessman with a landscaping company — and a side-gig that allows him to speak about Jesus at various church ministries and for which he is paid to do. He did not have a program like LEAD to show him the way. As LEAD comes on stride, he says he wishes it was something he had to turn to upon his release in 1986. "If I'd had LEAD in my time when I came out, if you think I'm successful now, imagine what I would have been now." He says if a former prisoner comes to him for help, the first thing he wants to know is what he's interested in doing and if he's serious. "If you ain't serious I would leave you like a hog floating on water because until you make up your mind that you want to be serious about making it back in society, I can't help you," said Adams, who says the former inmate must come to the decision that he wants help first. "If he comes and says Adams I need some help, I want to make it back, then I'd say LEAD is the program you need to be in. Then I want to find out what he's interested in and what he can do, because everybody can do something . . . I don't care if it's sweeping the road. Whatever he can manage to do, he can be professionally trained to do it better," he said. Adams trained himself to do what he needed to do to succeed in life after prison. During his final year of prison he says was when he came to the realization that he had to think like the foreigners who come to The Bahamas in search of a living. "What they do? Maid work, gardening . . . I said to myself if they could come here and cut grass and make money, this is my turf, I could do the same thing and people won't ask me for any papers [character reference certificate]." He says it was then and there that Adams decided to start a gardening business even though he did not know how to cut grass. In spite of his success, Adams wonders where he would have been had an organization like LEAD been at his disposal when he was released 24 years ago. He encourages all former inmates to take advantage of what LEAD has to offer. For those persons who will fall and face prison time, he says to always have pride and not let it falter — not even while in prison because they do have to get back up. "A lot of guys while [in prison] let go of their pride, but when I was there, I still had my pride. My cell I always kept swept and washed, scrubbed the floors, my bucket that I had to use, I kept washed. Pride had a lot to do with even surviving, because in jail it's easy to say they throw me in prison, it's finished, it's over, I ain't going up, I going down. But that pride will help you to see that life ain't over." Adams says there are too many repeat offenders because they simply don't have pride. He was so prideful that he turned down opportunities to work outside the prison compound when offered if it involved working in public spaces. He opted to do his work on the prison compound. "I'm already in prison but I don't want to show the world that I'm in prison. Those who know — know. But you gat guys hanging out the [prison] bus, 'hey Joe how you doin'?' I couldn't do n See Overcoming on L10 that. Hanging out that prison bus to say hi to someone . . . you advertising you're there like it's something good," he said. Two months prior to his release, Adams said correctional facilities officers again offered for him to work outside the prison. He took them up on the offer because it wasn't on the side of the streets in full view of "Joe Public." He said he took pride in that job, working efficiently to impress his boss, so much so that when he was released they retained him on the job. He was able to get employed on a couple of other jobs where people did not ask him for a police record and eventually saved enough to purchase a truck, then the money to purchase equipment for the landscaping company he'd decided to pursue during his last year of incarceration. And he purchased four of everything — lawn mowers, blowers — and all of the other equipment he needed for his business. When he started his grass-cutting business, he went around town knocking on the doors of homes with overgrown lawns. At the time he says he didn't even know how much to charge, and says he was actually ripped off a couple of times as he told people to give him whatever they wanted to give. "In the back of my mind I just kept thinking about not wanting to go back to prison, so if people ripped me off, rather than pay me honestly, I was okay with it. As long as I ain't stealing, as long as I ain't doing nobody wrong, and I ain't breaking no laws. I rather you rip me off, and I still here surviving, than me rip you off, you call the police and I go back to prison." He says he just wanted to work, and took comfort in the fact that there were those that paid him honestly. Adams has grown from knocking on doors to taking pride in his client list that has a number of corporate businesses and hotels. He also has a side gig that he's famous for that he did not want to talk about. But the road to his success hasn't been easy. He says he's had incidences where people have gone to his boss and told them he's been to prison. It's not information he volunteers if they don't ask, but when questioned, he always answers in the affirmative. What he prefers to do is get a job, and after working for a year, he always arranges a meeting with the boss to inform them of his past. "My strategy is to prove myself first, and then say it to them that 20-odd years ago I did time in prison. I can get away with the landscaping, because you never ask anybody who comes to clean your yard for a police record . . . and the foreigners could be criminals. So I found out you have to prove yourself first and then tell them — not tell them and try to prove yourself." While he didn't get past a ninth-grade education, Adams is the only person in his family not to have graduated at least high school. He has siblings thers have graduated from college. He says he was considered the "black sheep" in his nice, middle class family. But he says sometimes when you hang out with the wrong people, you can make one wrong turn through the wrong corner the wrong thing can happen, and it's a disaster. According to Adams an acquaintance of his had robbed a bank while he was playing basketball and ended up in his car looking for a ride home, telling him he would fix him up and showing him a grocery bag loaded with money, which Adams said he thought was the proceeds of a cocaine deal as the guy was rumored to be in the business. "I looked around, I didn't see anybody, so I said 'okay let's go — where ya goin'?" Adams says unbeknownst to him, his "friend" had robbed a bank, and he actually drove right past the bank his "friend" had robbed with the police outside. As he drove his friend home he realized a police car had been following him (without lights or siren blaring) and he stopped his car, and went out to talk to them. He said they told him they were just doing a routine check because a bank robbery suspect had been seen getting into a green and yellow car. Adams' car was green and yellow. As he continued to speak to the officers he said his "friend panicked, thinking the police was coming to the car, took the bag and throw it out the car. "The bag hit one tree . . . that's the most money I ever see. I was so stunned. I didn't even run. I stood right there. The police say cuff him, I say 'no, no it's him not me.' That time I tremblin' not having been in no trouble before" he said with a laugh. "I can laugh at it now, but back then I wasn't laughing. I told [my friend] to tell them the truth that I was only taking him home, but they said I was with the money." According to Adams at that time a string of bank robberies had taken place and the police were "just hot for anybody." He says he was taken to a station, handcuffed to a pole, and after they delivered the first blow he said he saw stars and admitted to things he didn't do. He was charged with the one robbery and got six years. His "friend" received 12 years. To this day, Adam says the police that were there laugh at him for lying on myself, and ask him if he knew how much time he could have gotten. Adams says he thinks LEAD should also be in schools to help people like him. "When you have a limited amount of education or information, a fellow comes and says let's go through that corner there, you gone with him, because you don't have the information that that's a bad corner, bad boys through there, drugs through there, stolen money through there — even the fellow's attitude you following is bad," he said. "My belief is that LEAD was given to Troy Clarke from God and that it could save fellows who fall through the cracks to get started. To me LEAD is like a jumper cable to get you back on the right path." He said what impressed him was that Clarke himself had some previous troubles under his belt, and he too had rebounded. He says if Clarke had been a person who hadn't been in trouble before and was talking about helping prisoners he may not have been interested, because Clarke would not have a frame of reference with which to speak to him. "If I could get one or 10 guys to join LEAD and live straight, they could in turn get people to join, and this would be a fire going." Adams says he's learned to live with the fact that he's spent time in prison, but his way of "squashing" the persons who constantly harp on it is to be a shining light. "So if they say 'that's the fellow who been to jail,' someone else would say 'boy you wouldn't believe he been to jail how he doin' now.' Some of the officers who see me now tell me that they respect me, because I came out with nothing and making more money than them and that I'm a leader in society. I always say to them 'boy I don't see it that way, but I thank you, and I always say boy it's God.'" Clarke, the LEAD president is a firm believer in the saying "it takes a community to raise a child," and says everyone coming together and playing a role, can help former inmates, and put a dent in what is happening in society. "We just need to go back to basics, get back to our standardized morals system that we once had and start becoming our brother's keeper," which he said is what LEAD strives to do. In the first year, Clarke estimates it will cost $120,000 to operate the program that has been 12 years in the planning. Tuesday, January 19, 2010