Beverly Smith-Brown on Resilience and Reentry One in Four Podcast

In this episode, we focus on resilience or the ability to overcome adversity and life’s many challenges with grace and strength. The pandemic and systemic racism are opportunities to build resilience and come out of this period stronger and more united as a human race than ever before. And what better person to bring you this episode than Beverly Smith-Brown, one of our reporters in training and a member of the Speaker’s Bureau of Community Family Life Services? Beverly has overcome a lot of personal trauma, including growing up with family members that were addicted to crack cocaine and spending time in prison herself. She is the founder of Momma’s Safe Heaven, a local nonprofit organization that helps individuals heal from trauma through counseling, referrals and mentoring services for youth in under-served communities. Beverly, who is a mother to four children and a grandmother to five grandchildren, is a successful filmmaker and dabbles with the arts, which is why this episode is so fitting.
Art is often a vehicle for healing, self-expression and transformation. And resilience is the outcome of an inner journey. It is about finding strength within to confront challenges outside, including grief, abuse, and violence. People who have experienced and survived incarceration know about resilience.
In this episode, you will hear from Carole Alden, Wendy Jason, Aimee Wissman and Global Prison Ambassador Lamboginny.