Activist helps ex-cons break away from crime
David Josar / The Detroit News
Joseph Williams knew the cycle had to stop.
At 28, he was a life-long criminal and drug addict, riding a merry-go-round of jail sentences that were wearing him down. "At the time, most people I knew were either career criminals or addicts. Something had to change," said Williams, now 54, who had once served a one-year prison sentence for robbery.
And change it did. Williams broke his cycle when he met several reformed addicts and ex-cons who had been clean since re-investing in religion and Jesus.
Williams ended up going to college and in 1992 established a group that is now known as New Creations Community Outreach, a nonprofit that helps men and women make the move from incarceration to reconnecting with families and getting jobs again.
"When they get out, they're networking with the same people they had problems with before. We try to change that," said Williams, who ran away from his Detroit home when he was 15 because of an abusive father and then lived on the streets. "We provide them an alternative social, spiritual network."
Williams is trying to use the same scenario of successful role models that transformed his life to inspire others.
"I had wanted to change my life but I was unsuccessful until I was with other guys who had made the transition. And they were Christians and they attributed the success to their faith," he said.
Williams had been a regular churchgoer until running away from home as a teen. He has since reconnected with a church. "They gave me the faith that I could really change, and they gave me the example. Until then, I thought 'once an addict, always an addict.'
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After being released from prison, Williams graduated in 1988 from the now-closed William Tyndale College in Farmington Hills with a bachelor's degree in religious education and a double major in urban studies and the Bible. He received a master's degree in applied sociology from Wayne State in 1994.
Williams began his quest by simply going to local jails and meeting with prisoners. He later worked with teenagers who had been abused.
New Creations networks with 85 churches of various denominations in Metro Detroit to find volunteers and provide services. For the men and women leaving prison or jail, they help them find jobs, fine-tune employment skills and assist with housing.
"Whatever they might need, we help them with," he said.
Julius Carson, who served a state prison sentence for drugs and other charges, said New Creations turned his life around. "(The program) gave me the opportunity to be regenerated, not rehabilitated."
Most of the funding comes from the state Department of Corrections, Williams said, but the program also relies upon an annual benefit dinner, which will be held May 3.
For the past three years, the nonprofit has been running a support group for children with an incarcerated parent. The program is funded with a grant from the Detroit Youth Foundation.
"These children are at a higher risk for negative outcomes of going to prison themselves," he said.
The 12-week support program pairs up children, ages 10 to 13, with mentors, and in weekly sessions helps them discover their personal strengths and build self-esteem.
"I want people to have the opportunity to have what I had," Williams said.
For more information about the programs call (313) 875-3883.
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