‘My Brother’s Keeper’

By

Khalil Rashad-Alaji

Overcoming personal adversity takes courage and determination. When we succeed, it gives us immense satisfaction. Helping others to help themselves is, for me, even more satisfying. Our compassion is the measure of our humanity and it is, in fact, the evidence that we are ‘our brother’s keeper’.

AmeriCorps*VISTA's Multi-City Re-entry Initiative, provides its members with the opportunity to exercise their humanity everyday. I joined AmeriCorps because of its commitment to alleviating human suffering. As an ex-offender myself, I receive much personal satisfaction from this work.

In August of 2005, I was assigned to Cleveland UMADAOP’s Circle for Recovery Ohio, with LeAndra Capers, a fellow VISTA. We began to write the program design for ‘The MateMasie Ex-offender Re-entry Project.

Subsequently, Brandon Buckner, Shalay Murray, and Minister Kenneth Phillips also joined the team. Under the leadership of Executive Director, Jessica B. Horne, and VISTA Supervisors: Dr. Sheila Ferguson, Pastor Edward McGee, and Janice Chambers, we continue to build capacity for our host organization.

I was the principle program designer for the Faith-Based Family Reunification and Mentoring component. My background in graphic arts helped me to design the MateMasie Project logo. Ms Capers and I designed the Mate Masie Mother’s Association (MAMA), a support group for Grandparent caregivers.

Thanks to my AmeriCorps experience, I am now a more effective Re-entry Consultant. I plan to Promote my book 'Cycles of Change: Mentoring The Ex-offender' and conduct training workshops based on its contents. I am currently negotiating with the local cable company to produce a weekly news/talk program called, 'Interface' formatted around re-entry and family reunification issues.