Battered Justice: Brenda Clubine advocates for women imprisoned for killing abusive husbands

From her living room in a sunny, safe and quiet neighborhood surrounded by scenic desert landscapes and views of the Sandia Mountains, Brenda Clubine spends most of her days on ZOOM or her cellphone connecting with and advocating for women unjustly locked away in prison for defending themselves against their abusers. 

For 26 years behind bars, and now free, Brenda has been the advocate and voice and ears of women who ended up in prison for life and many without the hope of parole because they weren’t allowed to bring into court evidence of their abuse. Brenda was sentenced to 16 years-to-life was, but  released in 2008 when her sentence was reduced to involuntary manslaughter and she was given credit for her time served. She has been instrumental in recent California laws that allow these women to present that evidence and potentially be released from prison.

Following her own release from the California Institution for Women in Chino, CA in 2008, Brenda spent several years returning to the prison to attend the support group she started while behind bars more than two decades ago. Convicted Women Against Abuse, (CWAA), helps victims of domestic abuse like herself. She also runs Every 9 Seconds, a non-profit devoted to the prevention of domestic violence and is one of the key champions for Five Keys’ Home Free, a transitional housing program for newly-released convicted abuse survivors housed on Treasure Island, San Francisco.

“These are women who have endured unspeakable violence and painfully and unjustly ended up in prison because they weren’t allowed to bring in evidence of their abuse,” said Five Keys co-founder Sunny Schwartz.

Their ranks are on the rise.

Homicides by intimate partners are increasing, driven primarily by gun violence after almost four decades of decline, according to a recent study looking at gender and homicide. 

The number of victims rose to 2,237 in 2017, a 19 percent increase from the 1,875 killed in 2014, said James Alan Fox, a criminologist and professor of criminal justice at Northeastern University and an author of the research. The majority of the victims in 2017 were women, a total of 1,527.

In California alone there are 5,900 women in state prisons. Many internal survivors have disclosed that 90% of women incarcerated are survivors of child and/or adult abuse.
A not-yet-published preliminary study suggests that 75% of women who are serving a life sentence is directly related to intimate partner violence.

Brenda, almost 60, knows firsthand that a little bit of compassion and structured support — and lots of zealous advocating — can go a very long way. She also knows the struggle of getting back on her feet after years in prison. 

Facing life in prison without parole

Brenda spent 26 years in prison for killing her husband. For years, Brenda endured broken bones, skull fractures, and nights in hospitals. Her husband, a cop, had 11 restraining orders against him. But, after enduring never-ending beatings and emergency room visits, she says, it finally ended in a locked motel room where he told her to give him her wedding ring so that authorities wouldn’t be able to identify her body after he beat her to death. While he came after her, Brenda hit him on the head with a wine bottle where he died of his injuries as unbeknownst to anyone, he had an unusual thin skull, but nonetheless she was sentenced to 16 years to life, because volumes of evidence of his abuse were not allowed into evidence. 

She knows the pain hundreds of women across the country still behind bars continue to endure as they hope that one day, too, they will get a fair day in court and be released to find a new lease on life at a place like Home Free.  

“I will never forget,” she says. "I knew that because of what I went through, if I could save one person from going through what I went through it was worth it," she said.

Championing for change

Brenda, who today lives on a street ironically called Playful Meadows Drive in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, is passionate about supporting and lobbying for the release of women who have survived horrific abuse from their husbands and the court system that silenced their voices. With a no-nonsense demeanor, and despite chronic health challenges including a debilitating case of MS, Brenda advocates tirelessly.

She strongly believes the heartbreaking, complicated, tragic stories like hers and theirs need to be heard during parole hearings. States need to give women a fair chance to convey their innermost thoughts and feelings about the events that altered the course of their lives. 

Brenda’s plight, along with the stories of other women in her CWAA support group, are featured in a documentary about incarcerated battered women called Sin by Silence. 

The film's director/producer, Olivia Klaus, sent a copy of the documentary to California Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, chairwoman of the Select Committee on Domestic Violence. After seeing the film, Ma wrote legislation she called the Sin-by-Sin Silence Bills.  One of the statutes allowed incarcerated victims of domestic violence to refile for a writ of habeas corpus.

Clubine's devotion to helping victims of domestic abuse is unwavering. After years of advocacy and exhaustive lobbying, she works with the leadership of Five Keys Home Free to free women from “death by prison” and create a place for them to call home when and if they are released and experiencing freedom for the first time in decades.   

Currently, there are hundreds of these women awaiting the hope that their sentences will be commuted and slowly, some of them are getting out. 

“Helping build Home Free and getting women safely there is a passion of my heart,” says Brenda. “I try to offer support because there is a guilt no one understands and a heartache in taking the life of someone you loved so much but who did not love you in return. You grow up thinking you would have this perfect June Cleaver life and never imagined for a moment anything like this. I know my personal experience and knew there had to be something I could do. There has to be some way we can eventually break the cycle of domestic violence. I certainly will never stop trying. “

About Home Free

San Francisco’s nationally recognized restorative justice organization, Five Keys Schools and Programs, is leading Home Free, a new program that created a residential community in San Francisco and plans to open a second transitional housing site in Los Angeles offering access to life skills and survivor empowerment programs, as well as training and job placement, to criminalized survivors of domestic violence. The women of Home Free are formerly incarcerated domestic violence survivors who spent decades behind bars for simply defending their lives, or being at the scene of a crime under the coercion of their batterer. However, the unfair treatment continues as too many of these women are placed in inappropriate halfway homes, most often residential drug treatment programs, where their unique struggles and untreated trauma continue to go unaddressed. 

www.fivekeyshomefree.org

Please support us at our Virtual Fundraiser on September 30, 2021.

https://www.fivekeyshomefree.org/new-home-for-dinner

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement

It’s both traumatic and tragic that the number of deaths of black and brown people at the hands of the police continues to climb with what we could mark as almost daily anniversaries. It is just one month shy of a year since George Floyd was killed by police, 13 months since Breonna Taylor’s death at the hands of police, and mere days since Daunte Wright was killed. Even after the spark of anti-racism movements and protests, the list of names is prolific. We have heard about the deaths of Rayshard Brooks, Daniel Prude, Atatiana Jefferson, Tony McDade, Stephon Clark, Philando Castile, Alton Sterling, Tansiha Fonville, Freddie Gray, Eric Garner, and countless others.

We grieve, for their loss and all others who have been wounded or killed by police, including Dijon Kizzee, shot by LASD and Mario Woods, shot by SFSD; who both received their diploma as part of Five Keys class of 2015. We recognize and support the communities who show strength and courage in the struggle to reform and reimagine our criminal legal system (Impact Justice) and the very meaning of public safety; we also acknowledge our relationships with the systems we critique.

As we watched the Derek Chauvin guilty verdict being read yesterday for the murder of George Floyd, Minnesota Attorney General-elect, Keith Ellison verbalized a profound truth, the outcome is “not justice, but accountability.” So, the verdict stands for more than just the holding of one jury, but the urgent desire and push to see even the smallest degree of continued accountability for the police taking lives, where historically violence perpetrated at their hands has been exercised with complete impunity.

Before we could even get this email distributed, we were notified of the killing of yet another child at the hands of the police. Weeks ago, we saw the news of Adam Toledo, and just yesterday, we were notified of the killing of 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant who was killed by the police in Columbus, OH mere minutes before Chauvin’s guilty verdict was read. While I don’t have all the details there is absolutely no justification. While writing this response, CNN just announced that another unarmed black man, Andrew Brown, Jr. who was shot 4 times and killed by police this morning in Ohio.

The Five Keys DEIB Council has shared our feedback on the verdict which is being incorporated into this email. We must respect our individuality as each of us takes in what happened yesterday and more importantly what we have experienced over the last year in the midst of a pandemic. Ma’Khia Bryant and Andrew Brown, Jr’s deaths have already launched protests and outrage in communities across America. In that vein, our Council thought it useful to share our perspective and resources that we hope will be helpful in your work.

As we embark on another day of senseless murders against BIPOC communities, I want us to fuel ourselves with the importance of supporting our students and clients on being safe, being aware, and being advocates for their own civil rights, while also identifying ways to stay safe. The goal of education is to prepare students for the world they navigate each day. In reaching this charge, we must equip them with strategies that will successfully impart knowledge about race and justice while providing them a safe space to process the everyday injustices we face.

Feedback from your DEIB Council

Our call to action is next in our fight for social justice. An article posted online stated, “America occasionally extends justice to black people who are victims of police brutality because extending that justice in a few instances keeps intact the racially oppressive nature of the system” (The Undefeated).

Five Keys has been founded on principles of restorative justice. This verdict, though providing some much-needed accountability, cannot take the place of all the restorative work that must be done to heal our communities and all of the families that have been and continue to be harmed by racial injustice. We are grateful for some accountability and believe it is the foundation of repair and change. We are also deeply saddened thinking about all of the Black families who have lost loved ones at the hands of police, where no accountability has been served. May we both celebrate accountability, stay committed to our fight for true justice, and honor those whose killers were not held accountable.

This article explains that change derives from a commitment to accountability. Simply put, accountability is essential for change to occur so we must strive for it consistently. Another good resource on the topic of a culture of accountability and change is: Inclusion, Diversity, The New Workplace, and The Will to Change by Jennifer Brown. Without this commitment to accountability, organizations and systems will continue to suffer making change extremely difficult and prolonged.

Here are some additional resources shared by the Council that you can use with your students and your teams. This website is a valuable tool and also includes resources for our AAPI community experiencing racial hate.

As you may already see, the road ahead is long and winding. We have so much to do as a society but yesterday, someone was held accountable for his actions and that is a step forward. Still, the nation is in need of healing and so while we can take this moment as respite, still the fight goes on until police are truly here to protect and serve ALL.

We must continue to work as a public institution to exercise our power to change society for the better, to transform the institutions we frequent that sometimes promote systemic racism and to advance the values of justice and peace. You have all chosen to be members of the Five Keys community and have embraced this work and we are so grateful.

It is our hope that everyone in our community asks themselves, “Where is my influence in creating a more just society?” We cannot be bystanders on such crucial issues of racial justice and live up to our mission to ensure the transformation in society as leaders, staff, students, clients and partners.   It must be a collective approach. 

In Solidarity, 

DEIB Council 

Leading Lives Forward

“I will hold your hand the first time for new appointments. When you start to walk on your own, I will be right behind you and when you become like a rebel teen, I’m here if you ever need me.”

— Gilda Serrano, Home Free program services coordinator.

For Rosemary “Rosie” Dyer, it is the simple things. The sunsets. The smell of the ocean and hearing the waves. And she enthuses, “shopping.”

Last spring, Dyer, 67, was released from prison after serving 34 years of a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the fatal shooting of her abusive husband. Her sentence was commuted by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Thanks to San Francisco’s nationally recognized restorative justice organization, Five Keys Schools and Programs, she moved into new home on Treasure Island — Five Keys Home Free.  “I finally had a home,” she says.

 When she got out, she had a lot to catch up on — like, the digital age.

That is where Gilda Serrano stepped in. As the Program Services Coordinator for Home Free, Serrano facilitates programs for the five women who live at the Home Free transitional apartments, encouraging them on the journey from decades in prison to a new path into the 21st Century. Like Dyer, the other Home Free women were unjustly serving anywhere between 15 to 40 years in prison for either defending themselves against their abuser or were at the scene of the crime under the coercion of their abusive spouse or boyfriend. As part of the Home Free team, Serrano ensures that yoga classes, healthy eating habits and treks to Muir Woods and the beach play an important role in the physical, emotional, and spiritual rebirth for Home Free women.

Gilda provides technological resources so the Home Free women can catch up with current knowledge. Serrano spends much of her time supporting women as they navigate the system — registering for address changes, applying for social security cards, birth certificates and other needed entitlements. She also focuses on finding permanent housing, creating realistic budgets and provides support to apply for jobs online. In many cases, that means escorting women to government offices, health clinic/doctors’ appointments and ensuring needed support.

“We take for granted that everyone has these documents,” says Serrano, a single mother of three grown children and three grandchildren who was born in El Salvador, Centro America and came to the United States when she was 16 years old. Her first challenge: She got a job cleaning houses and learned to speak English so she too, could support herself. “But try finding a job when you have been in prison and are in your sixties, and are expected to upload it on an employment web site. One of the first questions the women ask me is ‘what can I do?’ One of my biggest roles is listening.”

For Serrano it is a mission. A survivor and “thrives” she is passionate that Dyer and other women at Home Free are treated with safety and respect and with great dignity.

“I joke that I have a PhD in domestic violence, meaning I can relate very personally to what they are going through,” she says. “One thing I can also relate to is what it is like not having much, then suddenly you can have things. One of our challenges here is helping women understand not to buy everything they see and stocking up on everything they like. I try to help them understand that they are free now and things are not going to go away. It is important to understand the relationship of wants and needs.”

Teaching the lesson of independence is at the core of everything Serrano does.

“I’m a strong believer that these women need to learn to do these things themselves,” she says. “I tell them, ‘I will hold your hand the first time for new appointments. When you start to walk on your own, I will be right behind you and when you become like a rebel teen, I’m here if you ever need me.”

Serrano also has tremendous respect for Dyer and other survivors. “People have weird misconceptions about what people who are leaving prison are like. But I respect them so much. Even though they were told they never would be able to be free again, they still educated themselves and kept jobs and cared for each other.”

When she’s not working long days at Home Free, Serrano runs her own foundation, the Ribbon Dream Project, which closely parallels the work of Home Free. Its mission is to offer dignity, empowerment, and hope for victims of domestic violence so they can lead healthy lives for themselves and their children. The organization provides dignity bags with basic personal necessities, community resources, and a handwritten card with a quote to bring hope to a survivor of domestic violence. These dignity bags are given to first time incarcerated survivors due to domestic violence upon release from the San Francisco county jail.

“Often when police are called to a home for domestic violence, the women are scared to speak out when the police come because their abuser is right there … so they are then the ones arrested because they’ve done something else to defend themselves,” she says. “I know desperate, scared and lonely. So when they are released, we give them a folder with community resources and other things like toiletries and a handwritten note to say we care.”

Helping others is an avocation for Serrano who joined Five Keys five years ago as a data entry specialist and became a restorative justice community services coordinator. Prior to that, she was a crisis manager for a couple of San Francisco organizations.

“I understand what it is like and I know I could have never survived if others didn’t help me,” she says. “Now, it is my passion to help them.”

“Never give up on people,” is the mantra that inspires Five Keys’ custody case manager

On a recent Wednesday afternoon, Nelly Vasquez was volunteering to help undocumented families register so they could participate in a grocery distribution program at The Mission Food Hub, a Latino task force resource hub, in San Francisco. For people with extenuating circumstances who are unable to make it to the hub, like seniors, people in recovery from COVID-19, disabled and others who are sick or have health challenges, the food pantry offers limited delivery services.

But on this day, while helping to register an elderly gentleman who was in line for a box of nutritious and comforting staples like oatmeal, beans, milk, fresh produce and frozen chicken or protein cuts, she observed that the man seemed especially confused and his arms and legs were jerking. But with a mask and sunglasses covering his eyes, it took Vasquez a second or two to realize what was unfolding.  

“Are you okay?,” she asked, her first instinct thinking he was having a stroke. When he fell to the floor, Vasquez jumped into action, pushing him on his side and calling 911. She stayed at the man’s side until the paramedics arrived, assuring him it would all be okay.

“At first I thought he was upset because he had told me he wasn’t working and was undocumented and was afraid to register,” she says. “Then I realized he was having a seizure. When the paramedics arrived, he refused service because he was afraid because he is undocumented,” says Vasquez, 36, who was volunteering at the food distribution center on her day off from her full-time post as a TAY In Custody Case Manager/Facilitator. “He told me he had epilepsy but couldn’t afford to take his meds. He was incredibly grateful and thankful and kept saying he was so sorry.”

Though her colleagues at Five Keys are calling her efforts heroic, Vasquez says caring is all in her line of duty. The Mission Food Hub is an organization whose mission is closely aligned with Five Keys and the shared mission to care for the vulnerable in the greatest need.

“Nelly was there to support him to make sure he was OK until the paramedics showed up,” says Joanna Hernandez, Alameda County Director of Re-entry, Northern California. “The Latino Task Force Executive Team wanted me to send an email thanking her for her help, support, and patience during an incredibly stressful time. Thank you Nelly!”

For Vasquez, a mother of a five-year-old, supporting 18-to-24-year-olds who are enrolled in case management and resilience programming who are in custody in jail is work she says she feels very passionately about. For the last four years, she has been a TAY In Custody Manager/Facilitator for Five Keys, working at the San Francisco County Jail in the downtown area, and most recently at the San Francisco County Jail #3 in San Bruno, which houses up to 768 people and is the largest facility under the jurisdiction of the City and County of San Francisco’s Sheriff’s Department.

Growing up in San Francisco, she says she stumbled off her path for a while as a teen, got into trouble, and owes her second chance to those who reached out to help her.

Now, she’s committed to other young adult offenders offering care, and not punishment, emphasizing emotional support and helping them to address the issues that will prevent them from a cycle of committing more crimes and instead of helping them become citizens making a difference.

These days, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, she says it is a little more challenging to meet with the young adults she wants to help. Most of her clients are young men who have been involved in gang activity and their offenses range from drug use and theft to assault and murder.

Through a window in the lobby of the jail, (she used to be able to work with the young people in person in their units), Vasquez works with a caseload of 25 to 30 people, checking in on them, asking how they are doing, when they are going to court, and advocating for them through the process.

“It’s hard because our jails are filled with Black and Latino men who sometimes just made terrible mistakes,” she says. “I hope to be part of a system that gives them a second chance, rehabilitates them so that they can turn their lives around.”

The lesson she is learned in her role: “Never give up on people. Everyone just wants to be treated like a human being and they deserve to be given a chance to start over.”

What is most rewarding for her are the people she has worked with who she bumps into on the streets of San Francisco.

“I encounter a ton of people in my job, and it is super rewarding to be walking through the city and have someone stop me to say ‘thank you,’ that I made a difference in their life,” says Vasquez.

Letter from Steve Good - Winter 2020

Hello Everyone:

This year has proven to be as unpredictable and challenging as years come. The COVID-19 crisis has affected all nonprofits and has presented unique challenges and opportunities for Five Keys. As we move forward, we will continue to be affected by the ramifications of the pandemic and health and safety precautions in the weeks and months ahead.

But the good news is that there is healing on the horizon.   

The promise of multiple vaccines, our renewed faith in a democracy, and hopefully a successful, peaceful transition of our nation’s leadership have great potential to take us forward with a bold, progressive vision that inspires change that will address the needs of all people — left, right and center — struggling to survive and thrive during these challenging times.  

At the same time, we must remember that no matter what side you were on during the election, this is not the time for Americans to live in a house divided. Our work is not done and to move forward, we must heal those divides and hold close our loved ones, friends, and colleagues through these trying times so we can bring our dreams of a brighter future into being. 

I continue to be overwhelmingly grateful for the hard work, perseverance and nimbleness of our Five Keys staff and the communities we serve. We have stayed committed to our mission of improving and leading forward the lives of those hardest impacted by the critical issues of health, justice, employment, and housing. Through our work to prevent and end homelessness, to educate the incarcerated and at-risk community members, and build a workforce, we seek to address the systemic issues of racial inequality that we all see around us and hopefully inspire change across the nation.

As we pause, reflect and recharge following the 2020 election results, several valuable lessons emerge: a silver lining is that we now have new insights on how to improve our systems and public health. When we return from the lockdown, we will have a more informed framework to create realistic plans for serving our community in the most at-risk, high-poverty and crime-ridden neighborhoods of the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas. 

As we move forward, we will continue to invest in the humanity of people on the margins so that they can be self-determined to change their lives. I’m excited about some of our new programs which will add to our efforts to create a footprint of change. They include the Migrant Education farm program in Riverside County, the Weber Welding program, and the likelihood of new school programs in San Luis Obispo and Sacramento. 

I am especially proud of our Home Free program which is our small token to try to repair the damage done to women who were incarcerated for 20, 30, and 40 years for crimes that aren’t even crimes, defending themselves against brutal violence. We hope through the next 10, 20, and 30 years we can offer them a beautiful place to live where we can start to repair the damage done to them and restore their dignity. We are grateful for all the people who volunteered weekend after weekend to help create this beautiful HOME including the Academy of Art University, CityBuild, G7A Architects, Gelfand Architects, McGuire and Hester, Mithun, Rebuilding Together/SHE BUILD, the San Francisco Office of Economic Workforce and Development (OEWD), Swinerton construction, author and motivational guru Tony Robbins, Alex Tourk/Ground Floor Public Affairs and so many more (see complete list).

I am very grateful for all of you who help us serve people in 25 jails, seven homeless centers, and provide employment for more than 350 ex-offenders who are our returning citizens. Know that the work you are doing is having a tremendous impact on the lives of many, many people, bringing them to hope in these challenging times.

Gratefully,

Steve Good

President & CEO

Teaching High School Classes In Maximum Security: “Gives Me Hope for the Future”

For “Miss B,” a San Jose single mother of two young adults, teaching English literature and other subjects to about 70 men in a maximum-security California jail remains the single most moving and humbling experience in her more than 21 years in education. 

“It’s so rewarding to witness students reading their own prose or smiling when they master an algebra equation, how proud they are of themselves,” says the 44-year-old former middle school language arts teacher. She adds that teaching at the jail in some ways is more rewarding than teaching in public schools.   

“Sure, there are some resistant students, but most are curious and excited to show up in class,” says Miss B. 

During the last two years, she has taught general high school courses and led a drug and alcohol program at the Santa Clara County Jail in San Jose where she says she’s learned a most important life lesson — “You are not your crime and your past does not define you.” 

“Many of the students have been convicted of violent crimes, but they still have a soul,” says Miss B. “They are still funny, smart people who have potential. I get the honor of being able to enter their home daily and form an open, respectful relationship with them. Meaning, the students are in classes to learn from me and show me respect, just as I show them respect. I also learn from them about their life experiences and have come to view things with a more empathetic lens.  I’m here to educate my students  as best I can during the time they are with me.”

In addition to teaching the core curriculum, Miss B. brings her life experience and own recovery to the jail, sharing her own story and helping inmates turn their narrative around. Miss B. knows that paying it forward also helps in her recovery as well.

As part of Five Keys Schools & Programs’ novel initiative to teach inmates at a higher level, she is passionate about the mission to turn lives around, forge opportunities and ultimately reduce recidivism and the financial and social costs to society. 

During “normal” times, there are challenges working inside a jail,— from lack of classroom space to technological limitations — but the COVID-19 pandemic has magnified the obstacles. In order to keep on teaching these men and helping them to earn their diploma, and the possibility of a life that does not involve going back to being incarcerated, these days she drops off her lessons at the jail.  Jail staff deliver the curriculum to the inmates to complete, and then the completed work to Miss B. to review.

Miss B. jests:  “Some people asked me if I was hesitant to teach people who have murdered people. My response is that teaching middle school students, and how tough that can sometimes be, prepared me for this, and offenders are still deserving of an education.”

She says she was drawn to the opportunity to teach incarcerated students a couple of years ago when she stumbled on Five Keys during some Google research and discovered a news story clip featuring the organization.  She says she was immediately intrigued and was drawn to the mission.

“I have gained such an understanding of the odds some people face and the fact that we are all responsible for doing something to help.”

In addition to her teaching, Miss B. is also interested in training for and working with Five Keys’ restorative justice program, helping with counseling for and exploring how the programs can be brought to life at Five Keys navigation centers to help with the homeless population.

Up from the Ashes: After devastating Woolsey Fire, Five Keys Crew is bringing Malibu’s beaches and national parklands back to life

In an effort that should inspire anyone seeking a second chance to turn his or her life around, 39-year-old Oscar Abrons III spends his days leading a crew of men who are rebuilding the breathtaking canyon trails and prized beaches of Malibu following the largest wildfire in Malibu’s history, which consumed nearly 97,000 acres in both Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

As manager of the Woolsey Park Project for Five Keys Schools and Programs, Abrons leads two crews who have been working almost daily to restore the hiking trails, access roads and campsites that were ravaged during the 2018 Woolsey Fire, leaving the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, the largest urban park in the country, looking like a war zone.

During these uncertain times, his hard work and that of his team are a reason for hope, an inspiration that communities can band together to pull themselves and each other out of despair and build
new life.

For Abrons, who grew up about an hour away from the hills of Malibu in San Pedro, CA, laboring with his crew to transform the devastation into new life speaks volumes about his own and the community of support and second chances he found at Five Keys, following his own journey in and out of jail from ages 23 to 34.

“We have a great sense of pride knowing that we’ve faced some bad times in our lives, but that we can work hard together to create a better way,” says Abrons about the eight men he works with on the two crews he oversees, all of whom at one point in their lives have been incarcerated. “Five Keys changed my life dramatically with all the support they gave me.”

It was about five years ago when Abrons said he was taking a painting class behind bars and met Dave Bates, director of transitional employment and re-entry for Five Keys. 

“Coming out of jail and prison, I must have gone on 10 to 15 job interviews that were going nowhere,” says Abrons. “No one wanted someone who has been in jail and prison. But the support I found through Dave and everyone at Five Keys, it turned me around and showed me I can do something positive with my life.”

His first job: A crew member for Five Key’s Cal Fire Crew. Recently, he was promoted as manager of the crews. Prior to COVID-19, he oversaw two crews of eight members each. They were cut in half during the pandemic.

“Oscar aka (OB) , has been a tremendous addition to our Transitional re-entry team,” says Bates.  “His attention to detail, punctuality and people skills has elevated him above the rest of his crew.  I am confident knowing that when a task is given to him or research that is required, I can rest assured that it will be handled.  I have had the pleasure to watch OB grow from unemployment to a line staff and into a leadership role. “

Now Abrons says his favorite part of the work is mentoring other crew members.

“All of us have been in transition from incarceration, some of the crew are ex-lifers,” says Abrons. “I like to help them know that they are not alone. Help is out there. None of us can do it alone. Everybody needs help and that is what our work together is. I tell them I want to see all of them succeed. I want to see all of them shine.”

In the meantime, when there are now red flag warnings of other fires in the Los Angeles area, Abrons and his crew head to the trails, beaches and dunes to clear the ashes and prove that everyone can recover, no matter what fires have ravaged their lives and tried to blacken and destroy the beauty. For Abrons and his crew, that means returning to the charred hiss, removing the debris, and planting the seeds of new life.

Above and Beyond the Call of Duty: Officers lauded as heroes for coming to the rescue of a 68-year-old formerly incarcerated abuse survivor tasting freedom for the first time in three decades

Recently released after spending 34 years in prison on a wrongful lifetime sentence, Rosie Dyer powered up her new electric wheelchair and set off through the streets of San Francisco to meet friends in Union Square and celebrate her new freedom. That Sunday afternoon, after tooling around the city she remembered fondly from her childhood, the brand-new wheelchair broke down, leaving the 68-year-old stranded. She was just one block from the transition home on Bush Street where she has found safe shelter since Gov. Gavin Newsom granted the freedom she had only dreamed about. 

“I was terrified,” says Dyer, 68, who is a cancer survivor and suffers from congestive heart failure. “I didn’t know what I was going to do.” 

That’s when Dyer, who is just learning to navigate daily life much less modern technology, remembered her cell phone and dialed one of her advocates she had just celebrated with. She’d promised to be there as quickly as possible to push Dyer home. But Dyer warned her: “That’s not going to work. This thing weighs more than 200 pounds so there is no way you can push me up this hill.” 

Fast-forward … while the advocate, Sheila Von Driska was sprinting back across the city, she saw a couple of police officers, explained the complicated situation, and asked them for help. Underscoring their motto to protect and serve, the officers sprang into action to help Dyer. Sergeant James O’Malley and Officer Chris Quiocho from the Northern Station were the first to arrive. But they also quickly realized the steep hill and heavy wheelchair called for a backup team. Officers Simon Hoang and Anthony Quimbo from the Tenderloin Station raced to their aid.

During these times when police officers are rarely told they are valued, Dyer and her advocates, along with city leadership, did not want their compassionate response to care to go unnoticed. 

After hearing of the good deed by the lawmen, Damali Taylor, Vice President of the Police Commission for the City and County of San Francisco Police Department, gave the officers a shoutout at a recent commissioner’s meeting to ensure their exemplary actions did not go unnoticed. 

“This woman is incredible, in a wheelchair and using it for first time, after experiencing so much time in prison, she just wanted to spend some time to see the city,” says Taylor. “It’s an incredible story and shows how we do not do enough to thank the heroes who serve us every day. I want to thank them and shout them out. I want to take my time to thank those officers who helped this woman who has experienced incredible horrible things. They dropped everything they were doing to make her feel special. Thank you.” 

At the commission hearing, Taylor read a letter written by Von Driska thanking the police officers:

“I’m so happy to hear these officers will be commended. Rosie has been through enough in her life — it was poetic. But, I understand these amazing peace officers are also going through quite a bit of injustice, too, due to the ripple effect of what happened in Minneapolis. O’Malley and Quiocho were telling me about the horrible experiences and name-calling they have been enduring because of it … based on the color of the uniforms they wear … not at all who they are, as people, evidenced by yesterday.

“Well, for whatever it is worth … they are my heroes. They stepped up in the absolute most kindest way possible to help me and Rosie with the most unusual request … a broken down brand new electric wheelchair on Jones Street for a woman who had spent 34 years in prison (unjustly) and on one of the very first days she ventured out on her own with her new “wheels” to celebrate six months of freedom with me and you for lunch in Union Square … one block from home … she got stuck. And of all the people in the world … San Francisco’s finest responded with such grace and gentle care. What an escort home!

“Last week Rosie said she was looking forward to an adventure. And what an adventure it was … with superheroes in blue coming to the rescue and the happiest day and ending possible. Thank you to our heroes.”

Using her voice for change

Dyer was one of about 100 abused women serving life or life without parole for killing their abusive husbands or partners.

In 1985, Dyer shot her husband with the same gun he had used to threaten and rape her. When she testified about the abuse, prosecutors used her words as evidence that she had a motive for the killing. After decades, and new laws, Gov. Gavin Newsom commuted Dyer’s sentence. She was released in April.

In addition to binge-watching her favorite book series, Outlander, now available to her on Netflix
(she read the series seven times during her imprisonment), Dyer has been opening up about her experience and about domestic violence to lawmakers, college students and others on ZOOM meetings dedicated to helping others gain a greater understanding of the intricacies of domestic violence. She also meets regularly and pens letters and emails to dozens of victims looking for help and survivors trying to do as she is, navigate their new worlds of freedom. 

In November, Dyer will be among the 12 women who will move into one of a set of two-bedroom apartments on Treasure Island, thanks to a new transitional housing program started by the Five Keys Home Free program dedicated to helping survivors of wrongful convictions transition back in the San Francisco and Los Angeles communities.  

“Rosie is one of the women who has endured unspeakable violence and painfully and unjustly ended up in prison because they were not able to introduce the evidence of the horrific abuse they suffered at the hands of their husbands or partners,” said Sunny Schwartz, founder and board member of Five Keys and Home Free. “We are trying to right a terrible wrong committed against these women.” Schwartz was with Von Driska and Dyer at the Little Skillet Fried Chicken lunch celebration just before the wheelchair breakdown. 

Like Dyer, these are women who killed their abusive partners decades ago and ended up with prison terms for life. That changed in 2012 when a new California law allowed the women to go back to the parole board or court and show evidence they were defending themselves from abuse. 

As a result, women like Dyer are receiving commuted sentences or early parole. Many need a place to call home.

“This is righting a terrible wrong that was committed against these women,” Schwartz said.

Besides rent-free housing, subsidized in part by the City of San Francisco, Five Keys partners with other agencies to help the newly freed women navigate daily life, from using a cell phone to finding
a job.

“God has blessed me, bringing heroes like this into my life,” says Dyer. “Now it is my turn to help others understand the horrors of domestic violence and to reach back to help women who are experiencing it and tell them they can get out. They don’t deserve to live like that.” 

About Five Keys Schools and Programs 

Five Keys Schools and Programs is leading Five Keys Home Free, a program seeking to create residential communities in San Francisco and Los Angeles providing life skills and survivor empowerment programs, as well as training and job placement for convicted survivors of domestic violence whose prison sentences have been commuted. Learn more: https://www.fivekeyshomefree.org/

Lifting Voices Toward Hope: Five Keys Schools and Programs helps inspire hundreds of jail inmates and homeless to register and to vote

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Oct.14, 2020: Dozens of newly registered voters in Alameda County and San Francisco will be able to cast their ballots in the upcoming presidential election, and many of them likely did not know they could.

Through a new “make your voice heard”- themed initiative, the leaders of Five Keys Schools and Programs are placing a high priority on making sure that the approximately 300 incarcerated students they teach in the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, CA and the approximately 1,035 unsheltered guests who are living in the seven navigation centers and hotel sites they currently run in San Francisco and Oakland know their rights, including their right to vote. They’re helping them register and participate in the upcoming Nov. 3, election. They are also helping them drop off or mail ballots.

“It’s important for our students to know their voting rights,” says Lillian Santos-Stables, principal at the Santa Rita Jail high school education program, which is run by Five Keys Schools and Programs.  

The goal: to get the word out and enroll as many people as possible who are interested and excited to vote, adds Meg O’Neill, director of San Francisco Housing Services for Five Keys. The program is crucial, as many of the inmates and guests at the navigation and hotel shelters were not aware of their right to vote, how to access voting, where to vote and how the process works. 

Providing this information is key to removing barriers and empowering individuals to exercise their right to vote.

 “We want to make sure our guests are given agency, a voice and an opportunity to participate in this year's very important election,” O’Neill adds. “People of color, people who are poor and unhoused, people who are perceived as ‘less than,’ are often intentionally blocked from participating in the political process. Through this work, we can ensure that our guests feel welcomed and encouraged to share their voices in a political climate which threatens their rights, representation, and well-being. We hope Five Keys will lift the voices of our guests in a way that allows them to be a powerful force in the political landscape, both locally and nationally.”

At the Santa Rita Jail, Five Keys teamed up with the Alameda District Attorney’s Office to create an educational video for inmates that gives an overview of voting rights and the history of voting in the United States. Santos and teacher produced a video depicting their own “Why I Vote” stories. Principal Santos-Stables and a handful of teachers provided personal and emotional glimpses of how voting can give people a canvas for hope, unity, and justice. Their hope is to inspire inmates to keep striving for change through the power of their vote. Inmates also can meet via live video chats with teachers who can help answer their questions about history and voting.

With the Oct. 19, 2020 voter’s registration deadline looming, Five Keys leadership at the two navigation centers — Embarcadero SAFE Navigation Center and Bayshore Navigation — along with the six hotels and an eighth site, are also working to make the process of voting in the U.S. presidential election as easy and stress-free as possible for the hundreds of men and women who are currently unsheltered and have a California I.D., which makes them eligible to vote. At least one of the hotel sites worked closely with the Department of Elections to make the information accessible to guests. Many of the staff at the centers, who have transformed their own lives and have past criminal justice system involvement, were not aware until this educational campaign that they can vote on probation in California, and also were able to register.  

“We kicked off efforts at all of our individual sites to get all our guests registered,” says Patricia Richard, Director of the Navigation Centers. “We want our guests to know that everybody’s vote counts and to make sure we do everything we can to help them register and vote.” 

On a recent day, Raymond, who in June was released from prison when his sentence was struck down after serving 21 years of a life sentence and now is employed as an ambassador for Five Keys, was busily marching up and down the corridors of the Moscone Center posting posters proclaiming, “Your Vote Matters: Register Today and Vote on November 3rd,” and “It’s Your World. Shape it or Someone Else Will. Vote.” 

“I’m trying to do positive things to help others and save their lives,” says Raymond. 

At Santa Rita, inmates can view the video with the powerful emotional tales of Santos and the teaching staff on why it is so crucial for them to exercise their right to vote. 

“Whenever I vote, I’m honoring the legacy of my grandfather, who was one of 250,000 men from the Philippines who fought alongside Americans in World War II,” says Santos-Stables. “Because he did that, he could vote in the U.S. when he moved here. He helped pave the way for me to know I have a voice and it will be heard.”

“Not voting is not a protest, it is a surrender,” Miss F. says in the video.

Teacher Mr. Tim offered these words of wisdom: “If you have time to whine and complain about something then you have the time to do something about it.” He was quoting Anthony J. D'Angelo – American author, founder of Collegiate Empowerment and creator of The Inspiration Book Series. 

About Five Keys Schools & Programs

Dedicated to getting people’s lives back on track, Five Keys Schools and Programs and its more than 950 dedicated employees serve more than 25,000 individuals each year throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles and nine counties throughut the state of California. Five Keys was founded in 2003 by the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department as the first accredited charter high school in the nation to provide diploma programs for adults in county jails. Today, its efforts have grown exponentially. The organization interrupts the cycles of homelessness, substance abuse, violence, illiteracy and incarceration through our 80 community learning centers, transitional housing shelters, career centers, and community-based workforce networks by investing in their humanity so that they can be self-determined to change their lives. Five Keys also hires people directly into our transitional employment positions for formerly incarcerated individuals and people currently or formerly experiencing homelessness, while also employing over 300 formerly incarcerated individuals in full-time, benefited positions. www.fivekeys.org.

About the Santa Rita Jail

Located in Dublin, CA, the jail holds about 4,000 inmates housed in one of eighteen modern housing units. It is considered a "mega-jail" and ranks as the third largest facility in California and the fifth largest in the nation. Santa Rita is accredited by the American Correctional Association, thus making it the only facility in California holding this prestigious award. It is recognized as one of the most technologically innovative jails in the world. A robotic system speeds delivery of laundry supplies and food to all areas of the 113-acre campus. State-of-the-art criminal justice systems serve the internal operation, while the largest rooftop solar power system converts enough electricity to power nearly one-half of the facility's electrical needs during daylight hours. Sheriff Ahern's philosophy of cost-effective delivery of services is reflected in the private sector partnerships that support the jail's operation. A modem cook-chill food service operation produces 12,000 economical meals per day. On site medical and mental health services save money while reducing the patient load at county medical facilities. Throughout its history, the Santa Rita Jail Facility has served the criminal justice system and contributed to the safety of the citizens of the County of Alameda by providing a safe, secure, and humane environment for inmates and staff.

Getting Back on Course: “It’s about time” friends and family cheered during drive by high school graduation

During the time she was in and out of Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, CA for stolen property and drugs, Roshanda “Shanda” Howard would reflect on her teenage years in which she dropped out of high school in the 11th grade and fled her family to head for Michigan.

“I always wanted to make something out of my life, but some stupid decisions I made would always stop me,” says the Oakland, CA resident.

Fast-forward to this August, when Howard, 42, decked out in a cap and gown holding a bouquet of balloons, stood on her driveway with her four kids and her mother at her side, as a parade of teachers from Five Keys Schools and Programs drove cheering, honking their horns and playing the Pomp and Circumstance graduation walking march, to celebrate her major milestone: graduating from high school.

View Drive-By Graduation

“I had my mindset on this, this time,” says Howard, who just a week after her graduation was hired by a San Francisco private security firm to patrol building sites on the overnight shift. “It feels so good to finally finish. It’s been a long journey and I wanted to quit many times.”

Howard says she was especially motivated in 2018 when her daughter, Armani Nicole, now 20, graduated from high school. At the same time, one of her friends graduated from the Five Keys program. “What other motivation did I need,” she says.

“I’m so grateful to my teacher, Miss Michelle, because so many times I wanted to quit,” says Howard. “But she would call and say, ‘Are you coming in today?’ She always just kept telling me she knew I could do it.”

A single mom, recently out of jail and struggling to make a living, Howard says there were many times “I just thought, I can’t do this.”

Following her jail time, Howard regained custody of her four children through the Maximizing Opportunities for Mothers to Succeed (M.O.M.S.) program at the Santa Rita jail, whose mission is to promote family reunification and the healthy development of children by increasing the capacity of their mothers for self-sufficiency and parent-child bonding. After enrolling in Five Keys in 2018, she persevered through distance learning, taking rigorous courses including Algebra I.

For Howard and others who were formerly incarcerated, the Five Keys program cuts the recidivism rate by 30 percent, compared to statewide averages of 65 percent. Unfortunately, without programs like Five Keys, many people in jails rarely get the chance to make up for the educational opportunities from which they have been excluded — opportunities that impact their chances of reentry success.

Today, Howard proudly displays her diploma next to her daughters on a table in their front living room. She feels it sends a strong signal to her other three children, Desjon, 23, Ojeda, 16, and Kendall Reye, 5, to get their high school degree. In addition to the drive by graduation her family has thrown her two parties to celebrate this summer. And, especially meaningful to her was a phone call from her sister with whom she has been estranged from for a long time. “My sister called to say, ‘it’s about time.’ That meant a lot to me.” 

Now employed, Howard has her eye on continuing her education and becoming a probation officer for young people.

“Every time I walk in my living room and see my diploma, I look at it and ask myself what’s next,” she says. “But now I know I can accomplish what that will be. I have learned to stay calm and work hard and that I can succeed.”