{"id":8190,"date":"2022-07-11T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-11T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ci02a59a4a300027b6"},"modified":"2022-07-11T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-07-11T12:00:00","slug":"bitcoin-helps-former-prisoners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bitcoinmagazine.com\/culture\/bitcoin-helps-former-prisoners","title":{"rendered":"How Bitcoin Helps Survivors Of The Prison Industrial Complex"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ubaydah Baa\u2019ith is one of thousands of formerly incarcerated Americans<\/a> who found greater financial security thanks to bitcoin, since employment, banking and housing discrimination<\/a> against returning citizens is widespread across the United States. <\/p>\n

\u201cI come from generational incarceration. My grandmother and uncle did time, here I am years later with armed robbery,\u201d Baa\u2019ith said. \u201cI learned about bitcoin when I was in a halfway house in 2018.\u201d <\/p>\n

When Baa\u2019ith entered the halfway house, he met Clovia Lawrence, co-founder of Project Give Back To Community<\/a>, and immediately got involved with educational programs that focus on low-income communities of color. Some studies<\/a> estimate that more than half of African Americans have had a family member incarcerated at some point, which has a significant impact on housing access and food security. Former inmates are far less likely to receive loans<\/a> or job offers<\/a>, and the disparity is even greater among Black and Latino communities. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s common for people coming out [of prison] to face homelessness. Their family members may have died or not have a place for them,\u201d Baa\u2019ith said. \u201cThere can be no bitcoin without beds. First and foremost we need to get someone coming out of incarceration food and shelter. Now I\u2019m a project manager with Project Back To Community. We have 35 people at a time and have helped hundreds of people through seven reentry houses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Overall, Project Give Back To Community is a nonprofit focused on helping prisoners and returning citizens in Virginia become a positive force in their local communities, rather than feeling ostracized. As project manager, Baa\u2019ith deals with the nitty gritty operations that help bring those programs to life, tasks like scheduling meetings and leading group sessions. <\/p>\n

Next, they\u2019re exploring how to bring more educational programs inside prisons as well. However, that process is slow and bureaucratic. <\/p>\n

Although it\u2019s tricky to convince prison operators to allow civilians inside to teach convicted inmates about bitcoin, an asset which already has some reputational issues, Baa\u2019ith believes it\u2019s crucial to solving the nation\u2019s unsustainable incarceration problem. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe number one thing people get incarcerated for is money-related issues, like robberies, and habits that are learned from generational poverty issues. So we\u2019re using bitcoin to change the narrative,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

He added that giving both inmates and returning citizens something to look forward to, like saving bitcoin for generational wealth, can radically alter their perspectives for the better. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re talking about staying out of prison for life and holding on to your bitcoin,\u201d Lawrence said, agreeing with Baa\u2019ith. \u201cWe want you to sit back, redirect your skillset, and think about holistically using that skillset for the greater good. We call it Beta to Bitcoin, 101.\u201d <\/p>\n

Breaking A Cycle Of Poverty<\/h2>\n

Hundreds of thousands of Americans are released from prison every year, but more than 50% <\/a>of released prisoners are reincarcerated. Clearly, when it comes to recidivism, there are systemic issues at play. For just one example, more than 37%<\/a> of prisoners have been diagnosed with mental illness<\/a>, yet few of them receive any mental health treatment or services while behind bars. <\/p>\n

Alex Andrews, a formerly-incarcerated sex worker who is now the executive director of the nonprofit SWOP Behind Bars<\/a>, said that healthcare costs can further cripple inmates during incarceration. <\/p>\n

\u201cSome jails and prisons charge a daily fee, so your account can get wiped out quickly. They charge you for health insurance and medicines. You can actually end up in debt by the time you leave,\u201d Andrews said. \u201cPeople’s civil rights are taken away, so they can’t impact elections and vote for people who might do better by them. In some states they automatically restore your right to vote when you’re released, but that’s not the norm.\u201d <\/p>\n

Andrews lost her ability to vote in 1993, after she was incarcerated for prostitution, and was only able to regain her full voting rights in 2017. That was the same year she also learned about bitcoin. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe trend of denying sex workers banking access is still really bad,\u201d Andrews said, adding that this is part of the reason that her nonprofit accepts bitcoin donations. \u201cAround 300 people have donated with bitcoin so far, since we started accepting bitcoin in 2021.\u201d <\/p>\n

It\u2019s no wonder why so many incarcerated people are trapped in a cycle of poverty. Behind bars they can be forced to work for just $1.15 an hour<\/a>, even when laboring for private companies like Victoria\u2019s Secret<\/a>. Then, when they finally get out, most employers<\/a> avoid hiring staff with criminal records. This is often attributed to personal failures rather than systematic failures, despite evidence from Norwegian recidivism studies<\/a> that intentional programs to help prisoners reintegrate back into society can have a significant impact. <\/p>\n

A lack of banking access was one of the reasons the sex worker who goes by @btcsexworkers<\/a> is so bullish about bitcoin. It\u2019s been several years since she spent 48 days in a Los Angeles County jail because her ex-husband sold a joint, which she had given him, to an undercover cop. Yet she still has banking issues related to that incident. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy bank recently limited my transactions because I was assessed as \u2018high risk,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cBitcoin is helpful because they can\u2019t just go in and take your money. Sometimes they\u2019ll go into the inmate’s bank accounts and decide this money is mine and you can\u2019t do anything when you\u2019re in custody, because they charge you all these fines for basic necessities when you\u2019re in custody, like soap.\u201d <\/p>\n

Btcsexworkers added that it\u2019s even harder for sex workers who have been arrested to get jobs and banking services, compared to other prison populations. <\/p>\n

\u201cNo vanilla jobs want to work with you. Lots of the organizations that help ex-cons won\u2019t touch your case if you were a sex worker,\u201d she said. \u201cThe prison industrial complex is just a new form of slavery. In prison, versus jail, you can get a job but they\u2019ll pay you pennies and you don\u2019t have full control over even those earnings\u2026 Having a hardware wallet [on the outside] is such a good investment in yourself and your peace of mind. No one can take it away from you.\u201d<\/p>\n

From Bars To Bitcoin<\/h2>\n

Prisoners\u2019 rights is not a niche issue. It impacts more than two million people<\/a> in the United States alone. Organizations like Human Rights Watch<\/a> consider the treatment of many such prisoners to be an alarming humanitarian crisis. That\u2019s why Bitcoin educator Justin Rhedrick, author of \u201cFrom Bars To Bitcoin<\/a>,\u201d is currently talking to various local Department of Corrections facilities to see what can be done to help alleviate this humanitarian crisis. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy ultimate goal is to open a lid for people, so they can see there is hope for them when they come home from prison,\u201d Rhedrick said. \u201cI want to teach them about what money is and about bitcoin and create ways for them to be trained when they come out [in] skills related to bitcoin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rhedrick is one of the thousands<\/a> of returning citizens who used cryptocurrency to further social justice causes in the United States. After he was convicted of armed robbery, Rhedrick realized he needed to turn his life around. Before serving time, Rhedrick had already experienced homelessness with his mother and watched a friend get murdered. Violence and economic desperation were devils he knew too well. <\/p>\n

Then, when he got out in 2014, Rhedrick struggled to get decently-paid work. He cobbled together manual labor gigs, yet was barely able to make rent. <\/p>\n

\u201cI did a lot of reading and studying in prison. The only way to go up is to go through it,\u201d Rhedrick said. \u201cWhen I first got out I was living from month to month, so I couldn\u2019t afford a full bitcoin. But I knew getting bitcoin knowledge was going to be valuable.\u201d <\/p>\n

Luckily, bitcoin enabled him to be his own bank as he started a teaching and consulting business, then he eventually wrote and published his own memoir.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy main income today is my business, selling my courses and my book,\u201d Rhedrick said, adding that he\u2019s sold hundreds of books since he published the memoir in 2021. \u201cIf you have 600,000 people coming out of prison every year, they need to get employed or start their own businesses. If the world isn\u2019t going to hire you, bitcoin offers opportunities for you to work.\u201d <\/p>\n

All of these personal stories from returning citizens, from California to Texas, Florida and Virginia, highlight how bitcoin has become a useful tool for alleviating a nation-wide human rights crisis. <\/p>\n

\u201cI know a lot of people who have come home from prison who found bitcoin,\u201d Rhedrick said. \u201cI think the possibilities are endless.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is a guest post by Leigh Cuen. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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