We continue a series of conversations with #CROPOrganization's Ready for Life Associates. We want to welcome KC Matthews to our show today. He is a committed Associate in CROP's Virtual Training Program and we're honored to have him share his life journey and reentry experiences on The Prison Post. KC Matthews is a formerly incarcerated black trans man living in California. He is dedicated to abolishing the prison industrial complex through community building and remaining connected with those on the inside. It is important for him to bring his experience of advocacy to fight against the obstacles inflicted by the punitive criminal justice system.

KC Matthews is a Housing Navigator for TGIJP (Transgender variant intersex Justice Project) in San Francisco. He is a passionate criminal justice reform advocate. He is serious about advocating for equal opportunity rights for gender equality and housing for LGBTQ folks. He lives and works in San Francisco. His goal is to help justice involved LGBTQIA individuals struggling with housing.

Creating Restorative Opportunities and Programs' (CROP) Ready for Life Program provides: Three months of Leadership Development provided by CROP, Financial Literacy provided by Beneficial State Bank, and IC3 Digital Literacy training provided by LinkedIn Learning. CROP also provides three months of career training in Business to Business Sales in Tech. We have partnered with Code Tenderloin and Checkr, Inc. to provide this training and employment opportunities upon graduation. CROP Organization provides a $1,000 monthly stipend to our Associates as they go through our six month program.

In this episode, KC shares stories from his personal life growing up in the foster care system, the breakdown in that system, the choices that led to his incarceration, the challenges of being justice involved, and his experience of over two months in CROP Organization's program. He is truly a tremendous person. We encourage him to keep striving for his future worth having!

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