Chattanooga Endeavors

Chattanooga Endeavors If you'd like to get a close up look at how prisons are managed in Tennessee, we still have some space in our 2XChances Tour of Bledsoe Co Correctional Complex on April 5 at 9 AM EDT. More information is at...

Prison Tour | Chattanooga Endeavors Bledsoe Prison Tour Dispelling The Myths Of Incarceration​ REGISTER Find us Here Bledsoe County Correctional Complex1045 Horsehead RdPikeville, TN 37367 Get In touch Ardena Garth Hicks423-266-1888 Ext [email protected] Schedule Friday, April 5, 20249:00 AM EDT Security Check-In2 ...

It's been some time since we shared this video. However, I was reminded of it yesterday. And because we're starting to talk up our next I thought that it might get some people curious about the experience. Robert E Roberts, who is featured in the video, was a good friend and good mentor to Chattanooga Endeavors. His New Orleans based Project Return was decimated by Katrina, but it was recognized as a trailblazer in the reentry space that continues to live on in the Community Building projects of Chattanooga Endeavors and Wisconsin Community Services in Milwaukee.

Community Building in the Shadow of Justice Robert E. Roberts, Ph.D., (Sep 5, 1943 - Oct 14, 2013) established Project Return at Tulane University in 1993. His pioneering work demonstrated the unique v...

FYI. There are only 15 tickets left for this screening.

How to Sue the Klan: The Legacy of the Chattanooga Five | Library Join us at the Downtown Library for a free screening and panel discussion of the documentary How to Sue the Klan: The Legacy of the Chattanooga Five.

If you heard about the screening of How to Sue the Klan after it was already sold-out at Tivoli Theatre • Walker Theatre • Memorial Auditorium, there's another opportunity to see Ben Crump's new documentary about Chattanooga's precedent setting 1982 civil case. Endeavors' President, Ardena Garth Hicks, will be on the panel discussion at both the sold-out event and at the one that has just been announced and will be held at the The Chattanooga Public Library on February 17 at 4 PM. You can register for Library screening at https://bit.ly/3SxBKqm

How to Sue the Klan: The Legacy of the Chattanooga Five | Library Join us at the Downtown Library for a free screening and panel discussion of the documentary How to Sue the Klan: The Legacy of the Chattanooga Five.

As we step into 2024, how about trying something new by visiting a living testimony to the value of second chances and enjoying a totally unique lunch experience at Bad Wraps Incarcerated! Bryan, the maestro behind the wraps, will hook you up with an incredible meal and some thought-provoking conversations.

Make it a resolution to swing by Bad Wraps for a little bit of the extraordinary in Chattanooga. And stay tuned for our next flash conversation where you'll hear about the value of second chances from those who value them the most, brought to you by the Chattanooga Endeavors team.

Cheers to a new year and new beginnings!

If you missed our last Reflect with Trent Bell and Brandon Brown (or if you'd like to hear more of Brandon's story), tune in to WGOW with Jed Mescon at 9 AM on Friday.

Talk about rapid responders! Thank you so much to all of those who helped to make sure that everyone who we are working with in prison will get (not one, not two, but at least) three holiday cards from their hometown this year. In fact, there were so many people who stepped up that we opened up a larger list of people who have been in touch with us and are sending them cards too. If you would like to pitch in, please message us or select that you are attending our Light to the world event. Cards go out this weekend, but we are definitely able to accommodate people who want to help after then.

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Here's a Christmas song that was featured a few years ago on Ear Hustle which is an award-winning podcast about life inside prison and the experience of coming home. A link to the full show and website is in the audio description. Enjoy!

Ear Hustle | Christmas Song There are many talented musicians in the San Quentin community and this holiday greeting is by Antwan Williams, the sound designer for the award-winning podcast, Ear Hustle. The full show can be liste

Join us to welcome Trent Bell to The Mission Chattanooga tomorrow evening (6PM). Trent is an award-winning architecture and interior photographer based in New England. He specializes in photographing high-end residential and commercial spaces around the world, approaching each project with a depth of design knowledge and aesthetic intuition.

For the purposes of tomorrow's program, Trent is the creator of REFLECT, a subject-photographer collaborative project focusing on individuals who have gone through life changing experiences.

Meet Brandon Brown (at The Mission Chattanooga Thursday at 6PM). Three years ago, Brandon became the first person to earn a graduate degree while incarcerated in the state of Maine by availing himself of a department of corrections policy that allowed supervised virtual learning when he enrolled in an online master's program. He is now he is pursuing a Ph.D. in peace and conflict resolution with a focus on narrative and criminal justice from George Mason University where he also received his Master's in conflict analysis and resolution. Brandon is a certified yoga instructor, recovery coach, trained facilitator in restorative processes, and personal support specialist & hospice volunteer. In 2013, 4 years into a 17-year sentence in prison, he met Trent by participating in REFLECT.

It was a fantastic start to our conversation about second chances at Bad Wraps Incarcerated -- sharing personal experiences and kicking around ideas about the role of ordinary citizens in reentry and what that might mean for our community. It's amazing how big ideas fill small places! Reminded me of the conversations with Terry Horgan and others in Chattanooga that launched Dismas House as the city's first halfway house back in the 80s...and the conversations that established Chattanooga Endeavors as the first work readiness program for former offenders in the 90s...and those that created the first alternative staffing organization for former offenders in the 10s. I wonder what's going to come of them this time. You can wait for us to announce the date of our next Flash Conversation to register -- or if you would like to get advance notice you can register now at https://form.typeform.com/to/vkUeXR92If

Make a little noise for the chef! Thank you Bryan Slayton for letting us take over your restaurant for the afternoon to unpack the experiences from our 2XChances2023 prison tour. And for the invitation to continue the discussion with a community dialogue about second chances - no holds barred. God bless you, your team, and the contribution you're making to Chattanooga.
Becky Roney Dempsey, Ardena Garth Hicks, William Hicks, Floyd Davis, Calvin Figgures, Maggie Dempsey Cohen, Kimberly Creasman, Gary Kobet, Michelle Howard,

Bad wraps are usually just that! But when it comes Bryan Slayton's 31-year carceral tale they are actually the beginning of something both inspiring and worth a second helping. Now the proud owner of Bad Wraps Incarcerated on M.L. King Boulevard, Slayton's deep-fried wraps are a testament to second chances just as he is. The problem of crime and correction in America is so complex that many people just can't figure out how to get involved to help. Well, this one's a no-brainer! Stop in for lunch! And spread the word!! https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2023/aug/19/restaurant-scene-after-31-years-in-prison-bryan/?fbclid=IwAR0mNsmtYamWZrROdTLwIYQ3-_34q9SUCfSWT4kc0yncmggNvTgLQRht-nw

Restaurant Scene: After 31 years in prison, Bryan Slayton’s road to redemption is on M.L. King Boulevard | Chattanooga Times Free Press All together, Bryan Slayton spent 31 years incarcerated in a handful of federal prisons across the United States. During his first stint from 1989-1997, Slayton felt the wrath of the war on drugs.

Ear Hustle is a pretty unique podcast. We've posted on it here before. It's created, produced and hosted by inmates at San Quentin Prison and features stories from inside prison and after. Here is a short clip about the "Five Senses" of incarceration: https://on.soundcloud.com/FE2oD. Especially for those who have never seen the inside of a prison, some of the stories will surprise you. If you like it, there is a link to the full episode in the description.

Most people's understanding about prison is informed by the media that they consume. And most of the time this understanding is far from the facts. If you are interested in dispelling the myths of prison by getting a closer look at what it's like and hearing firsthand from people who live and work there, please consider joining us for a tour of Tennessee's Bledsoe Prison on August 18 (9 AM- 1:30 PM CDT) If you would like to attend, you can find more information and a registration like at https://chattanoogaendeavors.org/2xchances/prison-tour/

There are 374,682 people living in Hamilton County. Of those, without looking, how many would you guess are currently living in prison?

(The photo is of members of the Vanderbilt Prison Project in front of the Nashville Main Prison in the early 1970s. Third from the right in the back row is Father Jack Hicky OP who started Dismas House.)

If you have lived in a Tennessee prison and would like to join a group of people who have too to interrogate, contemplate, deliberate, and predicate current issues related to crime and corrections in our city and state -- in other words, speak truth to power, please message me. We want to amplify your voice!

TN Voices is holding a "Parent 2 Parent" advocacy training program for those who might need some support with a child’s IEP, 504, mental health, child welfare or juvenile court involvement. Learn more and register at Parent2Parent Advocacy Training November 2022 https://ecs.page.link/qmPav

Parent2Parent Advocacy Training November 2022 Our advocates will offer support with your child’s IEP, 504, mental health, child welfare or juvenile court involvement!