Podcasts: The Hustler Files
The Hustler Files
The Hustler Files – Storytelling That Will Challenge What You Thought You Knew
Join creator and host Lisa Reilly every Saturday morning from 9:32 AM to 10:00 AM, streaming here on WHMP.com, or find us on your favorite podcast platform. Each week, we bring storytelling with grit, purpose, and possibility to break stigmas, reshape narratives, and amplify the voices of justice-involved individuals, advocates, and change-makers. We’ll explore the criminal justice system, addiction recovery, domestic violence, human trafficking, fair-chance employment, and prison reform through powerful storytelling and candid interviews that bring humanity to issues too often overlooked.
Please reach out with questions or comments to thehustlerfiles@outlook.com
The Hustler Files Ep 21
A HANDS ON TASK FORCE THAT FIGHTS THE OPIOID CRISIS EVERY DAY
The Franklin County, Massachusetts, Opioid Task Force has come a long way since its inception in 2011. Across a 30-town region in rural Western Mass, the Opioid Task Force is a 400-member entity working to address the impact of the Opioid epidemic. While this Task Force is involved with social policy work around the Opioid crisis, it is their focus to support prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery efforts.
The Hustler Files Ep 20
RECOVERY IS SOMETHING THAT DOESN’T GET A DAY OFF, EVER
The opinion of this weeks guests, based on their daily hands on experience, is that addiction in the United States is sadly becoming the norm. The good news is that if you live in an area that is pro-recovery then you’re more likely to locate state or federally funded programs like the Medication for Opioid Use Disorder Services that are inside the Hampshire County Jail in Northampton, Massachusetts, where incarcerated individuals are treated for their addiction by a team of certified medical professionals. As Dr. Katie, the head of the MOUD in-jail program, in this weeks episode states, ‘….if someone has Diabetes we don’t ask how long they will need to be on medication…we know it’s a forever treatment….the same should be the norm for those who are suffering from drug or alcohol addition…’. As this weeks topic relays, recovery is something that doesn’t get a day off, ever.
The Hustler Files Ep 19
ONLY SURROUND YOURSELF WITH THOSE WHO SEE GREATNESS WITHIN YOU
Craig Stevens may be a Landscape Architect with a thriving business but he also stands outside his story and unashamedly admits to a 20-plus-year struggle to overcome drugs and alcohol. One of the secrets to his success is that he only hires formerly incarcerated or those in recovery. Having like-minded employees allows him to not only give back for all those people who lifted him up when he was down but also to help those who are in need of a livelihood and not afraid to get their hands dirty, literally!
The Hustler Files Ep 18
AT S.A.V.R. THEY ADDRESS CRIMINOGENIC FACTORS WITH MINDFULNESS TRAINING
Bruce Willis, THE Actor, has a quote, ‘You Can’t Undo The Past, But You Can Certainly Not Repeat It’. Many people residing behind the wall have experienced disciplinary issues in their past. A mindfulness program developed at the Hampden County Sheriff’s Office, by program manager Dan Cavanaugh, in 2019, is experiencing dramatic results for those participants who are currently incarcerated. The program, aptly named, S.A.V.R., Stress, Anger, Violence Reduction, not only teaches meditation and mindful behavior but addresses topics like anger management, cognitive-behavioral therapy skills, parenting, and domestic violence.
The Hustler Files Ep 17
FROM ROSIE’S HOUSE TO A FUTURE BLOOMING WITH POSSIBILITIES
Finding the possibilities in life, after incarceration, and with a forever criminal record, is a daunting task, but since 2004 when Jacqueline Velez was released from the women’s section of Rikers Island, her mission has been driven by the love for her daughter, a passion for sharing her experiences through her poetry, and the courage to become a voice for so many others who have faced similar obstacles.
The Hustler Files Ep 16
THE SINS OF THE PARENTS SHOULD NOT BE LAID UPON THEIR CHILDREN
In the United States, one in five children has had a parent incarcerated at some point, and more than 75% of children who have had a parent incarcerated, has themselves become incarcerated. John F. Kennedy said, “We are not here to cure the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us through that darkness to a safe and sane future”. This episode is emotionally riveting, not just because the woman sharing her story has both of her parents incarcerated for war crimes in Senegal and Rwanda, but because of the abuse she sustained as a victim, because of her parents circumstances. It is a journey of epic proportions that brings her to a place where, with the support of a village, she can share her story.
The Hustler Files Ep 15
THE ONLY WAY TO DO GREAT WORK IS TO LOVE WHAT YOU DO
The title of this weeks episode is part of a quote by the late Steve Jobs. The full quote says; “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work, and the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” While it may take a village, behind the wall and beyond, to assist justice-involved individuals with recovery and re-entry back into society, it also takes a handful of extraordinary facilitators who have dedicated their lives to their secondary education and ensuing certifications, combined with a myriad of experience, to be a changemaker in the criminal justice system.
The Hustler Files Ep 14
THE LIFE OF A CORRECTION OFFICER, IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK
The criminal justice system is in a recruitment crisis. Correction Officers (yes, those uniformed individuals who work inside the local, State, and Federal Prisons and have military titles such as Captain, Corporal, etc.) are retiring faster than new COs can be recruited to replace them. Considering that the intake of justice-involved individuals has barely slowed down, this puts the recruiting efforts of the system in crisis. Like with any career path, the more informed people are about what a career path as a CO encompasses, the better chance that local jails and State and Federal prisons will have in recruiting new hires.
The Hustler Files Ep 13
VOICES FROM INSIDE, THE POWER TO HEAL
Author May Sarton wrote, ‘the only way through pain is to go through it, to absorb, probe, understand exactly what it is and what it means….whichever form our writing takes, it has the power to heal us and to help us grow’. In Western Mass, the non-profit, Voices From Inside, has been helping women who are currently or formerly incarcerated find their voices through creative writing workshops. Originally founded by the now deceased Pat Schneider, VFI participants receive encouragement and support for their writing and gain self-confidence as they strengthen their literacy and communication skills, and being to imagine new possibilities for themselves.
The Hustler Files Ep 12
EVEN IN HER DARKEST HOUR
Twenty million Americans struggle with alcohol. For Melissa, it was a triple threat – alcohol, drugs, and anger. From the very young age of 11 till her 37th birthday, Melissa led the worst side of hustling to keep her addictions and adrenaline fed. In her own words, she describes the constant ‘skid bid’ as she calls it, how the tribe she surrounded herself with was literally loving her to death. and how she finally found a way out.
