VOICES FROM THE INSIDE - VOLUME I

Hear My Voice - "OCE is different than DOC."

The Hear My Voice video series is OCE's response to the desire of the men and women in our programs to have a platform to speak to the community. These videos were made to allow them to express their thoughts by speaking from the heart. This series offers a chance for those wishing to personalize themselves, to let the public see they are people who prefer to speak for themselves. They are aware of the societal climate pushing for changes and they are not in complete agreement. Sometimes a letter is not enough; it is easier to have a conversation, but if they did write one it will be included with the video.

"The level of responsibility enables us to be better prepared to come out of this DOC environment and be successful in the community."

"I've worked in a lot of different areas in the 15 years that I've been here, and if I were to pick any job in the entire prison that I could have, it turns out, it's the one that I have!"

"My family didn't put me in here so I don't expect them to pay for me while I'm in here. So this gives me that opportunity. Plus, it's a team environment, so it allows us to work together, and you actually build camaraderie with that process. Whereas, if you're just in a unit, not really doing anything, you know, you're kind of idle. And so it makes time go really slow. But being able to work, and contribute to something, you actually get to see what we do every day by people having their laundry clean or us sewing masks and things like that, so, I really appreciate the opportunity to have this opportunity for me."

"The appreciation for the work that we do is shown a lot more. We are treated a lot more as actual people and workers than we are as just inmates."

"I solely rely on the money I earn here at OCE. So, please consider our thoughts and our position from our standpoint when making any decisions regarding this."

Read more stories like this and learn about OCE training programs and projects by visiting our BLOGS PAGE.