The Michael G. Santos Foundation- Mission Statement/Program 1

Saturday February 20, 2010

As I have written exhaustingly, I feel as if my journey through the justice system has given me an opportunity to do something positive with my life. I did not always feel that way. When I surrendered to Taft Federal Prison Camp on 28 April 2008, I told my brother Todd, “well, bro, I’ve flushed 3 1/2 years of my life down the toilet, what’s another 18 months?” He was not in a position to offer a coherent response, primarily because he was busy consoling our mother. She was struggling. Can you blame her?  The realness of the experience hit home for us when we walked into the prison lobby. When I saw an officer in uniform, I explained to him that I was reporting to self-surrender, and I extended my hand to shake in greeting. “No offense, the officer made me feel like I was three years old, “but we don’t shake hands with inmates”. When the officer refused my gesture, I looked at my brother and mother and smiled.  We all knew that my life was different, at least for a while. I asked them to leave, and told them I would be fine. I was.

My journey through prison, it turned out, provided me the perspective I needed to fully appreciate the ways in which I had erred. I didn’t get it until I was in prison. Is that bad? Maybe, but like so many others, I didn’t realize what I had done or what I had lost, until it was too late. It was just so damn surreal serving time in prison that it would be nearly impossible, at least for me, not to introspect. Maybe it was 12 months of sleeping on a steel rack that led me to introspect. Or maybe it was 12 months away from my mom, dad, brother and wonderful sister in law. Maybe it was scrubbing pots and pans twice a day, five days a week while listening to Road Runner Beep Beep yell out “five minutes”.  Or maybe it was living amongst 500 men, separated from the fairer gender that helped shake me into reality. I can’t pin point exactly what it was, and I don’t care to. All I know is my time away from home helped me realize that I have a role to play in society. Life isn’t only what is happening to me, or taking advantage of the priviliges I’ve been given. I have responsibilities and while in prison, I finally understood the relationship I have to the broader society.  I am proud of the efforts I have made since my release, and I feel good about my continued readiness to show what I’ve learned through my experience in federal prison.

Why do I have such a passion for this work? Life is harder for felons, and I truly believe that I have a duty, an obligation to share my experience with others so they do not have to endure such a fate. I don’t want others to wait until they have nothing left to lose before they reevaluate the patterns of their own life. I don’t want any more brothers or mothers to drop their loved ones off to federal prison. I don’t want others to spend the rest of their lives explaining what it’s like to be a convicted felon; what it’s like serving time in a federal prison; or what it’s like to tell a woman over a cup of coffee that despite our transgressions felons are good and noble people. I’ve embraced my new life, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.

To try and help the problem I have created the Michael G. Santos Foundation. The Foundation has three prongs, or programs. The first program, “At Risk Outreach” is detailed below. My goal is to have the Foundation up and running by July, though that may be an aggressive target. Either way plans are in place, and I am convinced that this Foundation will positively impacts the lives of others.

The Michael G. Santos Foundation

Part 1: Our Purpose/Mission Statement

The foundation distributes educational material and services that prepare individuals for law-abiding lives.  The recipients of the Foundation’s products come from “at-risk” environments, including by not limited to schools and places of confinement.  Through books, lesson plans, video presentations, Internet, speeches, and seminar work shops,   The Foundation strengthens society by showing those in its audience how to use values, goals, and assessment techniques to reach one’s highest potential in such areas as: education, employment, fitness, relationships, and community leadership.

1. Title of Program: At Risk Outreach Brief Description of At Risk Outreach Program

The At Risk outreach program provides literature, workshop seminars, speeches, and lesson plans that both show adolescents the consequences of criminal behavior, while simultaneously encouraging the adolescents to pursue higher education levels.  As one resource, the Foundation uses the book Gangsters and Thugs: The Consequences that Hustler’s Pay by Michael G. Santos.  It is an effective teaching tool because the at-risk adolescents identify with the message of “street life”; they respect the author because he educated himself while he served a 45-year prison term; they learn from the message because they have personal relationships with people who lead similar lives as those profiled in the book.

Gangsters and Thugs is a workbook that profiles men who quit school as teenagers to join gangs, distribute drugs, or lead shiftless lives of crime.  The book shows the lifelong consequences the men suffer because of the bad decisions the men made while they were in their teens. A series of open-ended questions follow each chapter.  Through speeches, workshops, and facilitator training, The Foundation encourages at-risk adolescents to read the book and respond to the open-ended questions.  The Foundation also provides a Counselor’s Guide for those who facilitate the Gangsters and Thugs course on consequences.

In addition to Gangsters and Thugs: The Consequences that Hustler’s Pay, The Foundation also distributes The Straight-A Guide to Success, by Michael G. Santos.  This book offers a guide at-risk adolescents can follow to prepare for lives as contributing, law-abiding citizens.  The Foundation provides seminars on The Straight-A Guide to success, and adolescents learn from an author who describes how he used it as a tool that helped him triumph over the struggle of serving a 45-year prison term.  By describing the importance of Attitude, Appearance, Action, Awareness, and Achievement, The Foundation uses The Straight-A Guide to Success to show at-risk adolescents how to recognize and triumph over adversity in their lives.

For What Purpose is At-Risk Outreach Program?

The At-Risk Outreach Program aspires to persuade at-risk adolescents to pursue higher education, career training, and good citizenship while they live as responsible, law-abiding people. The achieve this end, The Foundation distributes literature, lesson plans, and leads workshop seminars that show audiences consequences that follow for those who quit school or engage in criminal behavior.  The Foundation also offers guidance plans that audiences may use to pursue success.  The educational materials and services provided by the At-Risk Outreach Program improve literacy and critical thinking skills while simultaneously inspiring audiences to make values-based, goal-centered decisions that lead to safer communities.

When Was the At-Risk Outreach Program started?

The At-Risk Outreach program began in 2007, with the publication of Gangsters and Thugs: Consequences that Hustlers Pays.  The publisher distributed more than 2,000 copies of that book and counselors guides to schools and detention centers across the state of California.  In the fall of 2009, the program expanded when Justin Paperny began leading seminars in California schools to educate at risk adolescents.  Justin Paperny and Michael Santos recognized that by bringing messages to at-risk adolescents from inside prison boundaries, they could contribute to the building of safer communities, and with funding, they hope to expand their efforts through the At-Risk Outreach Program.

Who will Administer The At-Risk Outreach Program?

Justin Paperny is a graduate of the University of Southern California. He served an 18-month sentence in federal prison after pleading guilty to violating one count of securities laws.  While serving his sentence, Justin Paperny authored Lessons From Prison, and since his release in August 2009, Justin has built a career as a public speaker and teacher. Justin is uniquely qualified to lead seminars for At-Risk Adolescents because of his experience serving time in federal prison, and because of the lessons he learned from living in a community of felons.  As a public speaker and author, Justin excels in presenting information with wit, strength of reasoning, and fluency of language that connect with audiences; his education endows him with the skills to administer the program.


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