Inmates share hard-learned lessons

Baseline inmate Jeff Lemoi, 39, originally from Los Angeles, talks to a group of sixth- and seventh-graders at Belleview Elementary School about how his life decisions got him locked up. Maggie Beck/Union Democrat, copyright 2009

“We never know what we might become ... if we make the right decisions,” said Jimmie Crockett, 47, an inmate at Sierra Conservation Center’s Baseline Camp.
  

Crockett and fellow inmates, Jeff Lemoi, 39, Ronald Brightman, 44, and Jose Zavala, 46, participate in community outreach that includes speaking to students during Red Ribbon Week to discourage drug use and crime.

In addition to Belleview, they will visit or have visited Twain Harte Middle School, Columbia Elementary, Sonora Elementary and Mark Twain Elementary, said Correctional Counselor Dave Krieg.

“I think they make a big impact on the kids,” Krieg said.

Friday, for Kim Haycock’s sixth- and seventh-grade students, the four inmates put on several short skits and gave talks on their lives and advice for the students.

The inmates told students to not fall prey to peer pressure and to avoid trying to impress other kids by doing negative things, like smoking or cutting class.

"Impress yourself by achieving things,” Crockett said.

The inmates told students if they have problems at home to talk to a teacher, counselor or other adult. If they have friends who are going through difficult times, be there for that friend, the students were urged.

“The truth is the best thing to tell ... Have a kind heart ... encourage one another,” Crockett said.

Zavala told students how an abusive home life propelled him to seek acceptance in all the wrong places.

“I used to blame my problems on the way I was raised,” Zavala said. “I could have reached out. I could have made better choices.”

Students asked many questions including, why the inmates themselves hadn’t reached out for help or withstood peer pressure and drugs.

The inmates said they felt no one cared about their fate, that they were too stubborn to ask for help, and that they wanted to fit in.

Zavala said he didn’t report his abuse because he was afraid the teachers or counselors would call his house.    

Students asked the inmates what their peers ended up doing. The inmates said most were in jail or dead.

“When you choose your friends, they should be people that you admire, that are doing positive things,” Zavala said.   

“Be your own person,” Lemoi told them.

The inmates urged the students to avoid their same mistakes.

“You’re not alone. We were too stubborn ... to listen,” Lemoi said.

“There’s a lawyer, a doctor, a construction owner,” Crockett said pointing to various students.

“There’s a lot of talent in this room. So strive to be the best that you can be.”

Belleview Principal Paula Maucere said she thinks the program not only serves the students, but the inmates as well. It allows students the opportunity to learn from other people’s mistakes.

“As educators, we want students to see the results of making poor choices in life. The inmates deliver a powerful message which is: Listen to your parents, do your homework and talk to an adult if you’re having problems,” Maucere said.