“I AM” Prison Mentor Program
Peer mentorship from the inside out — preparing for release, returning home, and rebuilding community.
Created in 2015 by founder Gregory Douglas Jetter, the program prepares incarcerated men, women and youth for release and walks with them after they come home. It is built on one belief: people who take a vested interest in themselves, their careers and their families can become living examples for the neighborhoods they return to.
12
weekly group sessions inside, 90 minutes each
6
months of one-on-one mentoring after release
8–15
participants in each cohort
Free
to every participant
HOW IT WORKS
Two phases, one mentor who has walked the same road
PHASE 1 · INSIDE
12 weeks of group sessions
A facilitator and one or two trained peer mentors lead weekly 90-minute sessions inside the facility. Participants build identity and mindset, practice the skills for life outside, and leave with a written reentry plan.
PHASE 2 · AFTER RELEASE
6 months of mentoring at home
Each graduate is matched with a peer mentor before release. The mentor makes contact within 72 hours of release, checks in weekly for the first 30 days and every two weeks after, and follows up at 30, 90 and 180 days.
Every session ends the same way: each participant completes the sentence “I AM …” with who they are becoming.
THE 12-WEEK CURRICULUM
From “Who am I?” to “I am going home.”
Unit 1 · Who I Am
01
Welcome to “I AM” — Who Am I Becoming?
02
My Story, My Choices
03
Thinking Patterns: Catching the Thought Before the Action
04
Managing Anger, Stress and Triggers
Unit 2 · Skills for Life Outside
05
Communication and Respect
06
Family Reconnection and Being a Parent
07
Money Basics for Your First 90 Days
08
Work, Records and Telling Your Story to an Employer
Unit 3 · Going Home
09
Building My Reentry Plan: Needs and Resources
10
Building My Reentry Plan: The First 72 Hours and First 30 Days
11
Rebuilding Your Neighborhood, Rebuilding Yourself
12
Graduation: Meeting My Mentor
THE I AM PROGRAM · KNOW THYSELF
Five stages to becoming a H.E.R.O.
Behind the sessions is the I AM Program itself. Students write their own history, discover their worth, build a method, take on principle, and finally make a contribution. Each completed stage earns a certificate and a letter, until the student holds H. E. R. O.
H
STAGE I
Incubator: Development
Know thyself. Students write their own story, in their own words, often for the first time.
E
STAGE II
Motivator: You Are Valuable
Every person is an end in themselves. Worth is shown with evidence, not flattery.
R
STAGE III
Accelerator: Method
Priorities, strengths, a business course, and “Hustler to Hero”: skills redeployed for a lawful life.
O
STAGE IV
Teacher: Principle
Students stop being the subject and become carriers of the program, designing help for their own neighborhood.
I. AM.
STAGE V
Creator: Contribution
A proclamation before witnesses: a person with new priorities, ready to help their family and neighborhood.
“They entered the program able to tell you what had been done to them. They leave it able to tell you what they intend to do.”
Who can join
Adults and youth in partner facilities, returning to communities in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts
Expected release within 3 to 12 months of the program start
Approved by the facility’s programs or reentry staff
Willing to commit to all 12 sessions and to mentoring after release
Reading support is provided for anyone who needs it
To graduate
Attend at least 10 of 12 sessions
Complete both parts of a written reentry plan
Complete the before-and-after surveys
Present a one-minute graduation statement: who I was, who I am, who I am becoming
Meet an assigned peer mentor
Graduates receive an I AM Certificate of Completion.
ACCOUNTABLE TO OUTCOMES
Our goals for every cohort
75%
of enrollees complete Phase 1
100%
of graduates leave with a written reentry plan
60%
connected to work, school or training within 90 days of release
70%
in stable housing at 90 days
These are program targets. Participants also take a before-and-after survey on confidence and readiness, and we track whether graduates stay home at 12 months.
After graduation, the whole I AM system opens up
Every graduate has one case plan, and every I AM program can contribute to it.
Housing Initiative — a halfway house bed for graduates with nowhere safe to live
Adult Education — work toward a high school equivalency diploma
College & Career Training — choose a path, build a resume, practice interviews
Legal & Political Advocacy — information on clearing a record
Neighborhood Refurbishment — crews that rebuild the blocks they came from
PAID, PART-TIME POSITIONS
Become a peer mentor
Our peer mentors are program graduates who have walked the same road. They co-lead small groups inside and mentor graduates one-on-one after release. The participant stays the focus; the mentor walks alongside.
01
Home at least 12 months, with no new legal problems
02
Interview with the Program Director and a reference from your own mentor
03
Complete I AM mentor training: boundaries, confidentiality, reporting and crisis response
04
Shadow two sessions before co-leading
FOR CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES
Bring the program to your facility
Each partner facility reviews and approves the curriculum, handouts and staff list before the first session, and facility rules always come first. Up to four cohorts can run per facility each year.
1
Our Program Director meets your programs or reentry staff and shares the program manual.
2
Your facility approves the curriculum, handouts and staff list in writing.
3
All staff and peer mentors complete your clearance and orientation.
4
Together we agree on room, schedule, group size and referrals.
5
Your staff refer eligible participants, and we complete intake before Week 1.