ABOUT LAQUAN HILL:
Laquan (Q), originally from Detroit, faced a challenging youth marked by frequent moves and shifting family dynamics, leading to behavioral struggles. Little league & High school football provided much-needed discipline, but after joining the Marines, unresolved anger issues led to an altercation, his first incarceration, and discharge.
Following his military service, Q held various jobs but lacked a sense of purpose. An impulsive decision to participate in an armed robbery resulted in a shooting and serious injury, leading to a 16-year sentence in the Michigan Department of Corrections at age 25.
During his incarceration, Q discovered a turning point through the Houses of Healing program, where he confronted past trauma—a transformative experience. It was here he met Adam Grant, who steadfastly supported and encouraged him. By facilitating groups and classes, Q gained a profound understanding of himself and his potential.
Upon his release earlier this year, Q's first stop was A Brighter Way (ABW), an organization that, much like Houses of Healing, helped solidify his purpose. ABW has inspired him to embrace his best self, primarily as a mentor and inspiration to others.
RESOURCES:
Houses of Healing Prison Program
TRANSCRIPTION:
David Fair: This is 89.1 WEMU, and welcome to our weekly exploration of equity and opportunity in our community. I'm David Fair, and this is Washtenaw United. As a society, we stigmatize those who have served time in prison. When they're released and returned to our communities, earning a second chance can be exceedingly difficult. There is help to be had though. Ypsilanti-based A Brighter Way is a non-profit providing support and services to returning citizens to give them a hand up and the foundational support to overcome trauma, stigma, and a difficult path to find a healthy path forward. LaQuan Hill is deputy director of A Brighter Way and is personally walking that path. And LaQuan, it's a true pleasure to have you with us today!
LaQuan Hill: Oh, the pleasure is all mine! Thank you!
David Fair: Now, if it's not too personal, can we talk a little bit about the journey that you've been on that leads us to your position with A Brighter Way today?
LaQuan Hill: Yes, no problem. I believe that my story can be an inspiration and a motivation to many.
David Fair: Well, you had served in the military. And then, at some point after your return home, you were involved in an armed robbery and shooting, and that resulted in a serious injury. So, at 25 years old, you received a 16-year prison sentence. How much of that time did you serve?
LaQuan Hill: I served the whole 16.
David Fair: Let's take your story a little further back. I think, sometimes, we get caught up in the act in pursuing justice and fail to adequately look at what brought a person to that moment in time and learn what we can do in the future to prevent such behaviors. How would you describe your childhood, LaQuan?
LaQuan Hill: Traumatic. I come from a close-knit family. However, my family members were cross-addicted, and because of that addiction, it had a profound effect on my childhood and my upbringing.
David Fair: No one, including you, excuses criminal acts based on childhood experience. But do you think your story would be different had you had the tools and/or resources to unpack some of that trauma earlier in life?
LaQuan Hill: Definitely! Let's just say this. If there were organizations and supportive services out there that I was aware of and my family was aware of that can actually give me the tools and techniques to overcome and deal with those traumas, there's no question I know my life would have turned out different. However, I'm going to now say that I'm glad that it did because I wouldn't be the person that I am today. I wouldn't have the passion and the desire to be of service to the community.
David Fair: How would you characterize your experience in prison because, while it may have presented its learning lessons and opportunities, it is not a pleasant experience to have. Was it anger to begin with?
LaQuan Hill: Anger, hopelessness, abandonment, isolation. If it wasn't for the older individuals that took a liking to me, that let me know that I had a choice in the matter, right? I had a choice to whether I was going to be defiant and make my time there hard, or I was going to take full advantage of the opportunities that exist inside the prisons and have a better understanding of myself and learn different tools and techniques that would suit me for being successful out here. It was traumatic at first. And then, once I learned that I had a choice of the matter, I started to turn around, and I started actually to look within, and I decided to use the time that I had to better myself.
David Fair: This is 89.1 WEMU, and our Washtenaw United conversation continues with A Brighter Way deputy director LaQuan HIll. During your stay, LaQuan, with the Michigan Department of Corrections, you became involved with Houses of Healing. Now, it provides a prisoners' guide to inner power and freedom. What did you learn about yourself through that experience?
LaQuan Hill: One of the first questions that came in that class was, "Who are you really?" And I was stumped on it, right? Of course, I used to pride myself that I had the gift of gab. I'm clever. I'm charismatic. So, when a person asks, "Tell me about yourself," you usually tell all the roles and beliefs that you have: I'm a man. I am a Black man. I'm a football player. I'm a Marine. These are all roles, right? And it came a point where I had to realize that I was copying or mimicking the people that were around me. And I couldn't answer that question. So, my deputy director--and also my best friend--was the one that was facilitating the class. And I just pulled him to the side and was like, "I can't really answer this honestly. I don't know." And he said, "Maybe, it might be best for you to ask yourself what you are not." So, once I started to ask that, I started understand that I had a lot of costumes. I had lot of masks that I had to use chisel and hammer to break away from. And then, once I've started to understand that, "No, I'm not a thug. No, I am not a manipulator. No, I'm not am a killer. No, I'm not a robber. I'm a human being who wants to be loved and liked like everybody else," I just developed a real keen understanding of myself. And I didn't like it. So, I made the conscious decision to strip away all the things that I was accustomed to.
David Fair: Were you surprised when you removed all of the masks and the costumes, as you put it, at the level of potential you found in yourself once you got to know LaQuan?
LaQuan Hill: Oh, yes! So, like I said, I always had the gift of gab, and I know that I'm charismatic. I was always using those God gifts, which I finally realized that it is a gift. I was using it for all nefarious reasons. And once I started to utilize them for positive and seeing it, oh my God! I got the book. I ended up knowing that I had a choice to actually use these talents and gifts for good. I started to get positive reinforcements and affirmations and seeing individuals that were in my class that I was teaching some of the skills and techniques and concepts from House of the Healing actually changed and started to think before they actually reacted. That was the eye-opening moment for me that, "Wow, I know what my purpose is now! I have a story!" And I used to think that my story was unique, but it's not. There are countless of individuals that have similar stories or even worse stories than me. And if I can share my story and share concepts that have helped me, it is my duty. It is my obligation to the human race. There are many of me's out there. And growing up and not having a real support system, I'm compelled. I have to be that. I have be that beacon of light. I have to be the hope that change is possible.
David Fair: This is Washtenaw United on 89.1 WEMU, and today, we're talking with LaQuan Hill. He is deputy director of A Brighter Way in Ypsilanti. A lot of positivity coming from LaQuan today! And, you know, there is a lot of stigma that goes along with a prison record. Not only that from the outside looking in, it appears that reentry to the community sets up returning citizens to fail more often than not. How have you avoided those pitfalls and taken that positivity and put it to work for you?
LaQuan Hill: Support system. If I didn't have the people that love me and want the best for me, I'm scared to even try to imagine what my life would have been trying to navigate the systems in here. I did 16 years. Technology, just for one, is a natural barrier. I had no idea on how to navigate to phones. The phone--it's the whole computer in your hand, right? And I didn't have a clue on how to operate it. So, having the right support system, having individuals who have traveled the same routes that I'm about to embark in, giving me the words and the navigation, if you will, to warn me or guide me through some of these challenges, like you said, it is set up for us to fail. And if you don't have the the right support system and the network, you're going to fail. It's sad, but it is true. I have countless individuals that come in here that have despair on their face. You see no life in them. And once we give them or help them see multiple paths to achieve their goals, you can see them brighten up. And that's why A Brighter Way is so important in reentry and in the community.
David Fair: To put the experience in societal context, LaQuan, how does the community as a whole benefit because of the investments in people that the team at A Brighter Way is making?
LaQuan Hill: The community benefits as a whole because you cut down on crime, you cut down on homelessness, you cut down on the stigmas that associates with formerly incarcerated or justice-impacted individuals. The community becomes safer, right? And you have fathers actually being fathers to their kids. You have taxpayers actually paying taxes. It can revitalize the community. If you have a community that most of their people who are formerly incarcerated have no hope, have no ambition, no drive, what do you think is going to happen? One of the first laws of nature is self-preservation. So, if individuals don't have the tools, the techniques, and the resources, they are going to reoffend. So, if we can provide that hope and if we could provide the motivation and the inspiration while giving people some resources and being there for them, just letting them know that you don't have to go down this path alone, we've been there, we've done that, the community will benefit tremendously.
David Fair: LaQuan, I want to thank you, not only for the time in the conversation today, but sharing so much of your own story and your passion! I much appreciate it!
LaQuan Hill: Thank you!
David Fair: That is LaQuan Hill. He is deputy director of Ypsilanti-based nonprofit, A Brighter Way. To learn more about LaQuan and the work of A Brighter Way, stop by our website at WEMU.org. We'll get you everywhere you need to go. Washtenaw United is produced in partnership with the United Way for Southeastern Michigan. You hear it every Monday. I'm David Fair, and this is your community NPR station, 89.1 WEMU=FM Ypsilanti. Celebrating 60 years of broadcasting from the campus of Eastern Michigan University!
WEMU has partnered with the United Way for Southeastern Michigan to explore the people, organizations, and institutions creating opportunity and equity in our area. And, as part of this ongoing series, you’ll also hear from the people benefiting and growing from the investments being made in the areas of our community where there are gaps in available services. It is a community voice. It is 'Washtenaw United.'
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