You never know from where that one encouraging word will come and how long it will take for the word to take root. My name is Anderson Dixon, and I grew up in Chicago, Illinois on the North side in the uptown area. The place was called Hillbilly Heaven because so many families from the South lived in the uptown area. As with many immigrants before us, we formed our own gangs and laid down our own moral codes of conduct; a code that often ran afoul with the Chicago P D. I can remember more than one time having my backside kicked by a Chicago police officer. There was one police officer however, who told me many times that I could do better if only I could learn to believe in myself and stop being a follower. For whatever reason, I did not hear him then.

I grew up in a family of criminals, and by the time I was 10 years old I was stealing cars and doing burglaries. In my family you got respect by being a good earner, so I set out my life course to be a good earner, a course that landed me first in reform school then in prison. I spent 27 years in prison. While there I got absolutely tired of living a life of practicing violence and a them-against-us mentality. Even though I had a life sentence without parole, and knew that I’d die in prison if I did not get relief through the courts, I decided to change. I didn’t change for my family but for myself. I wanted be able to say at some point of my life I was a nice person. It had always been my desire to be a nice person; I just did not know how to stop following my family, and turn it all around.

I began to reflect on my life, and for the first time I listened to the words of all the people who had tried to give me guidance. I remembered the Chicago police officer who had been kind to me, and I realized that there were good people who did care. I also knew that the change would have to come from me. It was no ones fault but my own that I spent half my life in prison. Could any programs have giving me a better chance to divert my life from prison to a career and years of freedom instead of incarceration? I believe the answer is yes, but there were no programs when I was growing up that dealt with children in families that had a pattern of generational incarceration. Unfortunately, there are still not any focused, long-term programs today that deal directly with this issue. My focus is that “Generational Incarceration Children” get a fair shake from the system, and that their special set of circumstances be addressed. Real programs need to be implemented to plan a future for these kids other than a prison bed. That is the genesis of Youthturns. We want to educate and raise the awareness of generational incarceration, or as a Boston Police Officer told me the other day, “Generational, hell. I’m seeing whole families that go to jail together”. Police Officer are the first ones in society to see the devastation caused by repeated generational crime cycles. Diverting these children from prison beds to careers is a win-win for all of society. It will save billions of dollars and lives.

Just as a kind Police Officer’s words came back into my mind years later and helped me on my journey to healing, a kind word today can do the same. The same Boston Police Officer I quoted earlier told me a story of how he was telling a kid to get his act together and take care of his responsibilities, only to be told by others that he was wasting his time with the young gang banger. Undaunted by the negative statements, he continued his advice. Months later he saw the young guy again who stopped him on the streets just to let the officer know that he had gotten a job and was doing right, and it was because he had taken to heart what the Officer said. Sounds corny enough to bring in the violin and cue up the tears, right? Of course not, the point is you never know what a positive word can do. God bless Cops who go that extra mile never knowing what effect their kind words have on youth. If not for the kindness of a Chicago Cop who told me I could do better, who knows where I would be now. Even though it took a long time for the seed to grow in me, the point is that it did grow.

Police Officers today have many tools available to them to effect change. One that’s important is social media, like Facebook and Twitter. I think police officers can use these tools to promote and encourage change both inside and outside the department. While keeping close to the people who they serve and protect, it is a wonderful way to stay connected with each other. When officers stay connected to their communities, they can have the best effect on protecting it by stopping trouble before it begins. They can also connect to others who experience common frustrations over various social issues. When conversation begins over issues that seem impossible to solve (such as entire families going to jail due to lack of early intervention of dysfunctional family dynamics), the dialog can eventually lead to positive solutions. It is a brave new world out there for sure, and it has always been police officers who see the worst of it first, report it, and document it, thereby giving us the information to change it.

One thing is for sure, when we put our minds to it, we in America know how to respond to challenges, and we usually do it with charity that is motivated by a desire to do good. Some times those ideas need a little adjustment to keep them on track. With that said, let’s make some adjustments so we can stay on track and really keep America safe.

Andy Dixon

Andy Dixon is an ex-con with convictions who started Youthturns.Org an organization dedicated to stopping the cycle of generational incarceration. He is also a singer and song writer who while in prison did a music video and documentary with country music stars Mark Collie, Tim Mcgraw, and Kelly Willis. Andy is very passionate about the need for programs to help generational incarceration children.