A New Lease on Life

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I was released from prison after completing a three- and half-year sentence. I had been repeatedly incarcerated from the time I was 16 years old until I turned 29 years of age and now, I'm 60 years old. I learned so much about life during the course of that time, so I was determined that I would never go back to the life I lived. As soon as I got out of Prison, I immediately transferred into a Halfway House called Mary Magdelene and started working and attending N.A. meetings. This was the opportunity I needed and a good start for me because I had a goal in mind to never return to the painful life I lived.  I had a vision for my life that kept me focused on the road ahead. Though the Halfway house, work and N.A. meetings kept me occupied, I still had an uphill battle to conquer. I had to set boundaries by changing my environment and stay free and clear of negative people or any troublesome elements that would lead me back to living life aimlessly. I knew my life had purposeful meaning and I had to have a strong will to succeed, razor sharp focus, be resilient and determined every step of the way.  Most of all I had to have faith in the Most High God to give me the strength and courage to keep going.

 

The proof that I was on the road to recovery was evident when I saw that applying my efforts worked. After spending 9 months at the halfway house, I got my own place. I continued working and saving money, I gave back to society in a positive way and in 1996 I found my soulmate and I got married 1997 and had 2 children. I was also recognized and received my first award on February 28th, 1998 for Outstanding Community Achievement titled "Save Our Babies".  I gave my life to God and attended church services and became committed to living a life that set a positive example to others and in 2006 My husband and I started working Ministry. I became a Pastor along with my husband Bishop Kelvin McKinney and we were both ordained by Bishop F.P. Matthews. I became a Licensed Chaplin and went back to the prison York CI and Niantic Correctional Facility where I was released from to help others. My husband and I also worked prison ministry at Gates Correctional Facility.  I started a non-profit Private Foundation called Women In Transition now known as The Patricia McKinney Foundation that specializes in change and transformation in the lives of Women and families, youth and young adults. I became a Mentor and Life Coach, Counselor, a Radio Talk Show host, a health enthusiast, spiritual Business Advisor and an Author. I can say that I am a survivor and overcomer. I succeeded against the odds and became a catalyst for change that made permanent impact in the lives of others. I have a true redemption story which is in my autobiography "Escaping the Belly of the Beast". I also wrote my second book called "Unpopular" that provides daily wisdom to live by and now I will be releasing my third book called "30 Years and Counting". After being released from Prison 30 years ago this is my personal journey to freedom and success.

 

 When I reflect on my former years and the troublesome life experience that I endured, I found that the probability to succeed after Prison is very slim and the odds are stacked against you in different ways when you return to society. There were so many obstacles that former prisoners like me had to face and conquer.  I discovered after my release that Drug Treatment Recovery programs and Prison Reform Programs and systems set in place to help actually put a "band aid" on real life societal issues without any long-lasting impact. I experienced firsthand the counseling sessions and group meetings that I attended during my recovery period actually kept people in a defeated mindset. They seemed to remain in a repeated cycle of domestic violence, drug addiction and recidivism based off of discussions from peers and leaders of our group meeting sessions. The so-called counselors would condition you to believe that you will always be an addict instead of providing tools and resources needed to think positive or be introduced to a broader horizon. They'd have you repeating mantras in every N.A. and A.A. meetings to remind that you will always be an addict even though you physically stopped using drugs.  They made it seem that you could never really break free. It was never about moving forward but dwelling in the past instead. They lacked the ability to instill the faith and hope that people needed to live beyond their past. They'd use the same method of treatment in every meeting to keep you coming back.  In fact, every program that I went too operated the same way. Over time, I witnessed most of the people I knew or met that returned to society from prison and took part in these recovery programs fell by the wayside and returned to prison, the street life, relapsed in their addiction or they died prematurely.  Thats when I realized that there was a much bigger picture in place. The problem is due to a broken system here in America where vice rules and the cons outweigh the pros.

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My Book Escaping the Belly of the Beast

 

I wrote my book Escaping the Belly of the Beast because I was a victim to the horrible vices of society and a broken system that did not work. After being raped at 13 and trafficked into prostitution it was proven by how I was handled as a teenager that there was no program set in place for the young to rehabilitate, being locked up was the solution unfortunately. I also wrote the book with other victims in mind to shed light on the repeated cycle of abuse, domestic violence and a broken system that needs real reform.

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