Last Monday, John Stuart had a remarkable guest on the show, Royal Ramey. Here is his description on the link:
Chief Royal Ramey, a formerly incarcerated firefighter, and CEO and co-founder of the Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program, joins Jon Stewart to discuss how his program helps other formerly incarcerated people find a career in the fire sector. They discuss the hands-on training he received while incarcerated, why the work appeals to those currently serving time, and how helping a community and experiencing the “prison-to-public servant pipeline” changed his life.
To hear him is to be impressed. He started as one of the prisoner firemen in California. As a prisoner in the California penal system, he volunteered to fight fires as part of his sentence. Why and how he did this is amazing enough for the interview.
But more impressively, after being released, he worked to help others. Even trained firemen could not be hired easily if they were previously incarcerated. No one wants to hire someone who has been in jail. So he and another ex-inmate worked with a fire captain in the Central Valley to enable hiring in the departments that need them. After a nervous start, he was funny and informative.
It is a 15-minute watch that will make you happier. If he can find hope, how hard can it be for us to find hope. Hella hard, but you get what I mean.
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