Jahmal Graduates DST. “Your past does not define your future.”

Jahmal graduates from DT.

DST-Oakland Graduate, Jahmal, is a true embodiment of the phrase, “your past does not define your future.” Jahmal wants to share his life story to inspire others and to tell the world how DST was his “jump off point” to a better future. 

“ALWAYS SAY YES TO GOOD THINGS” | As a young adult, Jahmal suffered from alcoholism, which led to a series of misguided behaviors and actions. He says that “alcohol is a difficult drug to manage because it’s everywhere.” While being incarcerated for 35 years, he noticed that his personal development was being stunted with the lack of resources and social limitations in prison. Fast forward to being discharged from prison in 2022, Jahmal was placed into a transitional housing/sober living facility with several other men on parole. He found himself in an unfamiliar city– Oakland. In addition to not knowing a single person in the area, he also recalled the challenge of learning bus routes and catching up on societal changes, especially post-pandemic. Jahmal soon found hope a staff member of the living facility brought him and other residents to their first DST Success Meeting. 

Jahmal described the Oakland Success Meeting as positive and enjoyable. What he didn’t know at the time was how much DST would impact his life. It all started with the Project Manager, Ricky Ramos, offering him a shirt from the office community closet that said, “You are a success.” In addition to Ricky’s smile and act of kindness, Jahmal saw opportunity in DST’s stipend model and liked the idea of getting the know the area by volunteering. He reminded himself of a saying that his prison counselor told him, which was “always say yes to good things.” 

NAVIGATING THE SYSTEM | Just a few months after joining DST, Jahmal was promoted to Team Lead (Green Shirt) and dove deep into case management. Jahmal’s case was uniquely challenging in that he did not have any correct forms of identity when discharged from prison. His name was misspelled on his Doc ID, his social security number was incorrect for his food stamps, and the prison lost his driver’s license. Lauren Kulasingam, the Employment Specialist at the time, told Jahmal that she didn’t know where to start, but that they were going to find out. (See the video on our Instagram page.)

So, how did Lauren do it? After immense research and resourcing from other organizations, she started by obtaining a notary for Jahmal’s birth certificate application; not to mention, she had to figure out where he was born because he did not know. She then moved on to requesting a City of Oakland ID card in order to prove and correct the EBT misinformation at the Social Services Agency. Finally, Lauren was able to help Jahmal obtain a California ID when they received his birth certificate as proof of identity. 

Jahmal always had a new goal to work on with our Direct Service Staff. The Case Manager, Sidney Siu, shared an opportunity with Jahmal that would offer him a large stipend which he then utilized to pay for a legal name change– a long-time goal of his in order to better reflect his identity. 

GRADUATION TO EMPLOYMENT | You may ask what it means to be a DST graduate. Well, Team Members graduate from our program when they no longer need our services, become housed, or get employed. We are proud to say that Jahmal is employed! Kylie Lange, one of the Case Managers, supported him in applying for the position of Peer Harm Reduction Specialist. In this role, Jahmal shares resources and teaches harm reduction techniques to people actively using drugs, in addition to advocating for their needs. Kylie also continued to help him understand and complete his onboarding tasks, all while applying to get his phone bill decreased. Since beginning his new job, Jahmal has received kudos from his supervisor and is hoping to transition to another job with more hours and responsibility. 

FUTURE PLANS | As Jahmal settles into his new job, Sidney will continue to support his future goals. The two will work on budgeting and search for housing now that Jahmal has more income. He also plans on obtaining all of his college transcripts to complete his Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology with a Minor in Biology. Down the line, he hopes to finish writing a screen play he had been working on during his incarceration.