United Returning Citizen Casablanca Gala Honoree Cashara Bradley Shares Her Mission To Help Others
At the start of the interview, United Returning Citizens Housing Specialist Cashara Bradley wore a beaming smile, nearly speechless with gratitude. As a returning citizen, her path to restoring her life sheds light on the power of second chances for those previously incarcerated.
More than a decade ago, the Youngstown native began her journey and is now being named Returning Citizens of The Year by her peers, colleagues and community. An honor, she asserts, is truly remarkable.
“I accomplished all the hard work I set out to do, and being recognized for that is a true honor. They’re seeing me in a new light; it’s amazing. If I can turn it around, anybody can turn it around.”
“I accomplished all the hard work I set out to do, and being recognized for that is a true honor. They’re seeing me in a new light; it’s amazing. If I can turn it around, anybody can turn it around.”
The Ripple effect of challenging family dynamics under incarceration
Growing up in a city devastated by the closing of its primary economic steel production, like many of her generation, she experienced a tumultuous childhood.
“Being raised by my grandmother due to my mother being addicted to drugs, I was adopted at five. My grandmother was my savior by adopting my sister and myself, though there were a lot of self-esteem issues and anger internally I was facing not having my mother in the picture.”
Interpersonal issues would lead Bradley to associate with people who often did not have her best interest at heart. These relationships, she confesses, were the beginning of her path to incarceration.
“I was looking for love in all the wrong places, which led me to incarceration at twenty-seven… I was loyal to a man who was incarcerated for life… I let him manipulate the situation into me bringing drugs into the prison for him, and I got caught,” she explains.
While incarcerated, she left a lasting impact by offering support to fellow inmates, conducting unofficial therapy sessions, and helping others maintain connections with their loved ones on the outside through the help of her family and support.
“Realizing how fortunate I was in an unfortunate situation, I started to count my blessings… I started to embrace the whole situation… when I returned home, it made it easier because I knew what to expect,” she said.
In her mission to prevent young girls and boys from following a similar path, Bradley fights tirelessly. She declares, “As long as I touch one person, I can go home and be filled.” When asked about her most significant achievement, Bradley empathically shares, “Any person I have impacted or inspired since I’ve been home is the biggest achievement I can give myself.”
How Bradley leads her team to secure housing for returning citizens
As a housing specialist, Bradley brings personal and professional experience to help guide clients through one of the most challenging times of their reentry journeys. At the start of her role, she helped create solutions based on pitfalls she went through after her release, ultimately helping expand URC’s housing program. Her transparency with clients bolsters her credibility with clients. It drives her efforts to build relationships in the community to help those most vulnerable to homelessness find safe and secure places to live.
“I have no shame. My thing is to gain that relationship and trust.”
Though this is a new position, she has to hit the ground running, building relationships with different transitional housing, realty companies, or private landlords that will rent to formerly incarcerated populations.
Raising Awareness of Housing Insecurities Faced by the Formerly Incarcerated
The harsh truth is returning citizens struggle to find secure and stable housing once they are released. Reportedly, over 500,000 U.S. citizens are homeless, and according to a study by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, approximately 25% of those experiencing homelessness have a history of incarceration.
URC has safely housed 50 returning citizens and their families. Bradley and her team work closely with community partners assisting with transitional housing, emergency placement and long-term housing.
During our upcoming Casablanca Gala on October 6, we aim to build our capacity by raising funds for our latest EZ Way Homes and Project Good Homes initiatives.
Learn more about our housing projects and RSVP your ticket to our gala.