Generocity: Nikia Owens - February 1, 2021
Do we reward ego as opposed to excellence, popularity instead of productivity, and motive rather than merit?
I am often perplexed and find myself asking, does the “stage” truly tell the story of excellence and acknowledge the indubitable laborers? As a city challenged by poverty and moving to recover from a pandemic, there is a call and shift requiring us to build on strengths and not the struggle.
The strength is in the power of the people and the answer lies within them, the foot soldiers and the unsung community heroes.
Peggy Sims, founder/CEO of Sisters Returning Home (SRH) has been a fierce advocate and servant leader, giving light where there is darkness and creating a path where there is no foundation, for hundreds of women in, and exiting, the Pennsylvania prison system.
Wylie Belasik, owner of Subversus Fitness, and founder and executive director of UliftU, champions improving the health of impoverished communities through his partnership with the State Correctional Institution (SCI) Chester, developing, training and certifying incarcerated men as coaches so once released, the men are employable in a field where their criminal record will not present as a barrier.
While Barry Johnson, the director of Uplift Solution‘s Workforces Solutions may hold a master’s certification in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, a bachelor of science and master’s in Business Administration, his lived prison experience combined with his academic training has commissioned him to be one of the most effective change agents for criminal justice reform and restoring the lives of Philadelphia’s returning citizens.
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