What if the most powerful blueprint for community revitalization isn’t a new program, a politician, or a grant… but the people who already live there? In this episode, Gerrel Jones, a Birmingham native and Executive Director of Renew Birmingham, shares his raw story—how he went from a criminal lifestyle and prison time to a life sentence, and how the deepest turning point came through guilt, faith, and finally learning how to function like a healthy human being. After being released in 2012 and later pardoned, Gerald explains how he used what he learned to help others coming home and to rebuild neighborhoods from the inside out. You’ll hear how collective impact, workforce development, adult education, housing opportunities, youth services, transportation, and community health and wellness can work—when they’re infused with something most places are missing: real neighbor engagement. If you care about second chances, reducing recidivism, and building safer, stronger communities in underserved areas, this conversation will shift how you think about leadership, healing, and what it actually takes to put the neighbor back in neighborhood.

How Gerrel prison experience reshaped his identity, mindset, and leadership approach for reentry and community building. The Renew Birmingham model for empowering residents in underserved communities to lead their own neighborhood revitalization. Why loving your neighbor is a practical framework for community health, mental wellness, and long-term stability. How “proximity investment” and local ownership can help residents build wealth and protect their neighborhood’s future.

00:00 Intro
00:21 From Birmingham roots to prison
00:45 The moment everything changed
01:05 What prison taught him about community
01:44 Turning himself in and rebuilding his life
02:26 What Renew Birmingham actually does
03:13 Love God, love your neighbor: the core principle
03:56 Services + the missing ingredient: neighbor engagement
04:14 Putting the neighbor back in neighborhood

#Birmingham #SecondChances #CommunityRevitalization #Reentry #NeighborhoodDevelopment