Struggle2Succcess Podcast
Welcome to the Struggle2Success Podcast.
I’m your host, Sterling Brown — and around here, we don’t hide from the hard stuff.
I didn’t launch this podcast from a polished place — I launched it while still healing. What started as my personal story has grown into something bigger: a space where we talk real about the struggles that shape us, the systems that confine us, and the current issues that weigh on our communities.
This isn’t just about surviving — it’s about transforming. From incarceration and fatherhood to mental health, relationships, reentry, and everything in between — this is where we get honest about the climb and what it takes to keep going.
So whether you’re tuning in from your car, your crib, or somewhere in between trying to figure it all out — you’re not alone. We’re in this together. Airing every other Saturday.
This is Struggle2Success — life is trials. Stay focused.
Struggle2Succcess Podcast
Urban Incarceration: Breaking the Cycle - Stopping the Next Generation from Going In (pt-6)
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With over 15 years of advocacy experience and more than a decade specializing in educational and court interpreting, Eloisa V. Baez is passionate about empowering individuals and families through access, representation, and support.
Throughout her career, Eloisa has been a trusted advocate for clients navigating complex systems such as education, healthcare, and legal services.
Advocacy isn’t just a service — it’s a calling. Everyone deserves a voice, and I’m here
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This episode was hosted by Sterling Brown
When we look at a child, we don't normally think this kid is headed down the wrong path, but the truth is some already are, not because they want to be, but because the cycles already have been set in motion. We're not just calling out the system. We're confronting the cycles that feed it. Cycles that begin in broken homes and end behind steel doors. Cycles that pull kids out of the classrooms and drop them into the courtrooms. So, whether you're a mentor, a parent or just someone who cares, lock in with me, because if we don't reach them now, we may never get another chance.
Speaker 2:If you have ever been told by someone that you're not capable of attaining success, if you have made mistakes or lived in an underprivileged neighborhood, then this podcast is for you. You are now locked in to Struggle to Success. Struggle to Success aims to inspire individuals to navigate life's challenges with courage, fortitude and unwavering determination. So if you're in your car jogging or somewhere else trying to find the calm in the storm, then join Struggle to Success airing every other Saturday. Remember life is trials. Stay focused.
Speaker 1:I had just turned 17. It was one of those grave-filling mornings where the sky pressed low, juvenile courts sat quietly on Benjamin Franklin Parkway. People passed it like it was just another building, but for me it was the beginning of something I'll never forget. No mom, no dad, no brother, just me, a body in a hoodie and jeans walking into a system that didn't know my name but already had a box to put me in. My father serving life, my brother locked up again, my mom gone and me in a court for truancy, for skipping school, for being out too late in North Philly with my foster cousins. I stood before the judge thinking I could handle it. I'd been on my own for so long. Asking for help didn't even cross my mind. I told him my mom was working. I mentioned my dad and my brother trying to show I just wasn't out here wiling. But that only made me look more forgotten. 35 minutes later the judge looked me in my eyes and said Sterling, for your safety, I'm recommending that you be placed in a secure child facility. I didn't expect that. I thought I'd walk out the same way I came in, but instead I sat in my first holding cell Cold steel, chipped paint, stale air.
Speaker 1:The ride out of the city to Slayton Farms changed everything. I wasn't just skipping school anymore, I was in the system, surrounded by other youths with charges I couldn't even comprehend. And in that moment I realized something this cycle doesn't wait for you to catch up. If you don't break it, it will break you. I got you, but I wasn't free. My body left Slayton, but my mind stayed locked. Same surroundings, same pressure, no real direction.
Speaker 1:Between 18 and 25, I lost something important hope. I stopped dreaming, I stopped believing. And when that happens, negativity doesn't feel like danger, it feels like comfort. You drowned in it but it doesn't feel like drowning when someone else is swimming in the same water in the same way. That's how I caught my first adult charge, not because I was evil, but because I was empty and I was trying to fill the emptiness with status and street validation.
Speaker 1:I thought money, clothes and fast respect would fix me. They didn't. I had to look in the mirror and make a real choice. Not a temporary decision, not a survival mode, but growth. And I'm still choosing that, because becoming a man isn't about how many people fear you. It's about how many people trust you when things get hard.
Speaker 1:Being a man means showing up for your kids, for your people, even for yourself. That means breaking bad habits, walking away from old systems, building real discipline All the things I used to run from. Now I run towards it. Today I'm a father, a former police officer, a correctional officer. I've been the one in handcuffs and the one holding the keys. I've seen it from both sides and what I see now hurts. The youth are getting younger. I've seen 13-year-olds in cuffs. I've seen kids sentenced to numbers older than they are, but because no one intervened early enough.
Speaker 1:We can't ignore what's fueling it Broken homes, no guidance, poverty, falling schools, no job prep and a society that tells them that their only options are sports, rap or the streets. They're not chasing pain. They're chasing what the world tells them looks like success, and too often that success shows up as fast money, fake love and a short ride to a long sentence. Let's talk real. You might say that's not my kid, but if you survive the cycle, then every kid is connected to what we've tolerated. Yes, they have to make their own choices, but we have the power to give them better choices. So when we talk solutions, here's how we start to break the cycle. So when we talk solutions, here's how we start to break the cycle.
Speaker 1:Number one mentorship. We need more brothers. We need more big brothers, uncles, coaches, real men showing up and showing the way. Number two early intervention. Reach them early, teach emotional intelligence, teach self-worth. Don't wait until high school. Number three community accountability. We can't keep glorifying the street life. Let's celebrate those who grow, not just those who survive. Number four law enforcement. With compassion, as someone who's worn the badge, I'm telling you you've got to do better. Show up, engage, build. And number five jobs, opportunity and education. We need more trade schools, apprenticeships, after-school programs, real options, because a child with no path will find their own and this usually leads to prison or pain.
Speaker 1:If you've made it out, you owe it to ones who are behind you. Your story matters, your presence matters. You don't need to be perfect, just present. Be an example of what surviving the storm looks like, because if we don't show them strength, they'll chase the false version of it. If you're struggling today, you're not broken. You're unfinished, but you still have time to finish strong. And if you need help, dial 988-SUICIDE-IN-CRISIS-LINE or 1-800-RUNAWAY for youth needing a safe way out, or Boys Town, which is 1-800-448-3000 for families in crisis. Let's break the cycle together right now, right here, together. Next, on Struggle to Success, we're going to talk about stopping the cycle before it starts. But what if you're already in it? What if you're trying to move on? But we don't hire felons. You're still on paper, your record's sealed, but not forgotten. In our next episode, we're digging into the legal roadblocks parole, probation and expungement. If you've ever felt like your past was holding your future hostage, then episode 17 is for you. And remember life is trials. Stay focused.
Speaker 2:Thanks for checking out this episode of Struggle to Success. To connect with the show, you can email us at struggletosuccessp at gmailcom. Make sure you like and subscribe so that you never miss an episode. And remember life is trials, Stay focused.
