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: Beyond Survival - Parole, Probation, and Clearing Your Name (pt-7)
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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
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 Struggle2 Success. Struggle2 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 Struggle2 Success airing every other Saturday. Remember life is trials. Stay focused.
Sterling:Hello Wonderful People. In episode five I said not all legal representation is the same, and I meant that you need someone who understands reentry law. Not all legal representation is the same and I meant that you need someone who understands reentry law, not just criminal law, someone who's not just in the courtroom to close a file but to fight for your future. I didn't have that. In my early 20s I was charged with possession with intent over one bag of marijuana. They hit me with a felony and gave me a bail, like I was Pablo Escobar. That one case sent me in a spiral that took years to climb out of. And while some folks still say what happened to me was harsh, I'll be real. I did wrong, I wasn't innocent. But when you come from a neighborhood that's under-resourced, overlooked and over-policed, you learn quick. The punishment doesn't match the act, it matches the zip code. I didn't have a fighter in my corner. I had a court-appointed attorney. Clean, cut, polished, said all the right things. When it came down to it, I was just another name on his overloaded calendar. No strategy, no options, just take the plea. That kind of representation doesn't protect you. It buries you. Some lawyers look at your lack of legal knowledge as an easy win. They know you won't ask the right questions. They know you'll sign what they put in front of you, but the moment you do, you're locked into consequences you can't walk away from.
Sterling:So let's talk about what comes after probation and parole, because most people use those words interchangeably but they're not the same. In Pennsylvania, probation is when the court lets you serve your sentence out in the community instead behind bars. On paper it looks like a sound break, but it comes with strict consequences Regular check-ins with probation officers, drug tests, curfews, treatment programs, employment requirements. You mess up any one of these things, even the smallest, and you're going back to court and that judge. They can give you your full sentence that you originally avoided. Then there's unsupervised probation, where you're not reporting to a probation officer or PO and you don't have to check in, but you're still under the court's watch. One wrong move and everything crashes and low-key, but still high-risk.
Sterling:Now parole Parole comes after you've served a sentence, generally upstate, after you've done time. It means that the state lets you finish your sentence. Now in Pennsylvania it's 85% of your sentence out in the community, but you're still under the Department of Corrections and you're still being watched. You're still under state control. You're out, but not free If you violate those terms. So you're out, but not free. If you violate those terms, you go right back to prison, no questions asked.
Sterling:Probation is the court giving you a shot before jail. Parole is the system releasing you early after jail. But both are controlled freedom, both are full of landmines. Probation sounds like a win, but here's the truth. You stay out of jail, you get to work, you get to be around your family. The cons the rules are tight, the system is unforgiving. You could lose everything over a late curfew or missed payment. Parole the pros are you're out of prison, you're re-entering, you're getting a second chance. But the cons you're still serving time.
Sterling:And one mistake, whether yours or someone else's, and it's all over. You thought you were grinding your way to freedom, picking up double shifts, trying to be consistent, trying to get your kids back, trying to show your family. You've changed, but you miss one call to your probation officer. And because you were working, that's a one call to your probation officer. And because you were working, that's a violation. Most of them don't care, only that you did. That's not a setup, it's policy and it's a pattern. A pattern that doesn't ask if you're trying A pattern. That doesn't care about your panic attacks, your housing situations, your mental health or the fact that the job that you just got barely gives you hours. It just wants check boxes and compliance.
Sterling:Most people fall in less than three years of release, not because they're criminals, but because they're walking a system designed for failure. You could be doing everything right and still you'll lose everything over one small mistake. The system doesn't need you to mess up big, it just needs you to mess up once. So how do you make it? You move early, you move with intention, you learn the rules so you can navigate around the traps. An expungement is real, pardons are real and possible. But don't wait until your supervision ends to start. You're already behind then.
Sterling:I've been in the courtroom sweaty palms, stacks of documents, years of proof that I've changed, that I contributed, that I mattered. That's what it takes. This isn't a favor, it's a fight, and you've got to prepare your life like it depends on it, because it does my little homie. So start now. Keep a folder, track everything jobs, community service programs save your pay stubs, ask for letters of recommendation and build your case brick by brick, building and repairing relationships along the way, if you can, and don't be afraid to ask for help. I cannot stress this enough your pride will do something to you that you do not want it to do and will make you be silent. So don't be afraid to ask for help. There are free legal clinics that specialize in pardon and expungement support. Use them.
Sterling:Let's talk about the clean state law. Pennsylvania passed it in 2018. The first of its kind, it was created to seal certain criminal records automatically after 10 years of clean living. Why? Because so many people were doing work or trying to get a job, but were still getting denied housing, jobs or other opportunities. Then came the Ban the Box, a movement that pushed employers to stop asking about criminal history on job applications. It gave people a chance to get in a room before their record got in the way.
Sterling:And in PA, if you've done your time, you can vote, you can apply for public housing, you can receive benefits, and you have to know your rights, not just understand them. You have to know your rights because if you do not, they'll act like if you don't have any. So, wherever you're at fighting a cause on paper recently released, I need you to hear this you are not your charge, you're not your worst moment, but what you do next, that's on you. You can't fake your way out through this. You have to be honest honest with your lawyer, honest with the support system, honest with yourself. If you did wrong, say it, own it, because you can't change what you don't want to face.
Sterling:And once you get clear, once you're back on your feet, don't just walk away like it never happened. Someone needs your story. Someone needs your feet. Don't just walk away like it never happened. Someone needs your story. Someone needs your scars. Somebody needs to see that survival is possible. It might not be your struggle today, but tomorrow it might be your son, your niece, your neighbor, and when that happens, your voice might be the reason they choose something different. We were put here to do more than survive. We were put here to help each other, make it through, to correct each other in love, to build legacy, not just life. Freedom is not paperwork, it's perseverance. And remember life is trials, stay focused.
Speaker 1:Thanks for checking out this episode of Struggle2 Success. To connect with the show, you can email us at struggle2success. p@ gmail. com. Make sure you like and subscribe so that you never miss an episode. And remember life is trials, stay focused.
