Sound United Presents

Redemption and Grace

• Sound United Podcast Presents • Season 4 • Episode 10

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In this episode, we present Dionne Dowdy-Lacy, a powerful advocate from Youngstown, Ohio. A mother, grandmother, and community leader, Dionne shares her journey from a vibrant childhood through personal challenges to creating opportunities for returning citizens. You’ll hear heartfelt stories of resilience, family, and the drive to help others rewrite their futures. Most of all, you’ll meet a woman who lives her mission of care through action, not words.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

  • Life Growing Up in Youngstown
  • School Days and Teenage Motherhood
  • Finding Purpose After Adversity
  • Launching United Returning Citizens
  • Real Change Through Advocacy
  • Dionne’s "One Word"

So press play and be moved by Dionne's inspiring story. Ladies and gentlemen, Sound United Presents... Dionne Dowdy-Lacy!

Be sure to subscribe wherever you vibe with podcasts or visit our website. www.soundunitedpresents.com

Sound United Presents is a community-focused podcast powered by Sound United Podcast Studio. Produced by Kimberly Gonzales and D. Lee Scott

D. Less Scott:

Hello, ladies and gents, welcome to Sound United Presents, a diverse and inclusive podcast focused on local entrepreneurs, professionals and unsung community heroes. Within each episode, our guests will candidly share their stories filled with triumph, failures, humor, lessons learned, insight and some nuggets of wisdom. I'm very excited about this, and I hope you are too. Let's get started. Hey folks, once again, thank you for hitting the play button and listening to Sound United Presents, powered by Sound United Podcast Studio. I'm your host, d Lee Scott. Making it sound crispy is Kimberly Gonzalez.

D. Less Scott:

Today finally got her in. We had to call people and it was like maybe nine to ten different people. Her people had to call my people, my people called hers, but we got her here. She's here and I'm thankful because I learned about this organization maybe two years ago and off my I was talking to her and talking about how. I didn't know who ran the organization. I just heard about it about two years, somewhere in a year and a half. Our topics today is something very near and dear to me, to both from a from a family member standpoint and just from a society standpoint. I'm going to be talking about some reentry stuff, criminal justice, her personal story a little bit, and just, we're going to navigate, navigate her world and get some some insight and things like that. So with that, ladies and gentlemen, sound United presents Miss Dion Doughty Lacey. Welcome, the crowd goes crazy, the cannons are going off and everything.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Welcome to the show thank you for having me yeah, couldn't listen.

D. Less Scott:

There's a whole backstory with season four, me deciding to do it and and I had plenty of time to think about who I really wanted to you, you know, cause this is an important season for me and there's there's information our trailer kind of talks about a little bit. So to get you on here was just very, very, very special to me because you are, you were doing something that's very amazing, many things amazing in this particular case with the organization and stuff. Being executive director of United Returning Citizens. I should probably have put that out there, but you know I'm not going to. I'm gonna allow you to elaborate on that a little bit. But no, to have you here means a lot and I truly, truly, truly, truly mean that.

D. Less Scott:

And we have some mutual friends who speak about you a lot too, who have spoken about you, like when we get into it a little bit. I'll say I know one of them was like she about her business, like she about her business, you know, and she going to bring you along, just do you know, just just really good stuff. And that's how you know it's good people when the people that they are connected to speaks of them right in rooms that they're not in, and that's incredible.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

So that's cool to know, yeah.

D. Less Scott:

So kind of briefly tell the audience about yourself a little bit yeah.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

So kind of briefly tell the audience about yourself a little bit. Well, I am a girl from Youngstown, Ohio, born and raised. I have three children. I have 11 grandchildren.

D. Less Scott:

I'm a community advocate, I'm a teacher, I'm a counselor, I'm a champion and I'm a healer.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

What's that Youngst, that South side?

D. Less Scott:

Ain't they working on the high school over there?

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Yeah, we went there the other day. They let us go inside and it was so many memories that was like 30, almost 40 years ago, but just to see, like the bathrooms we used to go into and our Spanish teacher, it was very nostalgic.

D. Less Scott:

Is the locker still there?

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Yeah, like we were touching it, I'm like look at this it was cool.

D. Less Scott:

So what are they are they trying to? Are they trying to make that a school, or is it just kind of? I think they're restoring it just like leasing rooms and you know more of like a business incubator more or less. Oh, that's wonderful. So I think so, yeah, yeah, that's wonderful, yeah yeah, it's better. I hope it it goes well yeah, because sometimes they'll do those schools and they'll turn them into like um residential yeah, type thing.

D. Less Scott:

So it's really nice to hear that they're gonna. You know and I could actually see that like businesses or nonprofits in there, you know what I mean Like a very good community incubator. That is a wonderful idea. So did you like? What was you thinking when you were in there? I know we kind of getting off track a little bit. You were in there and you were looking at the lockers and the restroom.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Like would you be somewhere. But you know you have moments that you remember. You know, when you were in there, like I know it was shameful to think about this, but when I got put out of Spanish class for talking too much, I remember that one. I remember us racing down the hallway, you know, at lunchtime I remember us selling pencils and erasers in the hallway, you know. You remember. You know the girls hanging around the water fountain. You know, he's a 10, he's a two, he's a four, you know. So all that stuff came up. It was nice, you know some. I mean, I think that's like the last school that's still standing.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

So you know we actually got to go into the school that we went to you know other schools that have been rebuilt, you know, or just taken down completely, but that school.

D. Less Scott:

So I was like oh, I'm thankful and the architecture, and just you know the wherewithal of it just being there.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, caught up with any?

D. Less Scott:

did you catch up with any friends you ain't seen in years?

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Yes, that's what I mean People we haven't seen in 30, 40 years. To see them, Then we're all in the same.

D. Less Scott:

You know some of us like we're redoing pictures that we had like with our hands on our hips and stuff.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

So it was nice.

D. Less Scott:

How was life? I mean growing up in Youngstown like. Did you spend a lot of time on the south side? Was all of Youngstown your playground. What was life like? Was all of Youngstown your playground? What was life?

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

like. I had a great childhood. I had a mother and father that worked at General Motors in the post office. My church was right across the street, so we was very spiritually, foundationally religious, if that makes sense, perfect sense, perfect sense.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

We had a big family. My mother has seven sisters and three brothers, so I had cousins. So my cousins were my friends and they lived maybe a block or two from each other. So we would walk, either we would go to the park or go over to each other's house and we would just hang out. And then my dad was from Warren, so in the summers we would come over here to Warren or go to church over here Grace, ame or Packer Park, you know all those places.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

So it was really cool. You know, it was just a regular childhood Did you?

D. Less Scott:

you know what kind of stuff did you climb trees.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

I was a tomboy so I played football with the guys. I climbed trees, I was racing all the time. Our next door neighbor, he drove motorcycles so we would be on the dirt bike with him. Get my legs all burnt up, still get up, get back on it. We did like they don't play outside. We played outside. We played. What did we play? Skip hopscotch? We would play dodgeball Racing. We would just play. You know racing. We would just play. You know just the regular jacks, regular stuff that kids would play, did you?

D. Less Scott:

play marbles? Nah, I always ask people that because we grew up on marbles on the east side, here in Warren, we used to play marbles all the time. I was telling my son about it.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

We used to call it spansies when you went around one time you one, two times two spansies, and all that, but you didn't play marbles. Hmm, I know, because I don't even know what spansy is, so I know freeze tag now freeze tag yeah abc block green light, red light.

D. Less Scott:

Oh yeah, that was a classic. I think adults should play that like that's a good exercise game like get a bunch of adults and play that.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

So yeah, we're gonna see it on.

D. Less Scott:

We'll see it on tiktok it ain't, I said we'll probably see it on tiktok because it's fine, that's, that's an adult game. It is that you can play. You can play it in childhood. You play it in adult. I mean, if you, if you like me, it might be through a party you'd be like, well, if you get caught, you gotta have a shot of tequila. Yeah, and you gotta get back in the game just with some extra see, just with some extra comedy. Your fish out of tequila, you trying to stop yeah, that would be fun, yeah yeah, maybe I'll.

D. Less Scott:

Well, I ain't on TikTok, maybe I'll Instagram something like that. I'll have everybody sign a release, though, so they can come back and get it. Yes, even my best of friends and family. What do you remember most about that era?

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

growing up um I adore a park, I don't know. I adore park fries. Um the cookie castle, jack rabbit having birthdays with all my cousins over sleepovers, cognac lake I've never been there. No.

D. Less Scott:

No, I've never been there Back then. That was just that was the thing, that was the spot, yeah.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Geauga Lake, cedar Point. You know because General Motors always had the tickets to go there.

D. Less Scott:

So oh, yeah, yeah.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

So we were always going.

D. Less Scott:

You like the Jackrabbit? Yeah, yeah, man, yeah, okay, the jackrabbit was the orange right, was the orange one right, that other one was the wildcat. Yes, yeah, I ain't like that one at all. I ain't like neither one. But I never rode the wildcat. It was too close to that water no, I loved it.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

I didn't like that spider that went around.

D. Less Scott:

See, I love the spider, yeah, bumper cars, the spider and that Silver Rocket, the ones that went around.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Anything that went around just wasn't for me.

D. Less Scott:

You know what I like the most, though the French fries.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

They were the best the French fries yeah everyone keeps trying to duplicate Like these are all Aydara fries Not.

D. Less Scott:

Nah, it was something about grabbing that spray bottle of vinegar too. It was Something about grabbing that spray bottle of vinegar too. Something about grabbing a spray bottle of vinegar and putting them on your fries. It just I don't know. I don't know. And the hill too, because I remember we used to roll down that hill. My mom, would you know. We would go see my grandfather. He stayed on Idora, was it Idora? He stayed. We would go see him. I remember him vividly because he would always put milk in his scotch, which I tried that once. That's disgusting, but we would go to our door part too.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

I know what you're talking about.

D. Less Scott:

Yeah, we would do that, and my mom had a 8-millimeter video back. When they first came out I was like, mom, you had the money then because she worked at Packard, so we got old footage of that and the Jeep that you could drive.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Then we used to, when it snowed, we used to slay it down.

D. Less Scott:

Yeah, yeah, and we had Packard Park to do that.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Yeah, we had Mill Creek, but that was just like if we was over my aunt's house we could just go slay it right in right there.

D. Less Scott:

What do you remember most?

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Like, boom, we talked about the different things you did, but when you sit back, what do you remember most about your childhood? Now I'm going to tell you this feeling what I remember most about my childhood is feeling like I am supposed to do something impactful here, somewhere here in the valley, here. So I just knew it was something that I'm supposed to do. Impactful, like it was something that I was supposed to do with people, because people were always like around you know me or you know I was. It was easy to be around people to talk to people, so it was something I knew that was just going to be impactful.

D. Less Scott:

So you didn't have like a dream career, like when I grow up I'm going to be a nurse. Ok, so that. Ok, nurse a nurse. Was there any reason? Why Was it a TV show? I always go back because I ask people like you know, I want to be like a police officer for a hot second because it was Hill Street Blues and starts getting hutch.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

I wanted to be a nurse because I wanted to take care of people, but I wanted to be Diane Carroll off of Dynasty because she was a co-businesswoman.

D. Less Scott:

First of all you bring it back to the nostalgic shows Dynasty and Dallas. But yeah, I remember Dynasty. Did she have the black hair? Yeah, yeah, I remember her. But yeah, I remember Dynasty.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Did she have the black hair? Yeah?

D. Less Scott:

Yeah, I remember her.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Thank you, she was the black lady with the fur, you know.

D. Less Scott:

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

So that was like the first black woman I'd seen, like really doing business.

D. Less Scott:

Because there wasn't a lot of examples of that back at that time. No, it was Good Times, times the jeffersons don't forget sanford and son, because that's my show really well.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

I was like, was there was no one on there. I'm like, well, don't want to be her uh, um.

D. Less Scott:

So when we talk about school we talk about you going to, but elementary where'd you go to elementary school? I'm not really familiar with youngstown, but I don't. I don't like to pull cause. I asked people from Warnock's. You know what I mean, so it's only Monroe.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

What is that? It's gone.

D. Less Scott:

Gone. Okay, where'd you go to middle school?

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Calvary Christian Academy.

D. Less Scott:

Here Gone yeah.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

The school is gone, but the church is still over there, Mount Calvary Okay. And then of course, high school you was, yeah. So I went to Mooney and then all of my cousins were going to South and so I begged my mother, because Mooney didn't have proms. Then what? No, someone had got drunken or something and drove and killed themselves or something. So they didn't have proms for a long time.

D. Less Scott:

Wow yeah.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

So I wanted to go to the prom. So I begged my mother to let me go to South.

D. Less Scott:

Convinced her, and the rest was history yeah. I'm a warrior, Did you take any? I believe it. I believe it. Did you take any like classes where there's certain things Cause, you know, back in the day we had a plethora College prep Courses Okay. So no workshops, no metal shop no.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

No, no, like I was on debate team at Mooney.

D. Less Scott:

Oh, you was doing it.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Yeah, like French class.

D. Less Scott:

Is that how you convinced because of that debate skill? Is that how you convinced because of that debate?

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

skill. Is that how you convinced your mom?

D. Less Scott:

I believe so.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Okay, yes.

D. Less Scott:

But I had to convince her that I would keep my grades up.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

That nothing would change, you know. So no sports, anything like that. No, when I was there I played softball, ran track, I did volleyball at Calvin Christian Academy and I was on a dance team. When I went to South, a majorette, okay.

D. Less Scott:

So what did you as you went through school? You get to high school. High school comes to an end, right? What did you do after high school?

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Well, I was a teen mom, okay, so at 16, I got, got pregnant and I had my oldest. So then when I got out I didn't go to school. So by 21 I was married okay and then I had two more kids. So then by then I was a wife with three kids by 23. So I was just uh, not just uh, I was a domestic engineer.

D. Less Scott:

Wait, domestic engineer.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

I was a domestic. I'm writing this, I'm writing all this stuff down Perhaps.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

So I was a domestic engineer at that time and, um, when the kids all went to school and stuff, I told my husband, like you know, I don't have anything, I need something. And so I went to massage therapist school. So I am a massage therapist. I went to take my kids one time to get their teeth cleaned and then, while they were doing that, I went next door and got a massage by Penny King and if anyone hears this, they know who she is and I said the way that she make me feel I have to have other people feel this. So I went to school to be a masto therapist.

D. Less Scott:

How long does that take to do?

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

It was 18 months Okay.

D. Less Scott:

So you still licensed to.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

I still have my table. I just gave one the other day so.

D. Less Scott:

So you have it as a as a business too no, I don't do it as a business now yeah, okay, yeah, all right, yeah, because I don't want to be committed to that right, because you have a, you have an organization you run in.

D. Less Scott:

You run in an organization that we're about to talk about. But before I even get I kind of mentioned it earlier, but before we get to, like I really want to go into because when you in the field that you're in and it makes sense now that you say impactful, right, you knew you wanted to help. Yeah, make an impact and do what inspired you to open up, to, even to found that your organization- it was personal.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Ok, I have two felonies. My husband went to the penitentiary, my father was in a penitentiary, my uncles, my brother went to jail. But all of these people were so intelligent, creative, innovative and so like I didn't understand, like what was the problem? Or why were we there, or they there, and what did they need not to be there or go there anymore or to recidivize? And so they told me, like you know, you know what it is, opportunities and resources.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

So I became a AmeriCorps VISTA and then I told them, in order to be one, you all had to let me bring United Returning Citizens with me and allow me to use that through my VISTA. And they did. And I had the first felon friendly job fair where we went to get employers that would hire felons, and so we kind of started that. And then everything else that we did as far as vistas and community stuff, I always added to the bullet point felons to the bullet point felons. So just keeping that in the conversation, you know what I mean so that they would know like we are a part of whatever that you all do in this community. And so we had to like push the narrative of what felons or what I was going to have people believe what a felon was or was not.

D. Less Scott:

Do you go into that? Did you have a lot of buy-in from employers to be a part of this? Because you know back in it may still be out there, I'm sure, but they had it. Was that paper, like when you know you got in trouble, you're looking for a job let's say you just got out of jail or prison or you know it could have been a child support issue and you couldn't find work. Right, they said here, here's this paper, go, you know, go, fill out. And I remember not saying just you know, just not saying Arby's does this, because I got to be careful because this day and age, but anyway, arby's was on there.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

It was like all these companies and they would you know, give you that, yeah, and the majority of them some that didn't why they should, because I didn't want to spend my time on like woulda, coulda, shoulda, like that's wasteful time. You know, I tell my grandkids like you get a moment, you know, into whatever that's happening, because your feelings are valid.

D. Less Scott:

Then the rest of that energy you got to solve the problem. Do you going back? Do you feel like it's easier now for and I say I call them return or restore citizens?

D. Less Scott:

I mean during my back when I worked for FHI, that's. You know that was the thing. But do you feel like opportunities are opening up more now than back then, let's say 10 years back or so or is it still kind of the same as far as, like you know, people not wanting to give an opportunity? And I give example like I remember, cause I shared what I did prior to you know, off mic, you know working with flying high and doing that stuff. But I remember cause I was trying to find out why, like, if a person does their time, whatever they did, right, they, they did their time they got they they shit in order Right, and they ain't even got a J walking ticket and they've been out for five years or something like that, and they still can't find work.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Right.

D. Less Scott:

Nobody wants to hire them. They got a housing issues right A nuclear family, but they can't be a nuclear family because he or she has a felony so they can't move in to help raise. I mean it's just so crazy with, with, with all this stuff. But I remember someone telling me that their justification was it was a banker, like on why? And I said, well, what does that matter? Like I could understand it was a banker or something, right? I said, well, what does that matter? Like I could understand if it was a banker or something, right, okay, of course you ain't gonna work in a bank, right? I understand the banks thing, like that. But other than that, like how can you not give somebody an opportunity? They time they doing the right thing? Right and they got to survive? Has it changed a little bit for you? Like in that, in that realm, as far your organization, what you deal with the people who come in, has it changed? Is it easier now?

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

No, it's not easier. I think that we're making more opportunities for ourselves instead of just continually asking someone to help me to keep saying no. I think our mindset now is more of like okay, if that's not working, how can we make resources and opportunities for ourselves? This is a big world and there's great opportunities out here. So maybe let's look out the box and see you know who do support returning citizens, what company or what jobs can we, you know, go to that.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Don't do backgrounds or it doesn't matter. Do you have a background? Like let's concentrate on those people and those things and see how we can grow from there. That's kind of like my mindset and the mindset that most of the clients that come in, that I even have conversation, you know, I'll tell them like just look at it from that way, because they're overwhelmed and they're beat down. It's already you just we're normal or whatever, and just being rejected is bad to us. So just think of you continuously. You're already beating yourself up because you know what you've done. You know not to you yourself, your children, your mother. You know you're embarrassed, you're guilty, you feel guilty. So now you come out here and then they're telling you the same thing over and, over and over again. I've seen grown men cry because they're frustrated. It's not that they're not able or they're not capable, there's just no one's letting them be a man.

D. Less Scott:

To have an opportunity or to provide for the family, or you know, and always I think too, like sometimes it's hard. I say it's if you're in a relationship and you have that that situation, it's very important to have a strong relationship with your partner. It doesn't mean marriage or, you know, it could be boyfriend, because at the end of the day, when all that, when you getting beaten up out there just trying to find an opportunity, just anything, the last thing you want to do is come home and get beat up some more because you know you need to find a job and you out there trying to find a job, and now you got this, this dynamics, and not only is it insane a typhoon going inside of the house, it insane a typhoon going inside of the house, it's a typhoon going outside. And so I always say, like that, that relationship with whoever it is, is very, very, very important because, it can be uplifting as well too.

D. Less Scott:

You know, yeah, how has your, when you initially started the organization, the vision you had, how has it evolved? I mean, you kind of talked about a little bit on just like your position on certain things, but how has it evolved? I mean, you kind of talked about a little bit on just like your position on certain things.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

but how has it evolved? I really didn't have a vision. So this was really started by Wayne Huggins. I met him at a leadership I think expo or something Somebody at church gave me this and say, hey, dion, you need to go there. So when I went there, I seen him and this is what he was doing. So I was like, okay, I could do the women, you could do the men.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

And so he was like okay, but he, you know, he wanted to do something else and so I still wanted to do this. So I just took over and then I just continued it yeah because he was doing like memberships.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

You know I just wanted to. You know, do direct services. You know I wanted to touch to people and make sure that they were okay and, you know, give them plans and goals and things like that. And that's where it started and evolved with, because I used to work with Mahoney Valley Organizing, so that's like organized.

D. Less Scott:

Oh yeah, inbock, yeah yeah.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

So organizing and advocacy was like wonderful, like going out there and you know, because when I was young I was a tomboy, so I used to fight all the time, so you know. So when you get old I'm like what is all this fighting for, you know? And so now I understand, you know, with all this fighting that I was doing then, like I'm always trying to fight for the equality of people, I believe in people's well-being and human rights, you know, and a right to have everything everyone else has, you know it was founded, originally founded by Mr Huggins.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Yeah.

D. Less Scott:

By Mr Huggins, and then y'all united like kind of like the Wonder Twins yeah, this and that, and then he kind of moved on to other things, and then you and then I just grew it from the needs of the clients.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

That's how I got my programming by what the needs were. When we came in, we were surveying them as they came in. That's when we, you know, we didn't know anything Like when I came in here. I was not computer savvy or anything like that. I just knew how to do the people. So we were just doing the groundwork. You know, we were having like brunches for fathers, for CCA, and then inviting their families you know what I mean so they can come and be there, you know, and giving them, even though you know, like if no one told you happy father's day, happy father's day, I gave them like a key change, just something to make them feel worthy, like I always tell them, like we're worthy, we are worthy. You know, um, we were doing expungements. We're still doing expungements. You know, to this day, the last one we had, I think it was like 37 people just being able to give people you know a second chance.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

You know it was like eleven hundred. You know collateral sanctions that they can't even be a part of. So now to be able to have that chance to pick passionately what you want to do as a career, I think it was cool. We used to do a lot of cleanup around. You know the neighborhood Hillman Street, that's where I live off so we were always cleaning that up. Hillman Street that's where I live off, so we were always cleaning that up. Just little things, just to connect the community with returning citizens, to see them in another way other than somebody coming through a door or, you know, selling drugs or things like that.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

So, what programs and initiatives do you offer? I know you mentioned some a little bit and just now you know, as of today, what type of things do you offer returning citizens? So today we do housing, workforce, resume, building, mental health, art therapy, eft, tapping, grief classes, entrepreneurship. Wow, urc grows horticulture, yeah.

D. Less Scott:

That's a lot.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Yeah, it is.

D. Less Scott:

It's a lot, though, but I assure you I can almost guarantee it's all needed.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

It's all needed, yeah, but we're going to just bunch that together and just kind of concentrate on it. I'm changing to advocacy because I think that we can show up better if we're just in the rooms. And if we do that, because the housing problem that we have, you know, we can't change that from out here we're going to have to be in those rooms, we're going to have to go down in Columbus, we're going to have to write letters, because it is just saddened to me every time someone come and they're looking for a home, that we just can't help them, you know, and a lot of these landlords just don't want to deal with someone that just has gotten out of prison.

D. Less Scott:

I mean, do they in conversation with somebody? Do they just do you get? Because to me, everything you know, you can get to a pure and authentic answer with the question why Do some of these landlords, do they break down? Why?

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

I mean, is it just for liability? Know, but that's what the most of them would say. Insurance like, that's what everyone, that's what even the employers, employers say that too.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Yeah, yeah, I was gonna say yeah yeah, so that's what they say, you know, and so what could you do? But, like we said, the opportunity is a lot of people that have went to jail you know what I mean, that they was hustlers. So when they come out they still know how to hustle something else, not other than what they were hustling before. So they are buying up properties and so they already know from experience it's hard to come out here and have, you know, somewhere to live. So then they buy houses and so that we can rent for them, or they'll do apartment buildings and so they can do, you know, rent out rooms or things like that. So you know, we are trying to make opportunities within ourselves.

D. Less Scott:

Good, good, that's really good. Yeah, I never understood that housing thing. That's why initially from going, you know, just liability is always that thing, but then you know somebody has an F5. Liability is always that thing. But then you know somebody has an F5. They got you know, six months community service and three years probation. They got an F5. Nothing violent. They still can't find housing. You know something like that it's crazy.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Listen, it's some people that came in there that don't have a background, you know, have anything and have a good job and having a hard time finding houses. So you know, housing is just bad out here period.

D. Less Scott:

What are some early challenges you had with the organization, like when you, you know, became yours, like what were?

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

some early challenges. Funding support really like taking serious, you know, or underestimated, that was a lot.

D. Less Scott:

Is it partly because of the initiative, partly because it's very difficult sometimes? Well, we can just say people of color, women like you, have all these, and was that part of it, did you? Did you face a lot of that like?

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

it was a little bit of both initiative because of what we're doing and people just like that's just not important to a lot of people and just being who I am, you know and not you know they don't take black women serious how you.

D. Less Scott:

Do you overcome that, though? Like to get away with? How did you overcome I mean, I'm not saying it's all like completely wiped away, but how have you pushed the needle forward Because you're doing amazing work? I mean, that's out there. How did you overcome some of that?

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

I know what my purpose is and I know why I'm here. So, regardless of what you say, what you do, this is meant to be, and so he's going to give me what I need to do, what I have to do. So I just did the work and I did it well enough so they will respect me and know there's no way that you can say no. There's no way that you can say, oh, she doesn't do that or oh, they're not doing that.

D. Less Scott:

Yeah, when you, I think, when you know yourself and you know your purpose. It's like in the medieval days, the knights you got this shield, yeah. Shoot your bow and arrow, they ain't gonna stop me. You know, I know my purpose.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Yeah, and if you're not going to help me, there is someone else in this world that will.

D. Less Scott:

Do you get a lot of support rallying around you? Now I do, From the time that you know, from the beginning to where it is now.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

I really do, I do Personal and business people and organizations and stuff. All around, all around, yeah.

D. Less Scott:

People definitely speak highly of you.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

I All around.

D. Less Scott:

Yeah, people definitely speak highly of you. I mentioned that earlier. They do. I hope so the organization. Do you have an impactful story of someone who's gone through the organization programming?

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Yeah, it's two of them. One was he just recently got killed. His name was Will Miller. His name was Shimmy.

D. Less Scott:

I read Okay, yeah.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

So when he first came out, he came to us and, um, he just did the work, we supported him. You know, I mean, like we were saying then, like he couldn't even get insurance, we had to write letters. You know, we had to um go advocate just so that he can have insurance, you know, as a returning citizen. Wait, wait, wait, wait, what?

D. Less Scott:

do you mean it's like car?

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

insurance no, like life insurance.

D. Less Scott:

Okay, wait, wait, wait, life insurance.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Life insurance, Even with his housing. We had the mayor write a letter. We still couldn't get him housing.

D. Less Scott:

That's wow, yeah, I didn't know life. You know what I mean Like yeah, what know life. And you know I mean like yeah, what type of? I don't know. That that's just so weird to me. That's why my eyes kind of got big like wait, did you say, was it automobile insurance?

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

no, it was life insurance. Life insurance and just for him to be able to turn his life around and to do what he'd love to do and get to be I mean paid and for him to be able to make an impact. Because when he came he said I just want to change what I've done, you know, in the past, and to me that was just a great impact and it's still, even though you know he's not here. It's still making a great impact on the young men that's in this community because he related to them so well and he was able some things like you know, people like oh, I used to push for him to get paid, you know, and they just felt like, because he did 26 years in the penitentiary, that he shouldn't get paid. He has a skill that y'all don't have. That's insane. Yeah, can you go in that room with this guy that's about to kill these two and squash it? No, that's a skill, yeah, so you have to pay people for their skills. You know what I mean. Just because he didn't go to, you know he did. He went to college, he was in there 26 years. He went. Yeah, that's how he was able to come out here and to be able to do that, so that was impactful.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Another one is Kashara. She works with me and everybody knows her. You know from her back past I mean past background of what she used to do. You know stick up and she, a girl you know hustle, all that kind of stuff. And now you know she does the same thing. She does the mentoring, she does our housing, she does a lot of personal and business development for herself, which is very important. I tell all of them it's very important to sustain where you at or what you're doing. And now you know she's just doing great things Like she has so much respect. You know so many girls. You know that's just coming out just looking up to her. You know what I mean. She's just making a difference in that way.

D. Less Scott:

Yeah, I think when you were talking about the skill set, the negotiation skills, right, and how you know people can go to college or take these classes or go to an academy to learn how to negotiate, but there are people who just have that given skill.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Yeah.

D. Less Scott:

And I always give example when I talk about this. There was a lady in our neighborhood that, uh, there was some beef in our neighborhood and it was a younger group of kids and you know you always have them, you know she was 70 something maybe, but you know you have these people in the neighborhood that they say something, you do it, no matter how old you are. Miss such and such, or mr such and such, you do it. And there was some beef in this neighborhood and if that beef wasn't controlled, it was going to go from street to street to street to street Because, as I said before, you know, warren, probably like Youngstown, like people connected, you know you, you my blood cousin, but we go way back.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Yeah, we go back to.

D. Less Scott:

Boston baked beans we good, and so that would have been a nasty situation. Yes, and this lady got them, two young men, together and it was over. I can't drink Pepsi. It's so sweet. I remember seeing seeing her because we were a neighbor and some fried whiting fish and Pepsi and told them, young brothers, to straighten that out and don't leave until it's done. And beef salt yeah, negotiation, you have to respect that. And beef salt.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Yeah.

D. Less Scott:

Negotiation.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

You have to respect that. Now, hers was a little bit more threatening, yeah, you know, but however, you know what I mean.

D. Less Scott:

By any means yes by any means.

D. Less Scott:

We can't have this going on. But I think you know, when you look at the person okay, somebody who may have made a mistake or what have you, whether it's the first or second time right, like, who are we to sit and just condemn forever? I call you. Know what I call it Economic, it's like having albatross around your neck. It's just economic. It's a death sentence. Economically right, because how are you supposed to survive? How are you supposed to take care of your family?

D. Less Scott:

You know there's these narratives like you know these empty households and we need a man or one. You know nuclear households. Well, you ain't giving this young, you ain't giving them an opportunity to do it. They know what they're doing. So is it really Exactly so? Is it really about that? Or what is it really about? You don't want them getting the job, you don't want to employ them. I remember when we did some training at I think it was Indiana State University. We went up there for some training for programming with FHI, for, you know, restore citizens, whatever and this man had got up and said one way or another, we going to eat. Know that.

D. Less Scott:

And he was an OG, like before OG. He got up, he was tired of the questions, you know, and he said one way or another, we going to eat and we would rather eat this way than the other way, than taking it off your plate.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Yeah, either you're gonna give it to me or I'm gonna take it. Yeah, but I'm gonna live. My family gotta eat, just like yours. But if you're just holding all the apples in your basket, what I'm gonna do, either I'm gonna you're gonna give me one maslow's hierarchy of needs I say that when I'm on panels and stuff, either you're going to help them or they're going to come through your car window.

D. Less Scott:

You know how has the support been for you know, like for you and your organization?

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

it's been great. You know, from the city, from the mayor, all the way to other grassroot organizations. You know from the city, from the mayor all the way to other grassroots organizations, the support here you know is good, my Rotary team. I mean family. They support well the city, the hood.

D. Less Scott:

You got love from all around. Yeah, all around, love from all around. How do you so? If you were the czar of you know, giving people opportunity to return to citizens and all that right, and your insight would help make change the laws or policies, whatever like that. What do you think communities and people could do better in this, in this re-entry process, to help that population?

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

It would be judging, because if you didn't judge, you know they would have more open opportunities for them. But just that, I mean, it's just simple. They just should give them opportunities. You know what I mean? Just give them a chance, that's all. Just give them a chance, and if they mess up, then OK, but you just at least give them a chance. I know I think his name is Mark or something down here at the Bistro.

D. Less Scott:

I've always messed it up.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

He just rebranded, yeah, I remember having a conversation with him, because when he first came, you know I was trying to like contract with him so we can have people that work there, and he said most of the people that he hired was returning citizens because they showed up, Mm hmm, he said you know, this is a great opportunity for them, or they know it's an opportunity for them. You know what I mean. So they take it serious and they're consistent and I'm trying to tell the other workforce like that's something you know that they have to consider. Like they don't want to go back to jail, they want to be able to take care of their families. You know they want to feel proud of who they are and what they're doing.

D. Less Scott:

So if you give them a chance, they'll continue that, because that's a good feeling. What's the? You don't have to have an accurate number. I keep feeling like it was 69% back in the day. The recidivism rate right now? Yes, when is that at now?

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

That's, it only went up. It's 73%. It went up, it went up, it went up. It went up. It was 73%. It went up, it went up, it went up.

D. Less Scott:

Hmm, yeah, are you finding it's more?

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Women, really Mm-hmm.

D. Less Scott:

I was about to say young people.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Nope.

D. Less Scott:

More women.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Yep.

D. Less Scott:

Is there. Do you have a thought process on why that is?

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Yeah, all the men are gone. So the men and the women start thinking that they're these masculine people, and so they're doing what the men were doing.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

So, they're getting the crime in the time that the men were, you know, because they're feeling like they have to take care of their families. The best thing to happen to COVID is a lot of women found out what their real skills were, that they didn't have to do a nine to five, you know, like baking, cooking, making cups, bedazzling things, you know. So it brung out their entrepreneur, creative part of them and so it is shifting a little bit because they're finding their self in a new space doing new things and it's making them feel very accomplished and proud. So we do a lot of support with that. But we know there's a lot of women it's like 30% up of women that are going and coming out of the penitentiary.

D. Less Scott:

Statewide. Are there some states that are more friendlier to restore citizens than others. I don't know where Ohio ranks in all this, but you know they're all kind of about the same. Wow, that's insane to me.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Yeah, you know, I mean it's just a stigma of who you know, people of returning citizens or felons or people coming home from prison. You know, it's just that stigma is just going to be that and you just just gotta have a relationship with your community to to help that situation be better and that's it. You know people just think they're bad people just off the rip labeled.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

You bet you did that, let me tell you I, um, was with this group of people. I've been with them a long time. I didn't come out say you know what I did, or anything, background or whatever. So someone felt like I shouldn't be hanging around with these people, or you know. So they came to tell them that I had a background, you know. And so they all came to me like Deanna, oh my God, did you have a felony? You're a felon and you know. So I was like, oh, yeah, and they was like two. I'm like yep, did it twice, yeah. And they were like, well, well, we already like you, so I don't even know, you know, like so you know what I mean.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

So that's the point I'm trying to say. Like you know what I mean, that was 20 years ago. You know I was an angry young girl. You know what I mean. I did the work to find out why, and so now that I you know, so it's a lot of people like me and that's what I wanted to show them, like this is who I am, the person that you like and that you're saying like, oh, I still want to be around. You know what I mean. That didn't even make a difference to you.

D. Less Scott:

It's wild that you know you are not the same person you were then, but it's. And but in this particular case, a lot of people just they stick to that.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

What?

D. Less Scott:

you did 20, 10, 30, you're still that same person, but any other, any other area, even people who get divorced, you know yeah, now you can change and become a you know better person. Yeah, but you can't change because you, you know you you did time or you made a mistake and didn't do time.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

You just got yeah, because I didn't do no time, but I just was, was angry like stabbing and fighting and you know all that kind of just wowing. I can't see you fighting what I have to personally fool you.

D. Less Scott:

Okay, and so you're making all this community advocacy. You're doing this and it carries a lot of weight, a lot of responsibility, a lot of emotion. Some days it's crack open the champagne, other days it's. I quit you quit, and then you turn around and you hire yourself back.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Yes, Because you see someone. Oh, Misty, thank you, I got my baby back. Blah, blah, blah. So you're like let me get my boots on, tie them back up.

D. Less Scott:

How do you with all that, with going through all that? How do you handle that work-life balance between an organization with a lot of responsibility and compassion and wanting to help, and just you like the things you want to do? How do you balance all that? What do you do?

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Be intentional about that. I learned to really be intentional about that and make time for that, because, if not, there's so many times that like it would make you depressed. I've been depressed about it, you know, anxious, like I said, I didn't quit, like you know. This is just not for me. I think something else should be. But when I go away, you know for a while, you know for a weekend or a week or something like that and come back when I'm rejuvenated and my family, like I'm close with my family, like we have to, there's cousins of us, about 10 of us, so we get together and it's like we fill up each other's love cup because it'd be like, all right, y'all, see y'all in like three more months.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

You know what I mean, because we get to vent about everything. You know what I mean. We know each other. You know we allow each other to cry, laugh. There's no judgment or anything like that. You know we're going to kick it. You know play games, like you said, cook, eat, like those things are special. Those are special times. I mean. Those are things that, uh, make me feel good. Those are things that I love. I love being around my family, um, and just making memories so family's important.

D. Less Scott:

What kind of games are y'all? Oh man you jumped up. You about to get into this answer they get them all off.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Tiktok, it's always a drinking game, yeah, or they do. We do dice games space, oh no.

D. Less Scott:

The fun stuff.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Yeah, you know stuff like that.

D. Less Scott:

You know, you can add red light, green light to that now with the tequila shots. Listen, I was thinking about that. I said next time we go're gonna play that yeah oh, what nugget of wisdom would you give the 18 year old you oh, believe, just believe.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

I just didn't believe back then. It wasn't that I didn't have it or wasn't there, I just didn't believe enough, you know, for me, or wasn't there? I just didn't believe enough, you know, for me or for anyone. So I would just be like D girl, believe that what you feeling, believe that what you seeing, believe that what you doing, believe that.

D. Less Scott:

Okay. So I'll always like to ask people this the one word thing, and if there was one word that you would use to define you or what you exude, what word would that be and why?

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Care.

D. Less Scott:

I know we talked about a lot of things that you do in the care, but explain care, so that's on your T-shirt. That's the word. Now why? Let's go deeper.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Because it's the right thing to do. We're here as people on this earth to care for one another. That's why we have needs, wants, desires, and I want to be a part of that. I want people to care for me. I want to care for them. You know what I mean. I want people to care for me. I want to care for them. You know what I mean. I want them to care for their families you know what I mean so that they could be well. I just want people to be well, you know. If we all go out to eat, I want everybody to pay for their own stuff don't ask me for shit, not not be like.

D. Less Scott:

I gotta go to the bathroom.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

You see the waitress and waiter come in and you just conveniently gotta go to the restroom.

D. Less Scott:

I'll be right back, my phone ringing.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

I gotta take this call real quick. Yes, yes, yes.

D. Less Scott:

Yeah. So I got a random question round, this yellow piece of paper right here with some random questions. See, I handwrite them too. These ain't tight, I handwrite them. I sit and think about that, I think about the questions I want to ask. So you ready.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

I am.

D. Less Scott:

Okay, let's start with hmm, If your life was turned into a movie, a movie genre, what genre would it be and who would play you?

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

would it be and who would play you? What genre would it be? It'd be like well, I don't know what genre the grease was in.

D. Less Scott:

Musical.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Yeah, okay, cause I'm a musical kind of cause, I think I'm a disco dancer. That's what I was in my past life. So, and who would I have play me? I would do Kiki Palmer yeah, because she's an all-time. Or Tiana Taylor Because they're like all-around dancers and yeah and actors. Tiana Taylor yeah, because she got a little grit to her yeah, so it would be a musical.

D. Less Scott:

Yeah, it would be a musical.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Definitely a musical Okay.

D. Less Scott:

Be all kind of choreography going on in your movie. If emotions could be bottled up and sold as perfume, what would your signature scent be called, and what emotion would it be?

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

What emotion would it be. It would be. What emotion. It would be happy.

D. Less Scott:

So it would be happy. Right, that would be the emotion. What would the name be? Because you can't take the happy either, because you get sued what would the um?

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

what is it called um quintessence?

D. Less Scott:

okay. So if somebody got a ball of quintessence, they know that the motion is going to be happy. Okay, all right. So, um, what theme song would you want to play every time, like on your entrance, you go out to speak or when you walk into a room? What theme song would you want? I got a couple of them. Okay, you can get two all All right.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Lovely Day, because everybody knows it's my favorite song. Lovely lovely day, like when I come through it's just going to be a lovely day. Y'all Lovely day, okay. Then the other one is DMX. Which one?

D. Less Scott:

Who we Be is my favorite. I be looking in the mirror like da-dum, da-dum, da-dum.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

I'm like I don't know my favorite, I'd be looking in the mirror like, oh yeah, that's a DMX one.

D. Less Scott:

Since you was busting some lyrics there a little bit, you was kind of singing a little bit. Here's another one. What is your go-to karaoke song and how confident are you in your singing abilities?

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

I cannot sing, but I will perform, and my favorite karaoke is what's her name? Two Time, Two Time. What is it Lauryn Hill Killing Me Softly?

D. Less Scott:

Okay.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

That's your go-to. Yeah, because I'm all not like. Oh you know, I'm just killing it softly.

D. Less Scott:

Okay, see, that wasn't too bad. Yeah, you could do it.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

You say it real quick In the whisper voice, you just sing the whole time. Killing me softly.

D. Less Scott:

Yes, If you could close your eyes and, upon opening them, be anywhere you wanted to be, where would that be? Como, Italy? Is that a that's like? Have you been there or is that?

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

just you like Italy?

D. Less Scott:

Yeah, I'm afraid to go to Italy.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Yeah, it was my like. It's only two places I've been in the world where, when I'm there, I'm like gosh, this could be home, north Carolina and there, okay yeah, but I don't know. I'm going some places this year, so I'll see.

D. Less Scott:

So you do travel to get away and things like that.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Yeah, like I'm going to go to Australia, new Zealand and Fiji and we're going to be gone like 20-something days Beautiful. So when I come back I'll be ready. I'll be like, did you?

D. Less Scott:

be on. It Might come back with a little accent.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Yeah.

D. Less Scott:

I feel like I could ask you these forever, but I'm going to. This is my last randle. Fill in the blank. Every young woman should own blank.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Every young woman should own blank A white fresh blouse, a khaki pants, a black skirt and a blue jean denim jacket.

D. Less Scott:

Essentials yeah, those are the essentials, yeah, okay, so how can people stay connected with you, or how can people support what with you, or how can people support?

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

what you're doing. They can go to. Our website is United Returning Citizensorg Nice website, by the way.

D. Less Scott:

I'm giving you a compliment. Okay, nice website. Yeah, I see User-friendly, vibrant.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Yeah, yeah, okay. Or you could come to 611 Belmont, youngstown, ohio, 445-02. We're there from Monday through Friday, 9 to 3. Or you can hit us up at any of our social media platforms Now what they are United Returning Citizens at Facebook, instagram, tiktok, and they did say I think it's called Snapchat, or oh, snapchat, snapchat, okay, yeah oh, you're about everywhere.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

You reaching all the demographics yeah, yeah, because we have, you know, the young guys. They coming here, you know what I mean. So we want them to know we're here to support you. You know. Yeah, because I want them to know we're here to support you, you know, yeah, yeah, because I want them to be good dads so that you know the next generation of kids could be good. So we need some good in the hood.

D. Less Scott:

Absolutely. You know, do you got a closing message you'd like everybody to know?

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Be kind, be well yeah.

D. Less Scott:

And be nice to your returning citizens, you know.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

I mean, show them grace, they need a little grace.

D. Less Scott:

It's hard, it's rough for them and, of course, they for having me. This was a great conversation.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

It was a blast.

D. Less Scott:

Listen, I knew it was going to be a blast. When KG was doing the sound check and we started busting lyrics, some DMX and everything else, I was like, oh, this is going to be a good interview.

Dionne Dowdy-Lacy:

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. They said, Dan, you're a little goofy. I said just a little bit.

D. Less Scott:

No, you, no. Well, folks, thank you for hitting the play button. We deeply appreciate you taking time to listen to Sound United Presents. This is Deshaun Scott signing out. This episode was produced by the Sound United Podcast Studio led by Kimberly Gonzalez. Photography and video content produced by the D5 Group. And be sure to visit our website, soundunitedpresentscom, where you can catch up on all the episodes and get some behind the scenes content. I'm Deshaun Scott. Thank you for listening. Ready to launch a podcast or create standout audio content? Sound United Podcast Studio has everything you need Studio rental, consulting, content development, marketing support, and we even offer remote editing services. And we can help you, whether you're local or nationwide. So book your discovery. Call at wwwthesounducom. That is wwwthesounducom. Or do it the old-fashioned way and call 330-238-7157. That is 330-238-7157. It's time for you to empower with sound.

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D. Lee Scott

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