When Debbie talks about freedom, she begins with gratitude. “I am so grateful and thankful for all the support,” she said. “People didn’t forget about me. They supported me verbally and emotionally, helping me keep the faith and the hope and to not give up.” After more than 30 years of incarceration, she said, “I’m so proud of myself, of my growth. I’m just so grateful to be free.”

Debbie entered prison when she was young, carrying layers of trauma she didn’t yet have the tools to process. “It was a lot of chaos and childhood tribulations. I was very angry. I was resentful. I was hurt. I was in a lot of pain, and at that age I did not deal with it, so I put up a shield.” Incarceration only deepened that isolation. “You can say so many different words, but you would never understand it unless you have been incarcerated. I felt like an alien that went to another planet… living around everybody else’s policies and politics and hatred. It was horrifying.”

By the time she connected with UnCommon Law in 2022, Debbie still felt guarded. “I refused to talk to anyone and refused to listen because they didn’t know what I’d been through,” she said. But her attorney, Emma, was a steady presence. “She was patient with me. She always kept her word,” said Debbie. “She always instilled in me: you can do it, don’t give up.” For more than two years, Emma met with Debbie monthly. Together with support from a clinical therapist, Debbie slowly began building trust, processing trauma, and developing coping tools.

“When I started healing, it didn’t mean the trauma just went away,” she said. “But I could start healing from that point on. One day at a time, I started healing gradually.” She began to believe change was possible. “It was okay for me to heal. It was okay for me to move on and not stay complacent in that pain.”

As Debbie approached her parole hearing, she gained more clarity about the process. “It’s not so much that they trained me, but that UnCommon Law walked me through my parole board hearing process,” she said. “They helped me understand. They walked me through my freedom, but in order for UnCommon Law to help you, you have to meet them halfway. You have to fight for it. Hold on to it and grab it.” And during her hearing, Debbie recalled hearing something that gave her strength: “The commissioner knew that once I got out, I would make a difference in someone else’s life.”

And she did.

“I’m now an ambassador at a navigation center. I save lives by helping people who overdose,” Debbie said. “I’m a case manager, I’m a social worker, and sometimes I’m a mental health specialist for people that don’t want to live.” Debbie carries that healing forward by supporting others through their crises. “It changes your heart. It changes your mind. You look back and see you were once there. And it helps me to continue to heal. It goes both ways.”

Today, Debbie describes her life as a series of new beginnings. “Every day is a new day. New blessings, new choices, new happiness.” Even the difficult moments feel different now. “Chaos and drama don’t bother me anymore. It’s a part of life. You just have to have the wisdom and understanding to deal with it.”

Having carried her own healing forward into her work with others, Debbie wants to pass that light toward the people who are on their own healing journey, and she offers this message to the people who are still inside.

“Don’t be afraid to heal and start recovering,” she said. “Just because they’re physically incarcerated, their hearts and minds can still be free. Healing has nothing to do with the body being incarcerated. Start recovering and start forgiving. Never give up. Hope is real. It’s not just a word. It looks like a flashlight that can help you walk through your journey to freedom. Once you get it, it will help you come alive.”

Debbie during her welcome home celebration at UnCommon Law. Videos and photography by Justin Bench Photography.

As we move toward UnCommon Law’s 20th anniversary in 2026, we want to uplift the voices and experiences of our community. If you’ve felt impacted by our work in any way or if UnCommon Law has been part of your journey and you’d like to share your story, please email comms@uncommonlaw.org. We would be honored to hear from you.