Leah Rhyne 
“I was nine years old the first time I saw a lady overdose from heroin,” Emanuel says. We’re minutes into our time together, and we’ve already discussed where he grew up (Greenville, South Carolina, in the same neighborhood as Jesse Jackson, with whom his mother went to high school), and what it was like (“a LOT of drugs,” he says, pulling a face). But this is the moment when I realize how different this story will be.
If I had one thing to teach those camp directors after a year of working here at Turn90, it would be this:
When ordering t-shirts, the fabric is everything.
Here’s a basic rundown of what fabrics work for what purpose, and why 100% cotton isn’t *always* the fabric of our lives.
Men coming home from prison face a unique set of challenges. Many of those barriers – clothes, food, bus passes – can be addressed by reentry programs that focus on emergency needs. Other barriers are more complex, like navigating the DMV to get a driver’s license or finding a new job but are visible and well-documented.
However, some of the most complicated reentry issues are less often discussed. Many are emotionally fraught and none are easy to solve. Any one of these six hidden barriers can cause someone to say “F*** it” and return to street life.
It’s hard to walk three feet these days without hearing about supply chains. Merchandise is stuck on container ships. No one can get the supplies they need from overseas, so manufacturing is grinding to a halt. It’s the end of the world!
Okay, so maybe not THAT extreme, but you get the point.
The fact remains that supply chains are an issue, and yes, we’re feeling it at the Turn90 Print Shop. Absolutely. Sometimes we go to order a cut/fabric/brand of t-shirt we’ve ordered a million times and it’s just…not…there…
We say all the time around here that trouble is easy to get into, but really hard to get out of.
Ben is a great example of this. Coming from a childhood that was a mix-up of difficult experiences and glimpses of what life could be like, if only there was enough money to support him and his mom, his induction into the streets was perhaps the easiest, most natural thing he’d ever done. But almost two full decades in prison have shown him that change is necessary, and he’s dedicated to making a difference in the lives of his children and his community. It’s not easy, but Ben is committed.
This is his story.
If this is your first time ordering custom-printed t-shirts, you’re probably feeling some type of way.
Because…
Do you need screen printing?
DTG?
Heat pressed vinyl transfers?
Why ARE there so many kinds of printing?
And what the heck is sublimation anyway?
Let us help you with this handy-dandy primer of printing terms to help you get started on your printed apparel journey.
As 2021 winds down, we’re thrilled to share more good news! Last week, Turn90’s Director of Operations, Kim Huey, was named to the prestigious 2022 Accelerator Cohort of REDF. REDF (the Roberts Enterprise Development Fund) is a pioneering venture philanthropy accelerating a national movement of employment social enterprises – businesses with a social purpose to … Read more
Turn90 Founder and Executive Director Amy Barch is one of 20 South Carolina leaders to be selected for Liberty Fellowship’s Class of 2023. Following the successful completion of five, multi-day seminars in the U.S. and abroad and an individual leadership project, Barch will join the community of more than 300 Liberty Fellows working collectively across … Read more
Jonathan is 35 years old but doesn’t look a day over 20. “Prison preserved me,” he says with a laugh when we sit down to talk. But I think it’s more than that. I think a lifetime of neglect, of punishments without impact, have thrust him into a delayed adulthood that he’s finally learning to … Read more
Turning Leaf, Charleston’s successful prison reentry program, has announced a name change and opened its new center in Columbia. Now called Turn90, the program creates a new direction for men at the highest risk of re-arrest who return from prison to the Lowcountry and the Midlands. Read more
