Today we’d like to introduce you to Dieter Cantu.
Dieter, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
As a child, I was sentenced to serve ten years for my first time being arrested. A robbery took place where I was with three adults and I was the only individual required to serve time due to the juvenile detention system (in Texas) not having a PR bond system in place. Since then, I have created successful campaigns based around social justice and have received various accolades, such as recognition from former President Barack Obama, a Proclamation from Bexar County Commissioners Court “Dieter Day”, Ted Talk Speaker, and more.
My current initiative that I am seeking coverage on is “Cantu’s Books to Incarcerated Youth Project.” The purpose of this program is to make a variety of books readily available for the youth housed at various Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) facilities. I’ve partnered with multiple universities: University of Houston, Sam Houston State University, University of North Texas, Baylor, the University of Texas at San Antonio, and Wake Forest to name a few, collecting and distributing books, as well as creating a mentorship and pen pal program that consists of members close in proximity to maximum security facilities. The goal is to use these books to improve their literacy and reading skills which will enable them to further their education.
What started at one college campus and is now in detention centers across the state, I also am setting up my program in underserved public schools across Harris County-dedicating libraries and donating books to communities in need.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Struggles consisted of having a first-degree felony and lacking mentorship/guidance for goals that I wanted to achieve after being released from jail.
Please tell us about Cantus Books To Incarcerated Youth Project.
The purpose of this program is to make a variety of books readily available for the youth housed at various Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) facilities. As a former youth who was incarcerated at many of these facilities, I know firsthand what a difference a program like this could have made for me and my peers.
The goal is to use these books to improve their literacy and reading skills which will enable them to further their education. Since these are adolescents, they are more impressionable, which can make a program like this ignite a new passion in them for learning, and hopefully steer them away from returning to the system.
Many of the youth currently incarcerated are products of the school to prison pipeline. This approach to addressing youth with minor infractions levies severe disciplinary repercussion and forgoes a rehabilitative process which would curtail negative stigmas associated with corrective actions.
When I spent time incarcerated as a youth, the only thing that kept me sane at times was reading. Having a lengthy sentence at a young age, I lost hope on multiple occasions when my thoughts were either consumed with negativity or my mind was idle due to the fact that there simply wasn’t anything for me to do. Not only did I wish for books to read, more importantly, I also sought out books that would benefit my personal growth and help me as an adult male transitioning back into society. Again, I was entering a system as a youth but I would be released as an adult, and the books that were available to me were either fictional, outdated or written for an age group that was way younger than me. The books that were available just didn’t possess any kind of value to me or my long-term goals.
My idea for starting this project is to not only better prepare the youth for their return to society but to instill a sense of belief in the midst of others trying to taint their reality. When I was in juvenile detention I remember certain correctional officers using the phrase “mental chains are the hardest ones to break”, meaning in so many words that if an individual doesn’t want to change that he/she is too old to be helped. I wanted to use this same phrase and turn that negative connotation into a positive. I’m a product of my thoughts, I’m not a product of my environment or my current situation. If I could keep my thoughts intact and maintain a healthy mindset, a sharp mind, I knew that I could serve my sentence with less stress. This is the same ideology that I want to restore in the youth that is currently serving time or possibly facing time. That their mental chains can’t be broken. And that is definitely a good thing.
While other organizations work towards abolishing the School-to-Prison-Pipeline by focusing their attention on keeping students in school/preventing youth from ever having to experience being incarcerated, my approach is slightly different. My main focus is to work with the youth who are currently incarcerated by helping them transition back into the school system with a plan and achievable goals. My goal is to use education to reduce recidivism. and prevent repetitive cycles, that take place as a result of the school to prison pipeline practices, from happening in the future.
Over time, as this project progresses and ideas develop, I plan to add a support service component. The Cantu’s Books to Incarcerated Youth Project will eventually transform into more than an educational strategy and relapse prevention project, but it will also function as alternative treatment for students that are facing probation sentencing, pretrial supervision, or attending alternative schools… to help the youth avoid harsh punishment and serve as an alternative solution for the school to prison pipeline.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dietercantu.com
- Phone: 210-273-4062
- Email: dietercantu@gmail.com
- Instagram: dietercantu
- Twitter: dieter_cantu
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