We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kate Boccia a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kate, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
My desperation to help my incarcerated son forced me to learn how to navigate a very complex criminal justice system. I was determined to get to the highest level officials in corrections to discuss my concerns. Because of my tenacity I became an expert that other families leaned on when they needed help. My idea began when I was standing in line to visit my son in prison. I realized at that moment that the families of those that are incarcerated are the completely alienated from doing anything to help their loved ones inside. I realized that we had hundreds of questions all of the time but there were no place to find the answers. I knew that the families were the most important part of rehabilitating a person and that we had the key to helping them be successful, yet the system refused to allow us to help. It was a game of us against them rather than what I knew it should be, us working with them. What began as a traumatic journey for me turned into a nonprofit designed to help families navigate the journey of incarceration with positive outcomes and to push innovations throughout the justice systems. Innovations that would correct, rehabilitate, cure and restore families.

Kate, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My personal mass incarceration journey as a parent began when my son Daniel was sentenced on a mandatory minimum in the state of Georgia. As is too often the ignored case, Daniel was a heroin addict, shackled by desperate behavioral tendencies. My son’s story underscores the issues we are facing in our country, issues that must be addressed and solutions that must be implemented. After many tears and sleepless nights, Kate adjusted to her family’s new normal and launched herself into an untamed public spotlight. By continuing to carry on after Daniel’s death in August, 2021, and by continuing to ignore stigmas and shame, she now spends all her time waging strategic battles for families who are losing their loved ones to mass incarceration and addiction. As the brainchild of the National Incarceration Association (NIA), I have opened many doors for ordinary people and their families who had become accustomed to being silenced by status-quo and outdated public policy.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
As you can imagine, working within the criminal justice system and speaking to correctional officials can be daunting. It is also difficult to explain to John Q public why they should care about my work. After 10 years of doing this I am no stranger to ugly attacks, ignorance and drama from folks after reading my OpEds or Essays or when I speak to elected officials. I was accused of the most ridiculous things, such as “You just want to let criminals go.” As a victim of a violent crime that was the last thing I ever wanted. In the beginning of my work I took things to personally, I defended my actions against naysayers and lost sleep over ugly remarks on social media. But soon I realized that what I was doing was critical and that the thousands of families we have helped was making a real impact. My diligence and resolve has earned me the reputation of a respected advocate and leader truly making a difference.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I had to unlearn everything I thought I knew about the criminal justice system. I always believed that our courts were fair and people would get their due process. I believed in the death penalty and I had a lock ’em up and throw away the key mentality. The backstory is that we have been destroying families for decades in our country. We have locked up people of color, we have locked up children, we have created a prison industrial complex that is profiting everyone but the taxpayers. The system is designed to do exactly what it has been doing and we must break it down.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.joinnia.com
• Instagram: joinNIA
• Facebook: /joinNIA
• Twitter: @joinNIA