From prison to pageant queen — how Jim McGreevey is changing the future for marginalized queer people

As a 5’4″, 130-pound self-described “sissy” in one of America’s roughest male prisons, trans woman Jazzmyn Hammack quickly learned to survive by any means possible.

Hammack reunited with her children after serving a 17-year sentence. During their visit to a crowded Florida shopping mall, however, Hammack felt the room closing in, as if everyone was about to attack. So she began swinging, kicking, and screaming for everyone to “get the f*ck away” from her.

Related:

I am a trans woman who was incarcerated in a men’s prison. Here’s what you need to know.

The fact that these people don’t see me as vulnerable, as feminine, as prey, and as without power or protection is outrageous and infuriating. 

It was then that she realized that her prison experiences left her with severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and gender dysphoria. When she sought mental health assistance, someone suggested she attend a meeting of the New Jersey Reentry Corporation (NJ RC), a nonprofit agency dedicated to helping formerly incarcerated individuals and war veterans build stable lives.

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Hammack figured the NJ RC meeting would be like other reentry meetings she had attended: a waste of time. But upon entering the corporation’s Employment & Training Center, she felt that the volunteers instantly recognized her anxiety and genuinely cared about making her comfortable.

She initially wanted to leave, but over time, NJ RC helped her learn computer skills, access mental healthcare, and obtain the government identity documents that assisted her in finding a home and some peace of mind.

Hammack’s prison experience is common for LGBTQ+ people. According to the Pew Research Center, the US has the highest incarceration rate and the second-largest number of prisoners in any country. One in six trans people has been incarcerated at some point in their lives. Lesbian, bisexual, and gay individuals (mainly women) are more than twice as likely to be arrested and three times as likely to be incarcerated than straight individuals, according to the Prison Policy Institute.

Once in prison, LGBTQ+ people (especially Black people) are more likely than straight people to be forced into “protective” solitary confinement (something the United Nations has called a form of “psychological torture”). LGBTQ+ inmates are ten times more likely to be sexually assaulted by another inmate, and they’re routinely denied essential healthcare for HIV, gender dysphoria, or other chronic illnesses, according to the LGBTQ+ prison abolition group Black and Pink.

An estimated 44 percent of all formerly incarcerated individuals nationwide are likely to commit a crime again at some point in their lives, primarily because they lack the money and resources to independently meet their basic needs after re-entering society. The LGBTQ+ population, in particular, runs this risk since many face disproportionately high rates of employment and housing discrimination, health problems, mental illness, and substance abuse as they struggle to overcome the social stigma and mental hardships associated with their often brutal prison experiences.

But the NJ RC is trying to break these patterns by giving previously incarcerated individuals the dignity, respect, and opportunities they need to rebuild their lives.

Jim McGreevey, the former New Jersey governor who was the first out gay governor in US history, founded the NJ RC in 2014 after working with prisoners as part of his divinity degree. Since its creation, the NJ RC has helped 8,900 formerly incarcerated people find jobs, over 9,000 enroll in addiction treatment and medical assistance programs, and thousands secure housing.

“I never had previously a ‘day in and day out’ experience with court-involved persons,” McGreevey told LGBTQ Nation. “But I came to realize is those who are incarcerated, as well as recently incarcerated, as well as all of us, have the same needs: a safe home, food, a job of purpose, and the basic human need of love.” But obtaining these requires a holistic approach considering each person’s needs.

That’s why each NJ RC participant receives an in-depth assessment and meets with licensed social workers at the corporation’s Francine A. LeFrak Wellness Center, where they receive medical, mental health, and substance abuse services. Participants also meet with professional teams in the NJ RC’s three-story Employment & Training Center who help assess, prepare, and implement their short and long-term career plans. Participants then receive training from NJ RC’s partners — like Google, JPMorgan Chase, and other private companies — to gain job skills and certification in fields like telemedicine, construction, culinary arts, building maintenance, and medical technology.

The NJ RC now has over 17,000 current participants, and its participants have a 10 percent re-offense rate of — 34 percent lower than the national average.

The corporation has helped change the lives of people like Prince Jones Bush. A young Black queer man in his mid-20s, Bush is the son of Russell Jones, a founding member of the rap group the WuTang Clan.

Bush faced eight felony cases in New York and probation violation charges in New Jersey. After being released from prison, he was homeless, drowning in legal debt, and struggling with suicidality and the effects of untreated PTSD and bipolar disorder. After working with the NJ RC, he secured a medication regimen and independent housing that have provided him with a stable foundation.

“[The NJ RC] put some perspective in my head again, and I was able to build structure around it and see it as an opportunity to be a drawing board for me,” Bush told LGBTQ Nation. “It took me on an inner trip from extreme violence, sporadic behavior, and no self-accountability to having my priorities straight, getting sh*t done, working on myself, and hitting goal points.”

He’s now determined to start his own music career, which he wouldn’t have achieved without institutional and community support.

McGreevey said he’s felt most encouraged witnessing participants’ transformation and the compassionate support and guidance offered by the NJ RC’s staff. “Our program participants’ courage, determination, and gratitude are extraordinary in the face of the serious obstacles they have overcome,” McGreevey said.

“By raising awareness, we can reduce the stigma and discrimination, and create more inclusive and compassionate communities.”

Former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey

Just as important, McGreevey and the NJ RC work to raise awareness and reduce stigma around previously incarcerated individuals’ experiences and needs. This includes working with policymakers, service providers, employers, landlords, and the public to help promote policies that improve ex-convicts’ employability, restore their voting rights, expunge eligible offenses from their criminal records, and encourage funding and support for other reentry programs and services.

Specifically, McGreevey has built a bipartisan coalition to champion similar vocational training and healthcare assistance programs to the larger prison population — policies aren’t just about meeting basic human needs but also make economic sense. It costs less to educate, employ, and meet healthcare needs than to provide emergency care and other last-chance social benefits as the formerly incarcerated run dangerously close to relapsing into old survival methods and returning to prison.

“By raising awareness, we can reduce the stigma and discrimination that they face and create more inclusive and compassionate communities,” McGreevey said.

In collaboration with facilitator Stephen Szypulski and photographer Christopher Lane, LGBTQ Nation documented five queer folks whose lives have been impacted by the support of NJ RC and the challenges they still face. Here are their stories.

Jazzmyn Hammack

“Before, I lived in a world of drugs and sleaze and alcohol, and it was just a mess. It was just a freaking mess: struggling every day going to work, coming home, not having enough food for the kids, don’t have this, don’t have that because you’re on f**king drugs.

“I was in prison for 17 years. I knew nothing of a computer. I sat in front of that damn machine and had no idea what was going on. By the time I left the NJ RJC, I knew how to ask the right questions about a computer. You have no idea how helpful that is.

“I will now take my road test just a short year of being out of prison. I have accomplished two career jobs: a chemist technician during the day and a tattoo artist at night. I have all my documentation, my proper ID birth certificate, Social Security card, and a REAL ID I can get on planes and boats with. I have my own room and apartment that I share with my roommate, and we do great together. Being totally independent on my own and a productive member of society is the greatest feeling in the world.”

Barbie Dahl

“My wife had a series of strokes in 2017, was confined to a nursing home, and passed away three days after my birthday. From 2015 to 2019, I lost five of my seven rescue cats and became progressively sicker due to my disability. I was unaware that I was getting very depressed and, not thinking of consequences, was being very fatalistic.

“Not thinking straight or not considering the consequences of my actions, I allowed myself to do something stupid, something I had never done even in my youth, making a stupid decision without considering how it could potentially overturn my entire life and history of actions.

“I was lucky enough to be diverted instead of incarceration — another thing I credit for saving my life as I do not think I would have survived going to prison. I truly think recovery court enabled me to pull myself back from the precipice that I walked along due to the depths of my depression, the thoughts in my head that my life was over, and that I didn’t matter anymore.

“Reentry was a big part of this change as I have always been someone who loved to learn new things, and the program offered so many options to help me get my life back on track, get my credentials in order and up to date as well as offering me a myriad of skills and training so I could start my second life after my wife’s passing.”

Chris McHugh

“Before incarceration, I was pretty young. I wasn’t very confident or adept at handling social situations. After incarceration, people looked at me as though I wasn’t employable, workable, or as though I won’t change. The NJ RC signed me up for classes, and I’m hoping by the time I finish all those things, I’ll have the money and resources to have a better life.

“For work right now, I do clinical trials. I like it a lot because it’s minimal work and you get to help people when you do it. I want to challenge the concept of parole supervision for life. It is a very unfair and punishing system. I completed my sentence, and yet I’m still being punished a second time. I’m a second-class citizen at this point. And because of the parole, I cannot have a normal decent life.”

“I literally have all the tools to have an amazing fulfilling life, but the parole restrictions stopped me from that. Traveling, maintaining friendships, finding housing, and even accessing services are difficult when you’re not allowed to use social media. I’m considering renouncing my American citizenship so I don’t have to be forced to go through the things here.”

Aurora C. Van Wales Irving

“I was kicked out of my household when I was 11 years old because of my sexuality. That happened after I lost my mom in 1983. The only way I knew how to survive was the street life that I learned from others in order to live… from being a streetwalker to using drugs and selling my soul to a life of instability landed me to be incarcerated.

“After being incarcerated, I felt I couldn’t get a job or have social acceptance of who I was, having walls built up against society because of what had transpired in my life. I felt alone and abandoned in the world. But then, many years down the road, I turned to NJ RC, which gave me another platform to broaden my horizons and to believe more in myself that anything is possible as long as I believe in myself and aim for greatness.

‘They also taught me to accept all things that have happened in my past and use those things to build a stronger and better me. But at the same time, it was brought to my attention that I already had these tools. I just had to utilize the tools that I had in my possession, meaning my mindset. When you apply your positivity, you will receive positive results. I’ve always known that, and attending NJ RC reassured me that I can do anything.

“Anything is possible as long as you set goals and believe in yourself.”

Miss Gay New Jersey 2022 Aurora C. Van Wales Irving

“With my journey through life, there were times when I saw others in the LGBTQIA+ community living their lives to the fullest. And I knew that one day I could feel I am truly a part of the community by achieving certain goals I’ve always wanted to achieve. One of my goals was to become a title holder. So on June 3, 2022, I competed for the title of Miss Gay New Jersey 2022, and I won! That was one of my greatest accomplishments that I would have never dreamed of coming to pass for me. It’s such a great honor to carry this title and represent our great state, to raise awareness of the work that I am doing under the Miss Gay New Jersey Association and Beacon Light Fund, and to raise funds for men, women, and children of all ethnic groups and sexual orientations who have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS.

“As the title holder, it is my duty to utilize my platform to raise awareness of the cause that we are working hard for the people of all communities. With carrying this title, I must show the face of my diligence and elegance. And be the true Queen I was always meant to be. To let those in my community know that anything is possible as long as you set goals and believe in yourself, and know that you can accomplish anything. Because if Ms. Aurora C. Van Wales Irving can do it, you can too. I want to be that figure of hope and determination as a proud transgender woman because dreams do come true.”

Interviews have been edited for length and clarity.