The Redemption Project

After leaving recovery too early, falling back into addiction, and eventually ending up on the run again, Lyon reached a point he describes simply: sick and tired of being sick and tired.In this episode of The Redemption Project, he explains how fentanyl, cocaine, repeated arrests, and years of instability kept pulling him backward until he finally returned to Men of Valor, this time ready to stay.He talks openly about losing multiple family members within weeks of each other, resisting the urge to run back to old habits, leaning on faith instead of addiction, and finding strength through structure, brotherhood, and accountability.Now preparing for graduation, writing Christian hip-hop, and hoping to stay involved helping others, Lyon explains what changed between the first time he entered recovery and the second.The Redemption Project shares real stories of accountability, faith, recovery, and the difficult path back.

Jesse Crosson was arrested just after turning 18 and sentenced to 32 years in prison for a robbery and a non-fatal shooting. Most people would have given up. Jesse didn’t.Instead of waiting for the system to save him, Jesse spent nearly two decades preparing—working jobs inside prison, learning trades, tutoring, studying in the law library, and building relationships that would matter later.When he was released in 2021 with just over an hour’s notice, he walked into the middle of COVID with no formal reentry plan. What he did have were options—and people willing to show up.In this episode, Jesse talks honestly about:Why reentry starts long before releaseThe difference between having a plan and having optionsThe trauma that often surfaces after freedomAccountability without excusesWhy relationships matter more than policiesToday, Jesse is an author, speaker, and advocate who speaks plainly about incarceration, responsibility, and rebuilding life after prison—without slogans or shortcuts.This conversation was recorded in connection with a classroom lesson for students learning about criminal justice, accountability, and what real change actually looks like.