NEW YORK, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today SiriusXM
announced a unique, powerful new series about a prison
program that is changing lives through technology. "The Last Mile
Radio" will begin its six-week run on SiriusXM Insight channel 121
at 10:00 am ET starting March 11. SiriusXM's Sway
Calloway will host the audio documentary.
According to studies, the United
States is almost 5% of the world's population but nearly 25%
of the world's prison population. As discussed in the first episode
of "The Last Mile Radio," at some point the inmates will be
released, which begs the question..."so who do you want them
to be?" Started in 2010 by venture capitalists Chris Redlitz and Beverly Parenti, two
seasoned tech entrepreneurs who recognized the need for technology
education for inmates, The Last Mile is a "tech accelerator" inside
California's San Quentin prison, teaching inmates
computer coding, business skills and, most critically, offers a
second chance at life.
"If you treat a man as he is, he will remain as he is. But treat
a man as he can and should be...he will become as he can and should
be," says Kenyatta Leal in the
program's premiere episode. Kenyatta is an alumni of The Last
Mile's first cohort at San
Quentin, and one of the 20 returned citizen graduates, all
of whom are currently employed – with zero percent recidivism. His
journey from a "hopeless" youth sentenced to 25 years to life for
armed robbery, to a student in The Last Mile program where he
learned about the tech business, entrepreneurship and other
invaluable skills, to his subsequent release from San Quentin and current successful managerial
role at a multi-million dollar San
Francisco tech company, is just one of the many remarkable
stories shared in this insightful, sometimes gritty, and profound
new documentary.
"When we started The Last Mile in 2010, we were on a mission to
reduce recidivism by teaching skills that will result in gainful
employment upon reentry to society. Computer coders are in-demand
for jobs in which they will be judged by the quality of their work,
not the stigma of their past," said Chris
Redlitz. Beverly Parenti,
Co-founder and Executive Director added, "We hope that listening to
our program on SiriusXM will help change the narrative about the
incarcerated and help provide a second chance for those who deserve
it."
SiriusXM's Sway Calloway visited San
Quentin to speak with the inmate students
and to capture their remarkable stories about their
involvement with The Last Mile.
"I recently had the opportunity to experience something unlike
anything in my career," said Calloway. "I've been in show business
a long time and done a lot of charitable work. The men I got to
know in San Quentin are truly the
forgotten population in our society. Their stories humbled and
amazed me, and I don't think I'll ever forget our visit and their
hope for redemption."
The idea for "The Last Mile Radio" originated with David Greenstein, son of Scott Greenstein, President and Chief Content
Officer, SiriusXM. "David heard Kenyatta and Chris speak on a
podcast and became fascinated by the way The Last Mile was solving
a problem many Americans deemed unsolvable or not worth solving,"
Greenstein said. David remains active in the show, and along with
Chris Redlitz, was a key contributor
to the radio show's official website, www.thelastmileradio.org. The
site was developed inside San
Quentin by TLMWorks.org.
"When I first heard about Chris and Beverly's work with The Last
Mile, I knew immediately that their remarkable program would make
for riveting storytelling," said Greenstein. "These are important,
eye-opening stories about our criminal justice system and how
people can find a new start to life when given the right
opportunities and education. These are real-life issues that people
need to hear, and I'm thrilled to deliver them to SiriusXM
subscribers nationwide."
Listeners can catch an early look at the new documentary by
watching the official trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsjwnFc_D0g
In addition to hearing "The Last Mile Radio" on Saturdays from
10:00am – 11:00am ET, the program will replay on Sundays at
11am ET. SiriusXM subscribers can
hear "The Last Mile Radio" via SiriusXM On Demand, through the
SiriusXM app on smartphones and other connected devices, as well as
online at www.siriusxm.com/player.
Sway Calloway hosts SiriusXM's Sway in the Morning daily
on Shade 45. Shade 45 is the hip-hop channel created by
Eminem.
About The Last Mile
The Last Mile (TLM) is a nonprofit organization that prepares
incarcerated individuals for successful re-entry through business
and technology training. In 2010, the founders set out to reduce
recidivism by teaching highly employable skills that will result in
gainful employment. In partnership with CalPIA and the California
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation TLM's computer-coding
program is the first of its kind offered inside a US prison.
Currently inside five California
facilities, the program concentrates on coding as a means to break
the cycle of incarceration. TLMWorks, Web Development Shop inside
San Quentin, pays market
comparable wages to successful graduates. Find out more at
TheLastMile.org and TLMWorks.org.
About SiriusXM
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) is the world's largest
radio company measured by revenue and has approximately 31.3
million subscribers. SiriusXM creates and offers commercial-free
music; premier sports talk and live events; comedy; news; exclusive
talk and entertainment, and a wide-range of Latin music, sports and
talk programming. SiriusXM is available in vehicles from every
major car company and on smartphones and other connected devices as
well as online at siriusxm.com. SiriusXM radios and accessories are
available from retailers nationwide and online at SiriusXM.
SiriusXM also provides premium traffic, weather, data and
information services for subscribers through SiriusXM Traffic™,
SiriusXM Travel Link, NavTraffic®, NavWeather™. SiriusXM delivers
weather, data and information services to aircraft and boats
through SiriusXM Aviation™ and SiriusXM Marine™. In addition,
SiriusXM Music for Business provides commercial-free music to a
variety of businesses. SiriusXM holds a minority interest in
SiriusXM Canada which has approximately 2.8 million subscribers.
SiriusXM is also a leading provider of connected vehicles services,
giving customers access to a suite of safety, security, and
convenience services including automatic crash notification, stolen
vehicle recovery assistance, enhanced roadside assistance and
turn-by-turn navigation.
To download SiriusXM logos and artwork, visit
http://www.siriusxm.com/LogosAndPhotos.
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Source: SiriusXM
Contact for SiriusXM:
Danielle Lynn
212.584.5329
danielle.lynn@siriusxm.com
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SOURCE Sirius XM Holdings Inc.