Jessie Mohn, 32, is a Bemidji State University student working on her Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work. Jessie was a Phi Theta Kappa honors graduate of Itasca Community College in the spring of 2016. She earned two Associate Degrees – one in applied psychology and one in business management. Jessie has always been a working student- maintaining up to two jobs, keeping her home, attending church and being an active community volunteer. Her energy and enthusiasm are contagious. She is a lesson in motivation and moving forward – persevering from the great fall of addiction.
Yes, Jessie is an addict in recovery, someone who completed her felony sentencing and one who has never voted in her adult life-time. So with these three strikes comes Mohn’s backstory, much like an athlete in survival, aiming for home base. There is a saying many people tell their children, “You can be anything you want to be if you try hard enough.” Jessie is fully aware that while this phrase is meant for encouragement – it is only partially true because addiction and criminal convictions often come with a lifetime scarlet letter attached.
Jessie was raised in Duluth, though she would tell you she wasn’t really “raised” – she was left to self-care under very troubling situations of drug abuse, criminal activity and sexual violence. She witnessed traumatic events including personal violations that left her scared, scarred and damaged. A child not provided with the tools of nurturing, education and security may often turn to the streets to survive. This broken self-reliance takes an already vulnerable person to the underside of life that is neither rewarding nor safe. Sex, drugs, illicit behaviors are a means to food, affection, a place to sleep, transportation, etc., some viability – even if minimal.
Mohn sold drugs, to maintain her own addiction and to stay alive. Contradictory to living, she existed. In 2012, her street life caught up to her and Jessie ended up in the Shakopee Women’s Prison where she learned about restorative justice principles. Restorative justice is a system of criminal justice that focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community at large. Mohn recognized how her actions were a violation against the greater good of a community. Strangely, in a place of consequence, she was provided with some tools of encouragement with the mission that upon re-entry to the public she would move forward and be successful. She dedicated herself to her sobriety. Mohn was accepted to the Challenge Incarceration Program, an elite, rigorous rehabilitation program for nonviolent offenders in Minnesota, now located in Shakopee; she attended the Togo facility. CIP has morphed into a program that encourages participants to not only improve their bodies, but also their minds and habits. Jessie credits the program for her road to recovery and good citizenship.
Upon her release, Jessie jumped right into community service as a volunteer at the local homeless shelter. She worked as wait staff and began to build her life free of drugs and the streets. She attended her counseling sessions and followed her release program to the tee, determined that she would go forward to be an instrumental role model for others who came from pasts similar to hers. She enrolled in college and spent four years working at the homeless shelter as both a site supervisor and volunteer coordinator. Mohn became an information seeker, tapping into local resources that could lift people from dire circumstances. She spearheaded the creation of one of the largest attended Narcotics Anonymous groups in Itasca County. She was tireless in her research for rehabilitation programs, treatment, housing, mental health care and any foundation that would assist a fallen person with picking themselves up and getting back in to be an engaged member of their community. Jessie also does motivational public speaking and is currently a foster provider for her toddler nephew, aiding her brother with care during the week while he travels for work.
Mohn has worked twice, if not thrice as hard to play catch-up with her life. She says is it her mission to regroup, regain and rebuild to help others avoid her dangerous past. She plans to be a social worker with a specialty in chemical dependency work. She can earn her degrees, work up the path to the highest education and training possible, but due to her felony convictions – she can be disqualified from employment with the run of a background check. State licensing requirements have lengthy disqualifiers which keep a person with solid work experience and higher education from obtaining specific careers. Many times a person with a felony conviction planning a career in a human services field may have to settle into a non-profit environment, which tends to be more forgiving.
Mohn to page 2C
The downside is that many non-profits struggle to maintain; pay and benefits can be low and the chance for moving up limited.
Jessie completed her full sentencing in December, unable able to vote in this past Presidential election. In MN H.F 951, a bill for an act relating to public safety; restoring the civil right to vote to an individual upon release from incarceration or upon sentencing if no incarceration is imposed was introduced on February 13th. The bill was read for the first time and referred to the Committee on Public Safety and Security Policy and Finance. See: https://restorethevotemn.org/ for more information.
Mohn makes no excuses for her past – she lives in the present and she plans for her future. She is a role model to many, highlighting the mission of sobriety, education and restorative justice. She knows re-engaging citizens back into their communities, without the continuum of added double jeopardies, will mean greater unity for one another. Jessie’s transformation will better her, and her stronger voice will work to better others. Reinstatement and restoration of voting rights for people who have served their sentences makes for a greater America, as recovered citizens move forward to build stronger communities being a voice for healthier transformation.
By Pamela J Dowell, Cohasset, MN, Freelance writer, social justice activist, mentor and genealogy hobbyist. This series of individual stories explores interesting and diverse people living in a northern rural small town. This project was inspired by the “Humans of New York” series which focuses on specific populations, their experience and the challenges that they face. You may contact Dowell at grpam79@hotmail.com