Alicia Guthrie

Alicia Guthrie had been to jail before, but the four and a half months that she spent in a Texas county jail in 2024 were unlike anything she had ever experienced. Difficult sleeping conditions. No free water. Poor medical care. And her treatment by the people incarcerated with her and by the guards left Alicia feeling dehumanized and unsafe. “That was the worst stay ever,” she says. “And my longest stay.”

All of that added stress and strain to what were already challenging situations with Alicia’s housing, family relationships, legal status, custody of her three children (one daughter, 7, and and two sons, 9 and 13), and the completion of her associate’s degree in psychology. Alicia had already finished her associate’s in criminal justice, but she’s working to give herself as many options for success as possible for her life after incarceration. That’s one of the reasons she was drawn to Level’s prison education program when she heard about it from another person in her prison dorm. With the chef training she’s already done, she could complete Level’s guide for food handling and be ready to get re-certified for work in the restaurant industry when she got out.

Alicia’s experience with Level was so positive that she’s ready to recommend the program to other people on the inside. Just for an organization to take the time to help people who are incarcerated means a lot, she says. “That was very big-hearted of y’all.” And to get training and a certificate out of it, “that’s something you can use when you’re getting out. People are gonna look at that as a stepping stone, like, you have this certificate, you can go get a job here now. ‘Cuz a lot of places, they want us to have certificates, and y’all are helping people that others are shutting the door to.” Speaking more personally, Alicia says that Level “really impacted me a lot. It gave me something to do in there – stimulate my brain. It got me off the stress. I love the program.” She’s even been inspired to post about it on social media.

Currently, Alicia is back home in Tyler, Tex., and has reconnected with her children. “They’re good,” she says. “I got them into counseling and tutoring for school, and I’m just letting them be kids, letting them enjoy the summer.” She’s also been giving thought to how she can help others who are going through what she’s been through. It makes a difference when someone who’s in trouble has someone beside them, she says, “that’s actually been through it, that’s heartfelt, that’s trying to help, that’s going to be there.” So Alicia wants to start her own nonprofit. “I’m going to try to help be there as much as I can for others,” she says, “especially the youth, the troubled youth. And I want to help the battered women. I’ve been a battered woman before. I really want to do this.”