Voices from Inside and Out
An Interview with Dillon Toscano
By Carol Leonard
“America Land of the Free, Home of the Incarcerated”
What happens when one passes through the experience of imprisonment and reaches the other side again after that? This article is the story of Dillon Toscano, who was released from Prison in 2006 and started a new life providing his own style social living home for professionals coming to California for Music and Film Industry.
The originality of the project resides on the fact that it interweaves many lives bringing a new beginning to many parolees.
While in prison, Dillon had a revelation, and spiritual opening after practicing Siddha Yoga while he studied Hinduism. Dillon nevertheless loved the study of quantum mechanics and it fascinates him the fact that this subject directs correlates with the teaching from the East.
Dillon now founded a non profit called Pros and Convicts Foundation, to further the assistance that many so direly need. We asked Dillon some interesting questions in hopes that this will bring awareness to many that are just ready to start a new life.
OM Times: What was the biggest motivation for you to create this non profit?
Dillon: We’ll the first thing I started was a DBA for MyPrisonSpace.com almost immediately when I was released from prison in 2006 and than turned it into an LLC in late 2009. The Non-Profit basically formed out of that idea so we put the gears in motion for our new cause just this past May 2010, we call it
“Pros and Convicts Foundation”. In a lot of ways the 2 are completely different services. One thing they both share is the target market of felons, ex-convicts and parolees. To explain why I started all this could be summed up in a single sentence; when I was released from prison I was homeless, broke and completely sober! Check out my first 3 days on parole http://myprisonspace.org/about-3/my-parole-day/
OMTimes: What do you intend to accomplish?
Dillon: Everything you can imagine. The wheels won’t stop spinning in this direction for me. Ideas just keep coming and I want to accomplish all of them!
The plan with MyPrisonSpace is this. When an individual is released from prison he or she should be able to go to a computer, visit our site, sign in and begin viewing their own personalized, tailor maid parole plan made by the providers of their community. Don’t get me wrong I know there are services out there that do wonderful things for parolees and ex-cons, and that’s the point! I’m bringing them all together and providing an easier path to their doors from the gates of prison. This also works for the everyday people who want to participate in helping those paroling to their areas. Individuals could check and see who’s paroling to their areas and what services they need and than have those things ready for them at the parole office, things like clothes, old tools, books you name it. Others could just post the services they know are available for felons and let the parolees find them on their own. The point is everyone knows why you’re visiting MyPrisonSpace, you’re either here to get help or give it, but it ALL revolves around PRISON.
