Every person in probation work, whether carrying a badge, a caseload, or a budget spreadsheet, is in the business of second chances. This general session moves through one man’s real journey from pain to purpose and translates that journey into a practical framework the entire room can use immediately: for the youth and adults they serve, and for themselves.

Presenter Schwartzen Précil grew up in inner-city New York without consistent guidance, and found himself on the wrong side of the very systems many in this room represent. Rather than let that experience define him, he became the person he needed when he was younger, building a career in character development, recidivism reduction, and court-partnered community service programs in Buffalo, Michigan, and San Francisco before founding Hero Leadership Group.

Using his Pain to Purpose story as the narrative spine, this session introduces the HERO Framework: Honesty, Empathy, Resilience, Opportunity, as a practical model participants can apply on both sides of their work: helping the individuals they supervise reflect on their choices and build resilience after failure, and sustaining their own resilience in work that is demanding and, at times, deeply stressful.

Participants will explore strategies to help individuals reflect on their choices, build resilience after failure, and develop a sense of purpose that supports safer communities, while also receiving a brief, practical wellness moment built specifically for probation professionals themselves.

Speakers:

• Schwartzen Précil

Handout: