As difficult as it may be, those inmates have to change, according to John Simpson, a guest speaker at the Young Men’s Awareness Program.

The program, which featured former inmates as guest speakers, was held at the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility Thursday afternoon.

About 30 inmates were in attendance.

“It’s a cold, cold world and it’s getting crazier day by day,” Simpson said. “You got the time right now away from that world that you can use to get your mind together. The mind that got you here is not the mind you want to leave with. You have to change.”

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson Charles Anderson, of Waterloo, applauds a fellow guest speaker Thursday afternoon.

Simpson said it was faith and a change in attitude that turned his life around.

“I am what you call a two-time loser because I didn’t get it right the first time,” Simpson said. “But I became a winner. I am trying to do the work of the Lord and he has blessed me in ways that you can’t understand until you get to know the Lord for yourself.”

Simpson said it’s not easy to accept that a person needs to change, but it’s necessary.

“If you take this negative and turn it into a positive you can do great things,” Simpson said. “It starts with a thought. It starts with me saying I am gonna be better today than I was yesterday. I am going to try harder today than I did yesterday. It’s easy to give up, but who are you giving up on? You are not hurting anyone else but yourself. When you look in the mirror, like I did when I was here, I didn’t like what I saw. Now, when I look in the mirror I kind of like that guy. I think he’s a pretty good dude.”

Simpson said what’s most important is that the inmates learn to love themselves.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson Mowlid Hired, 34, center, applauds the guest speakers who took the time to speak with inmates. Fellow inmate, Mitchell Ruiz, is sitting next to him.

“I want you to know that I love you,” Simpson said to the crowd. “If I didn’t love you I wouldn’t be here. But it’s more important that you love yourself. If you love yourself you will leave here and you will never look back.”

Eddie Jones, a native of Waterloo, said what helped him the most was changing his environment.

“I got locked up at 17 years old,” Jones said. “It took a lot for me to figure out how to stay out of the system. I ended up relocating to the south and that was one of the best things I could have done. I got married and that was a big help. She helped me. I started going to school. I started working.”

Jones said to avoid the same situations that got the inmates where they are now.

“Start hanging out with different people,” he said. “Stay out of the drug scene. That’s what helped me. Once you get back out there, the choices you make will determine where you are going. It’s up to you.”

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson Jose Rodriguez was pardoned more than 370 days ago after serving 17 and a half years in prison. He was a speaker during Thursday’s forum.

Jose Rodriguez, a native of Virginia, was pardoned more than 370 days ago after serving 17 and a half years in prison.

Fifteen of those years were spent in Virginia.

Rodriguez was complimentary of how the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility handles its rehabilitation efforts.

“They could learn something from Fort Dodge,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez advised the inmates to take advantage of the programs at the facility.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson John Payton explains his past of scamming others out of money.

He said jobs are available when inmates get out.

“The odds are stacked against us, but we can beat those odds,” Rodriguez said. “There’s definitely jobs out there.”

John Payton, another guest speaker, said he didn’t change after he went to prison for the first time.

“When I went to prison the first time, I wasn’t interested in being reformed,” Payton said. “I couldn’t wait to get out and rob again. I thought about doing crime almost every day.”

Payton served time for white-collar crimes, he said.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson Austin Brown, 24, an inmate at the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility, reacts to a speech delivered by Jose Rodriquez, a former inmate at the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility, during the Young Men’s Awareness Program at the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility Thursday afternoon. Rodriguez was pardoned more than 370 days ago after serving 17-and-a-half years for possession and intent to distribute marijuana. Rodriguez was convicted in Virginia.

“I did a lifetime of a bunch of scams,” Payton said. “I did a bunch of check scams in the 1990s. I used to think the only way I could really get paid was by doing crime and that was the lie that I believed. And maybe some of you believe those same lies.”

Payton served two and a half years in the North Central Correctional Facility in Rockwell City before he got out. At that time, he got involved in crime again.

The second time Payton went to prison, he said family impacted his way of thinking.

“I had a 2-year-old son and a wife,” he said. “When I went to federal prison I decided I wasn’t going to waste the time like I did in Rockwell City. Eventually, I put my foot down and changed my thinking.”

Payton advised the inmates to spend their time on the inside wisely.

“Learning to control my anger and developing a relationship with God was key,” he said.

Payton compared his decisions to watching a DVD.

“When you do those things it’s like you hit play,” he said. “But in contrast, if you spend your time playing cards, working out and sitting around talking about the good old days, that just puts your life on pause.”

Instead, Payton said to focus on relationships.

“Spend your time learning to be a better dad,” he said. “Spend your time learning how to have better relationships and how to cope with certain problems.”

He said opportunities will be available to the inmates if they make good choices.

“When you get out there will be a chance to make a good living,” he said. “There’s a lot of small companies out there that need good help. When you seek God, you find him, and that’s the greatest lesson.”

Mowlid Hired, an inmate at the FDCF, appreciated what he heard.

“It was motivational,” Hired said. “It encourages us to go out and do better. It’s nice to see people who rose to the occasion and are giving back to the community.”

Mitchell Ruiz, another inmate, said he still believes he can accomplish his goals.

Ruiz is currently working on obtaining his GED.

“It just goes to show you that even if you’re a convict, it’s not over,” Ruiz said. “You can still be successful. It’s not over. You can still accomplish your dreams.”