Free ELSIE Figueroa

This segment is to touch the topic of addiction. How addicted broke me yet changed my life for the better....

I've had the pleasure to work with my partner Ashley Secore and I found it appropriate to introduce her to our listeners by conducting this interview.

I wanted to share my story & personal experience in the system as a juvenile to get you all to understand how often the system fails juveniles. I wanted you to hear my struggles & what I too had to endure because of a neglectful system & unjust court system. How our cases are similar in many ways & how the system failed to provide an actual solution.

Allow me to introduce myself & how this page came to be. First & foremost my name is muñeca. I am one of Elsies best friends. Me & Elsie knew one another as kids around the neighborhood, but we didn't become close until we found ourselves incarcerated. I had a pretty troubled childhood myself & even more troubling adulthood. I found myself in & out of prison most of my young adult life. In 2014 I was arrested & convicted serving 4 full years for selling drugs and possession of an illegal firearm. After my time was served & it was my time to be freed I wasn't 100% happy as I should be. You see I walked through those gates a free woman yes, but was forced to leave Elsie behind. The reality that my friend may not have that opportunity for many more years completely shattered my heart. I made a promise to myself & to her that I wouldn't forget or abandon her. Most importantly that this experience wouldn't be in vain & that I'll never go back to prison. I kept that promise to this day. Originally I started a support group to simply find Elsie the support she needed. Anyone that has done time understands the importance of having a solid support system. Serving prison time can be mentally & emotionally devastating without receiving love & support from the outside world. Within a couple of weeks the group began to grow & bloom. Elsie was being flooded with hundreds of letters from not only all over the United States but around the world! Supporters sent her pictures, cards, letters, money for commissary. They sent her books, magazines & anything they could possibly contribute to. Supporters from countries like Canada, United Kingdom, even Uganda. Everyone offering her with those loving & encouraging words she needed most. She started reconnecting with family members & childhood friends she hasn't heard from in decades. The most unbelievable thing happened & the group took a completely different turn. Lawyers, paralegals, many projects & organizations took a special interest in Elsies story. Currently we are in the process of trying to get Elsie home. Timing is absolutely everything & it may take a little while to get legal matters going, but Elsie will be home! If it's the last thing I do I will continue to give it everything I have & I will not be content until she is home free with the rest of us! It's been overwhelming & I'd be lying if I said it's been a piece of cake. I spent hours upon hours responding to inboxes, commenting, & running things. I realized I was only one person & couldn't possibly juggle a newborn, a husband, and life along with everything else. So I recruited Its'Ashleyy Âmøré Secoré-Fellows to help me run things. She has been such a help & absolutely amazing. This post has gotten long enough so I won't take up much of your time. Just know & understand that without you all making the noise that you have been flooding social media with Elsies story. We wouldn't be here now. So thank you to every last one of you. This is so important to me, I become so emotional. Continue to share her story, continue contributing anyway you can. Elsie will be home! For further information regarding how to contribute I've made individual comments in the comments section. Thank you everyone every last one of you for making noise, for being her voice