ThreeSixty Program by La La Anthony helps young men from time behind bars to release
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- It's freedom day for Tylik Thomas.
Unshackled. No longer bound. Finally free.
"This is a lovely feeling," he said.
After a second stint behind bars on Rikers Island he said, "It's a good feeling when you can look down and your ankles aren't cuffed, your wrists aren't cuffed together in the back of those little vans."
Eyewitness News met the 22-year-old this past summer as he graduated valedictorian with his high school diploma, serving time for a non-violent gun charge.
"I told you, unc, I was going to do it," he said.
READ MORE: Exclusive Dreams Deferred, Not Denied - Graduation Held for 63 Inmates at Rikers Island
Our cameras were rolling as he left the facility with a bus pass and a pile of books.
Thomas journeys home vowing to make his trip to the island of hard knocks his last.
"It's a testament, feel me, to all the young brothers my age, my friends I just left today. It's a testament to perseverance, strength, resilience in some of the hardest places," he said.
"It's finally over...Congratulations, man."
He credits a life-changing initiative on Rikers Island: "I chose to turn my story around, make that 360."
The ThreeSixty Program is serving up the recipe for change.
That's powerhouse actress La La Anthony.
No film set, just pure passion.
Her work continues on Rikers, helping incarcerated young men just like Tylik from their time behind bars to release.
"I feel like a million bucks right now," he said.
Swapping their jumpsuits for fine threads.
"You don't have to have a suit on to be a leader. Remember what it feels like."
Breaking bread behind bars.
"Bless the food, Father."
She prepared a table with the finest linen.
"We're going to eat like the rich today. We're stepping it up."
Bundled a harvest of lush flowers, and served a meal with love.
"That's rasta pasta."
"La La, you're an actress. You're EP'ing a pilot. You're also a mom. But you find yourself week to week here at Rikers Island," Eyewitness News Reporter Phil Taitt said.
"It's my life passion. It's my life's work," she said. "I know how easy it is to write them off. I know how easy it is to not care about them. I know how easy it is to say, 'Oh, they're just a bunch of criminals. Like, what difference do they make in the world?' A lot of their choices were because of the environment, lack of opportunity."
The foundation sparking change behind the jail's steel doors, offering young men mentorship, legal support, and re-entry skills before they step off the island.
"You're back in the same environment, but you're not the same person."
"It's cool to actually want good. It's cool to want to have a job. It's cool to want to do good for your family. It's cool to not be in the streets," said Isaiah Garcia, program member.
Garcia, 25, is an original member of 360, and knows the darkness of Rikers all too well. He had been released, started a marketing job at a Fortune 500 company, then was arrested for a prior alleged offense. He's back behind bars.
"This is real-life situations. People actually cry and hurt, you know, by themselves. They think these things over. And when we come into 360, we have a chance to actually just be normal," Garcia said.
According to The Sentencing Project, one in five Black men born in 2001 are likely to be imprisoned at some point in their lifetime. People of color are overrepresented in prisons, accounting for nearly seven in 10 people.
"There are so many reasons for it. But I'm here to break the cycle. They made a mistake, but they are not mistakes," Anthony said.
Anthony sees hope in these young men's eyes, like Michael Rondo Bonilla, formerly incarcerated back in 2021.
"I wanted fast money, you know what I'm saying? I was on the drugs. I wanted... I'm the oldest child, single mother, same household. Like, it's the same story for 98% of us. We all take that risk to benefit the crib, benefit the house. None of us really do it thinking that we want to get a million dollars," Bonilla said.
He lives a complete life of service, helping those whose freedom is on the line. He tells Eyewitness News the equalizer for success was simple, "La La got me the job. That's all I needed to do-change my life. It's that simple. It's really that easy. I'm not going to make it rocket science. I just needed the opportunity."
For those who move on, opportunity awaits. For those awaiting their release, transformation continues.
"To the brothers fighting their cases, stay strong," Thomas said.
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