NEBRASKA

TRUSTED PRESENCE INSIDE SECURE FACILITIES & DIVERSION SETTINGS

Nebraska is where One Heart Project's model is tested in some of the most difficult environments we work in — inside secure correctional facilities and alongside probation and diversion systems that see young people at their most vulnerable moments.

Operating inside a facility like this requires something that can't be manufactured quickly: trust. Trust with corrections staff, trust with probation officers, and — hardest to earn — trust with young people who've learned that adults don't always stay. Our Nebraska team builds that trust the same way it's built everywhere else: by showing up consistently, staying engaged when progress is slow, and refusing to choose between accountability and compassion.

OUR WORK IN NEBRASKA

  • Programming inside the Nebraska Correctional Youth Facility, working directly with incarcerated youth

  • Diversion and assessment center partnership in Douglas County, reaching young people before deeper system involvement

  • Probation partnership in Lancaster County

  • Intentional Peer Support integration, pairing young people with mentors who've navigated similar paths themselves

Whether inside a facility or through a diversion program, our Nebraska team focuses on the same thing everywhere One Heart works: sustained, relational presence in the places that need it most.

Stories ofImpact

SHOWING UP CHANGES EVERYTHING

At the Sarpy County Juvenile Justice Center, young people cycle in and out every week. Some I may see for a single day; others for months, occasionally longer. Every interaction matters because time is never guaranteed.

When I first met Maddie a few weeks ago, she was guarded and disengaged — polite, but distant. She participated, but it was clear she wasn't expecting much from the session. When she returned the following week, the pattern felt familiar — until it wasn't.

As the conversation turned to addiction, something shifted. Maddie leaned in. She shared openly that she had been struggling with addiction for years and admitted, with honesty that stopped the room, that she expected to return to using once she was released.

That moment opened the door to a deeper conversation — about choice. About the difficult truth that change isn't imposed from the outside but chosen from within. We talked about how freedom doesn't begin with circumstances changing, but with believing a different future is possible and deciding to move toward it, even imperfectly.

To meet her courage with honesty, I shared a piece of my own story — how recovery is not a one-time decision, but a daily commitment. Healing, I explained, isn't about perfection. It's about choosing life again and again, even on the hardest days.

After the session ended, Maddie approached me quietly and said thank you. She shared that something had changed — that she was ready to try, ready to choose differently. The resolve in her eyes was unmistakable.

Her journey won't be linear. None ever are. But what matters is that a seed was planted — one rooted in truth, accountability, and hope. And sometimes, that moment of clarity is where everything begins.

— Taylor Graham, Youth Development Specialist

THE PERSON BEHIND THE WORK

Staff Highlight: Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. As a young man, he showed promise — earning college basketball scholarships and envisioning a productive future. But unresolved trauma and grief led to choices that altered his life, and in 1997, he was sentenced to life in prison.

That moment forced him to confront not only the harm he caused, but the brokenness within himself.

Over nearly three decades of incarceration, Michael committed himself to accountability, education, and growth. He has helped more than 200 incarcerated men and youth earn diplomas or GEDs while pursuing his own college education.

In 2020, he was selected for Nebraska's celebrated Intentional Peer Support program to mentor incarcerated youth inside the Nebraska Correctional Youth Facility. Through One Heart Project, Michael now co-facilitates cohorts and serves as a mentor to young men navigating the very choices that once defined his own life.

His credibility is lived. His message is real.

One Heart Project is working in partnership with the Nebraska Department of Corrections to bring Michael on board in an official capacity — because when redemption becomes mentorship, cycles can be broken.

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