Healing Journey | Michael Hayes of Umoja

Michael Hayes was serving his fifth term in prison when an epiphany struck. He had never acknowledged the trauma he grew up with, let alone worked through it. The process of doing so changed his life, and he focused on helping others do the same.

Hayes founded Umoja Health, Wellness and Justice Collective, a Black-run nonprofit in Asheville devoted to disrupting generational trauma for people in and out of prison, along with school-age youth. In this conversation, he details his "healing journey," talks about the critical factors of community and peer-to-peer support, how Umoja differs from traditional 12-step programs and how he and others in their 50s work to break through to teenagers.