San Rafael, CA – To appreciate Justin Townsend’s personal progress the past few years, one needs to know his background in east Oakland, his history of crime, his past drug use, and his depths of despair.
“I was lying to myself for years and years about the person I was and the person I wanted to become,” said Townsend, 34. “I wanted to be approved by people who weren’t doing anything in their own lives.”
On December 1, Townsend was one of 23 people honored at the Marin County Civic Center’s Board of Supervisors chamber for accepting renewed responsibilities and becoming positive role models for others. They were the newest probationers honored on the Marin County Probation Department’s Wall of Change, where personal stories of their transformation are documented in the department’s lobby for all probationers to see.
Justin Townsend (right) listens to Judge Kelly Simmons (center) speak about sentencing him to three months at Marin County Jail as counselor Darrell Roary (left) looks on.The event opened with a short documentary film created by Vincent Cortez of Mitchell Street Pictures.
The session was recorded and archived.
Townsend had parents with drug problems and grew up surrounded by crime, gradually “becoming my environment.” He got into an increasing amount of trouble as he grew older, and his entanglement with the criminal justice system only got worse after his mother died in 2013. He was on the streets, taking drugs, and homeless, living in cars and stealing cars.
When he describes his arrest by Pleasanton police on April 27, 2017, he uses the word “rescued.” While serving five months at Santa Rita Jail in Pleasanton and additional three months at Marin County Jail for past offenses, Townsend realized that he needed something different in his life and make a change in a positive direction.
After getting released, he met Darrell Roary of the Marin County Public Defender’s Office, who guided Townsend toward a year-long addiction recovery program in San Francisco called the Father Alfred Center, run by the St. Anthony Foundation. Later, Townsend was assigned to Marin County Probation officer Jerad McCarthy, whom Townsend described as “really important to me … resourceful and cool.”
Townsend had a list of things he wanted to do when he ventured out on his own again, like be responsible, be a loyal husband, get a job, get a driver’s license, build a family, buy a car, and buy a house. He started on a positive path by getting his graduate equivalency degree (GED), listening to his mentors, going through training as a firefighter, helicopter rescue assistant, and merchant marine. But today he is working at the same location where he completed his year-long program.
“All those things on my list … I got all of that by setting small but obtainable goals and doing the right thing when nobody is watching,” Townsend said.
The Wall of Change ceremony on December 1 was a tribute to both the 2020 and 2021 induction classes; the 2020 event was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to Townsend, the 2020 honorees were (in alphabetical order) Berne Aguilar-Ochoa, Octavio Barajas, Juaquina De Leon Perez, Elias Hernandez De Leon, Kayley Jones, Nicole Knight, Mario Lopez-Chavez, Oscar Lopez-Sanchez, Maycol Eliezar Lopez-Temaj, Elizandro Maldonado, Keith Martin, DeMarquis McHenry, Jorge Peraza, Tegan Shipp, Pierre Tzannis, and Nathaniel Wilcox. Receiving honors as the 2021 class were Nicholas Brammer, Ludy Hernandez-Deleon, James Hayes, Thomas Richard James, Paul Montano, and Danielle Mowers.
Once a year, an emotional celebration is held for those who make it on the Wall of Change, selected by a committee for providing the most inspirational success stories of the year. The framed Wall of Change stories and photos include a first-person account from the probationer and words from their assigned probation coach. The annual ceremony also shows appreciation for the Probation officers and other supporters who sometimes find themselves as the only people who believe in the probationer.
The in-person ceremony was hosted by Marin County Probation Chief Marlon Washington and his staff. Teresa Bowman, Buckelew Program’s Director of Substance Use Services, served as the emcee. Longtime supporter and former probation officer Michael Pritchard – known best as a comedian and motivational speaker – was presented with a special award, as was beloved substance abuse counselor Milton Paul. It was a posthumous honor for Paul, a community advocate and domestic violence prevention specialist who died in November 2020.
Washington attended his first Wall of Change ceremony since being named Marin’s Probation Chief in August 2020.
“There are two quotes I heard recently that have really resonated with me, and I have shared them with all our Wall of Change nominees,” Washington said. “They are, ‘Running away from any problem only increases the distance from the solution,’ and ‘Challenges are what make life interesting. Overcoming them is what makes them meaningful.’ With these particular probationers, we’ve seen people who were running from problems, then stopped for whatever reasons, found some new hope, and then overcame those problems. The Wall of Change is a way of recognizing those individuals who have made significant positive changes in their lives while being on probation, and we are proud of them.”
For Townsend and many other Wall of Change honorees, it’s not just the Probation staff that proves vital to their transformation but also trusted workers from law enforcement agencies, the judges of Marin County Superior Court, the Public Defender’s Office, detoxification centers, supportive nonprofits, social workers, and others. Judge Kelly Simmons was on hand at the ceremony, as were many of the recovery coaches and counselors who played critical roles in supporting the probationers.
Townsend spread thanks to everyone who motivated him and participated in his remarkable turnaround, including family members, recovery coaches, and even the Marin County Superior Court Judge who kept him in jail, Kelly Simmons. Today, Townsend is sober, is engaged to be married, and holds two jobs – one as intake coordinator at the Father Alfred Center and one as an official at an overnight shelter. Being an inspiration to others is a new concept to him.
“It starts within the person, with the willingness to change …. that’s what it is,” he said. “It takes a person to focus and think about exactly what they want in life and knowing what you did not want in your life. From there, you do what you can to make changes. And you have to realize that nothing is impossible.”
Learn more about Marin County Probation online.