Former prison inmate speaks about moving on after incarceration

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FITCHBURG — You don’t have to be an expert to help people reenter society after incarceration, said Louie Diaz, a substance abuse counselor and re-entry specialist with the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office.

Look for community or church ministry programs that provide services for substance abuse or focus on rentry, he said, and consider volunteering at some of these organizations.

“You don’t have to be like myself in the eye of the storm, boots on the ground, (and) under bridges (to help),” said Diaz, who is a former prisoner.

He spoke Thursday at the Fitchburg Public Library after a screening of the 2016 documentary “Beyond the Wall,” which features his work with previously incarcerated men in the Merrimack Valley.

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Diaz has worked with the sheriff’s office for about a decade as a contractor and a state employee.

In the film, he helps six who rebuild their lives by staying sober. Some also faced challenges of reuniting with their families and finding jobs.

On Thursday, Diaz gave an update about how the men featured in the film are doing today.

Some are sober and found jobs. One who graduated from a halfway house relapsed and is now on Methadone and living in a shelter. Another died of a Fentanyl overdose in 2015.

One of the film subjects, Jesus Ruiz, was introduced to Christianity in prison and is now a minister who runs a program in Haverhill. Another, Billy Cabrera, continues to run a barber shop in Lowell that is “the oasis in the desert” for men who need support after prison, Diaz said.

The experience of the men in the movie and others he has helped is similar to his own story.

Diaz, who struggled with his own addition, recalled being high and driving a stolen car when he stabbed an off duty State Police trooper with a screwdriver. He received a 10-year prison sentence and served about three years.

That arrest was more of a rescue, Diaz said. Once out of prison, he found support and went on to help others who were once in his place.

The Lawrence native lived in Lowell and now resides in Nashua, New Hampshire. His work with the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office is based in Lowell.

Another speaker at the screening was Frederick Clay, who served nearly 40 years for a first-degree murder sentence before being exonerated in 2017.

In 1981, he was convicted for the shooting death of a taxi driver in Roslindale, a neighborhood of Boston. At the time of the crime, Clay was 16 years old.

A new trial revealed he had been misidentified and other issues with the case.

Clay, who is now 55 and lives in Lowell, spoke about readjusting to life outside of prison.

“I have to be patient and learn what I have to learn,” he said.

Clay has been learning life skills that he missed out on, like how to live to live on his own, hold a job, manage a checking account, and drive. He has also tried to reconnect with family.

“Some days are going pretty good, others take a little longer than I expected,” Clay said.

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