The Pathlight Mentor Program™
Story-Driven Tools for Identity, Healing, and Legal Reintegration
Trauma-informed. Turnkey. Built by a Marine veteran and ready for your facility, program, or ministry.
10 SEL Workbooks + Online Courses
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8 full chapters per book
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3 lessons, 1 tool, 1 case study per chapter
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“Uncle Aaron” stories + “Unc P” quotes
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Real-world reflection and practice
- Explore Books
Turnkey Master Curriculum
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500+ page facilitator guide
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Built-In Self-Assessments
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Modular lesson plans + self-assessments
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Group and solo exercises
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CDOS + CASEL aligned
Start with 3- Free Books
Get immediate access to the first two titles in the Pathlight Mentor Program™ free for approved partners:
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Who Am I, Really?
Identity, labels, and reclaiming your inner voice. -
Mastering the Fire
Emotional regulation, triggers, and anger control.
Simple to Start. Powerful in Impact.
Implementation is intentionally streamlined. Mentors or facilitators simply purchase the workbook, give it to the participant, and walk through each chapter together using provided discussion prompts. No special training, tech platform, or clinical certification is required to begin.
Every workbook is self-guided but designed to spark conversation, reflection, and change in real time. Whether one-on-one or in small groups, the process is relational, intuitive, and immediately actionable.
Master Manual: Your Turnkey Transformation Playbook
“It’s not just a manual - it’s a blueprint for restorative leadership from the inside out.”
Facilitator Certification Training Manual
Where Insight Meets Impact - Train the Leaders Who Transform Lives
The Pathlight Lead
The Anchor for Trauma-Informed group Settings
BFI Peer Mentor & Certification Manual
From Mentee to Movement Builder
The System is full structured outline and provides Certification.
You Trust Your Mentors
Let’s Give Them a Framework That Works
Your team shows up. They care. They connect.
But care alone isn’t a system. And connection without structure can burn out your best people.
The Pathlight Mentor Program™ equips trusted mentors with the tools, structure, and trauma-informed approach they need to guide real transformation; without needing to be therapists or experts.
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✅ Clear session plans
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✅ Emotional safety tools
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✅ Certification-backed confidence
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✅ Story-centered guidance that builds trust from day one
Let’s deepen the impact of the people you already believe in.
Reentry. Redemption. Real Emotional Change.
The Pathlight Mentor Program™ is a trauma-informed, social-emotional learning (SEL) system built for justice-impacted individuals and the real-world challenges they face.
Rooted in authenticity and lived experience, this program empowers mentors to guide others through identity rebuilding, emotional regulation, and purpose-driven transformation.
The heart of the system was shaped by the powerful work of Dr. Pastor Jim Bostic, whose legacy of mentoring within correctional settings became the foundation for this life-changing model. His original workshops, voice, and vision inspired the creation of a complete, story-led curriculum.
Program Phases & Outcomes
PHASE 1: FOUNDATION (Books 1-2)
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Identity formation
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Emotional awareness & regulation
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Self-naming over self-blaming
PHASE 2: DISRUPTION (Books 3-5)
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Loyalty and relationship boundaries
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Trauma naming and healing
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Letting go of survival codes
PHASE 3: RECONSTRUCTION (Books 6-8)
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Cognitive rewiring and self-talk mastery
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Alignment between values and daily habits
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Grounded integrity and consistent leadership
PHASE 4: TRANSITION & LEGACY (Books 9-10)
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Skill flipping and legal enterprise
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Somatic regulation and inner peace
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Peace as power; clarity as strategy
What Makes The Pathlight Mentor Program™ Different?
Choosing the Right Fit: Youth vs. Adult Series
The Pathlight Mentor Program™ Youth Track is specifically designed for non-incarcerated or reentry-stage youth. Its stories, tone, and examples reflect life outside the walls; focusing on emotional growth, relationships, and decision-making in the context of everyday community life.
For youth currently in secure or long-term correctional settings, the original Built from the Inside™ Adult Series may offer a more relatable voice and framework. These workbooks speak directly to lived experiences inside the system and can be used independently or alongside the youth series.
Once certified, mentors gain access to both sets of tools and are trained to flex between them -adapting story sets, prompts, and pacing to match each youth’s lived reality.
Preview BooksIt’s not one-size-fits-all - it’s mentorship with range, relevance, and respect.
Start with Three Free Books
Get immediate access to the first two titles in the Pathlight Mentor Program™ free for approved partners:
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Who Am I, Really?
Identity, labels, and reclaiming your inner voice. -
Mastering the Fire
Emotional regulation, triggers, and anger control.
These foundational workbooks launch Phase 1 of the Built from the Inside™ series, equipping youth with tools to reflect, reset, and grow.
Use them to pilot the program, train mentors, and experience first-hand how story-based reflection builds trust and transformation-fast.
No obligation. Just a real start.
Alongside your free books, you’ll also receive the Pathlight Master Manual your complete framework, facilitation and program launch guide.
Email: akershaw@Buildingblocs.org
Mentor Training & Story-Led Facilitation
We train mentors not to “fix” or lecture, but to lead with their own story. Mentors become witnesses, not authorities, and model vulnerability, not perfection. Each session centers emotional honesty and shared growth.
Certification & Mentorship Tiers
The BFI system includes separate mentorship tracks for youth and adult populations, each with its own 20-book series and corresponding mentor guides. While the mentor guides are distinct to suit the developmental and cultural needs of each group, a unified Master Facilitator Guide and shared training materials ensure consistent program delivery across both versions.
Certifications take a couple hours of reading + 30-50 Question Quiz depending on Certification
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Tier |
Role |
Resource |
Credential Outcome |
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1 |
Mentee |
Youth or Adult Book Series (1–10 each) |
Completion Certificate |
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2 |
Peer Mentor |
Youth or Adult Mentor Guide |
Peer Mentor Certification |
|
3 |
Director |
Director's Handbook |
Director Certification |
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4 |
Trainer of Trainers |
ToT Manual |
Trainer Certification |
|
5 |
Facilitator |
Master Guide + LMS |
Certified Facilitator |
|
6 |
Program Leader |
BFI Facilitator + BRIGHTPath™ Licensee |
Licensed Program Replication |
Facilitator Training Structure:
Youth Track
Pathlight Facilitator Training equips youth facility staff, educators, intervention specialists, and certified peer mentors with the tools and emotional literacy needed to lead trauma-informed mentorship groups with justice-impacted youth.
This training builds confidence and capacity in:
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Emotional safety & containment
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Youth-centered group facilitation
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Story-based session leadership
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Fidelity to the Built from the Inside™ Youth Curriculum
Whether in detention, reentry, diversion, or prevention settings, facilitators learn to guide honest, emotionally grounded conversations that don’t just meet program goals, they change lives.
Flexible, High-Impact Design
Every Pathlight Mentor Program™ session is structured with both group peer facilitation and one-on-one delivery in mind. Whether used in a correctional facility, transitional housing unit, or community-based reentry program, it adapts to the needs of the environment.
- Modular Timing: Sessions range from 60 to 90 minutes, with flexible pacing for reflection or discussion.
- Scaffolded Learning: Each book builds upon the last, forming a true developmental arc.
- Integrated Tools: Includes writing prompts, checklists, emotional processing frameworks, and discussion starters.
- Certification-Ready: Every completed track offers a certificate of growth, suitable for parole packets, employment readiness, or legal mitigation.
Designed for Real-World Use
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Departments of Corrections
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Juvenile justice & diversion programs
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Reentry & workforce development agencies
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Trauma-informed schools & recovery homes
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Veterans services & transitional housing
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Families of the incarcerated
Backed by Standards. Proven by Data.
Built from the Inside isn’t a feel-good workbook series. It’s a structured, standards-aligned education system grounded in nationally recognized frameworks and real-world outcomes.
CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) is the nation’s leading authority on Social-Emotional Learning (SEL). They define five core competencies essential to emotional development, academic success, healthy relationships, and responsible decision-making.
CASEL Competency Mapping:
✔️ Self-Awareness: Books 1, 4, 5
✔️ Self-Management: Books 2, 6, 10
✔️ Social Awareness: Books 3, 5
✔️ Relationship Skills: Books 3, 7, 8
✔️ Decision-Making: Books 4, 7, 9
When we say “CASEL Competency Mapping,” we mean that each book and lesson in the Built from the Inside series has been intentionally designed to build one or more of these five evidence-based skill areas.
NYSED CDOS Standards:
Standard 1: Career Development
Identity formation, goal-setting, future planning
Standard 2: Integrated Learning
Real-world SEL, emotional decision-making, and behavioral growth
Standard 3a: Universal Foundation Skills
Communication, self-direction, critical thinking, and conflict resolution
NYS DOCCS Applications:
Aggression Replacement Training (ART) Tools in Mastering the Fire and Free Inside develop self-regulation and de-escalation
Transitional Services
Your Story Ain’t Over Yet, Who You’re Becoming, and The Hustler’s Flip guide future planning and legal enterprise
Cognitive Behavioral Skill Building
Every book includes thought-mapping, pattern interruption, and values-based decision tools
Why It Works
Participants don’t just “do time” with the Pathlight Mentor Program™—they build something real while they’re in it.
They gain language for emotions, practical tools for healing, and frameworks for leadership and identity that last—whether they’re returning home soon or still facing long-term system involvement.
“This isn't about fixing broken people. It's about helping them reclaim the parts of themselves no system ever saw.”
Because when a person feels safe enough to grow, change isn’t just possible, it’s sustainable.
Family-Centered Financial Integration Model
Built from the Inside™ + BrightPath Financial Discovery Series
Helping Families Heal and Rebuild—Together
Incarceration affects more than freedom—it impacts emotional stability, financial health, and family unity. This integrated model helps families not just survive the separation, but grow through it.
Built from the Inside™ positions the justice-impacted individual as an active partner in the family’s recovery, not a passive absence. Paired with the BrightPath Financial Discovery Series, this approach equips families with trauma-informed financial tools, emotional literacy, and goal-setting strategies.
The result: families strengthen their connection, improve communication, and lay the foundation for long-term financial and relational healing; together.
Built to Change Lives—and Systems
Economic Impact of SEL-Based Programming:
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$11 return per $1 invested
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Up to 80% recidivism reduction
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+11 percentile academic performance
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4–15% increase in long-term earnings
This series blends:
✔️ Lived-experience mentorship
✔️ Research-backed emotional tools
✔️ Trauma-responsive language
✔️ Practical, trackable outcomes
Program Assets
✅ 10-Book SEL Series (Print + PDF)
✅ 10-Course Online Curriculum - 7/25
✅ 1 Family Companion Book
✅ Full Turnkey Curriculum (400+ pages)
✅ Facilitator Certification Path
✅ Outcome Tracking Tools
✅ Tablet + In-Cell + Group Ready
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Book a Discovery Call
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View the Book Series
Capstone-Based Personal Transformation & Mastery Recognition
Credential Uses:
- Submitted as formal evidence of rehabilitation in parole, clemency, and sentence modification requests
- Recognized by DOC education departments and reentry boards as a complete behavior change curriculum
- Included in legal filings
(e.g., expungement hearings, diversion programs) - Attached to employment applications, housing applications, and scholarship forms
How This Helps the Courts and Participants Alike:
Pathlight Mentor Program™ gives judges and attorneys an evidence-informed, emotionally intelligent alternative to punitive-only sentencing. It allows for individualized rehabilitation assignments that align with the behavioral history and risk factors of the participant, while also generating tangible, trackable proof of progress.
