California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's video: Inside CDCR: Mentor reunites with his twin brother after nine years apart

In the minutes before the graduation ceremony, Luis Berumen nervously adjusted and readjusted his cap and tassel. Not only was he going to be graduating from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's prestigious Offender Mentor Certification Program, but his twin brother had traveled hours to California State Prison-Solano to watch. “It’s been nine years since I’ve seen him,” Berumen said. The Offender Mentor Certification Program, or OMCP, allows participants to provide valuable mentorship within prisons, a paid position through the Division of Rehabilitative Programs. Once released, they use these skills to find good-paying jobs. Berumen said during his incarceration he participated in many helpful rehabilitative programs, but none as transformative. His change has led him to reconnect with his brother George, one of the most important people in his life. “Beforehand when I would talk to him I wouldn’t ask any questions about how the family were doing,” Berumen said. “I wouldn’t ask any questions about him or even some of the successes he had. I would ask him to send me a package or say, ‘Hey, why haven’t you come to see me?’” During the course of the OMCP, which requires participants to spend five months in therapy, then a year taking courses such as the neuroscience of behavior and thinking, Berumen changed. The conversations with his brother changed too, opening up the chance of a better relationship. He has been able to talk about their past and his poor choices. He told his brother he loved him and understood why he stopped visiting. The Berumen brothers grew up in East Los Angeles. Their mother was in and out of prison. “My parents were actually schooling me on gang mentality,” Berumen said. “I was one day away from shooting somebody and one day I did.” He was 16 years old. Luis went to prison, but George found another path. He has a job, a close family with two kids. In the audience, George waited with anticipation, swiveling often to look at the door where the graduates would enter. When the students arrived, the brothers waved at each other and smiled. Luis was one of the speakers and told the group that what he valued most was family. After the graduation, the brothers embraced, cried and laughed. Said George Berumen: “I was kind of amazed by it…the way we used to talk and growing up and now, you can tell he’s learned a lot.” Music: Campfire by Scandinavianz https://soundcloud.com/scandinavianz Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/_campfire Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/9Rfykh-YzCc Have you been enjoying the Inside CDCR videos? This project highlights the staff, volunteers, community partners, programs, and incarcerated men and women that make the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation exceptional. If you have a story we should cover, please email Kristina.Khokhobashvili@cdcr.ca.gov.