23: PLOT’s Jim St. Germain: How He Went From Needing Hope to Becoming a Hope

If you remember the amazing conversation we recently had with Edwin Raymond, you might recall the stories about his childhood friend 'Buffet'. Today we are joined by 'Buffet', whose real name is Jim St. Germain, to hear his inspiring story about arriving in the US from Haiti, and how he was able to transcend the harsh realities of unsafe neighborhoods and incarceration. His book, A Stone of Hope, has been personally recommended by Barrack Obama and his work in the community, with the PLOT, an organization he founded with Edwin, is nothing short of incredible. Jim tells us about how he had to learn the ways of the street in order to survive, the legal troubles this led to, and the experiences he had in the juvenile penal system. He makes sure to underline the importance of the mentors he was lucky enough to meet on his journey and his story is such a great example of what is possible with the right role models. Jim was able to complete a master's degree in public administration, which led to his community work in nurturing future leaders from difficult circumstances. Jim has faced many trials and has overcome an enormous amount of adversity and is another reminder of using the biggest obstacle in one's life as a means to find purpose. Be sure to listen in with us today to hear it all!

Key Points From This Episode:

• Memories of beautiful Haiti, makeshift soccer games, and flying kites.
• Jim's first jobs running errands in his neighborhood and collecting fares.
• Lessons that Jim learned early about what it means to be in survival mode. 
• The period leading up to Jim's move to the US and the work that his grandfather did as a butcher. 
• Experiences arriving in New York and encountering a shocking new environment without English. 
• How Jim adapted to a harsh situation and learned what it took to survive. 
• Differences in food practices in the US; Jim's amazement upon arriving.
• How poverty punishes families twice —  disempowerment and suffering.
• The street code that Jim adopted and the realizations that he had about a proactive approach.  
• Jim's brother, 'Butter', and the differences between their personalities. 
• The skills that Jim developed around reading people quickly.
• Where the nickname 'Buffett' came from and its meaning. 
• The array of jobs and hustles that Jim did; dry-cleaning, selling weed, shoveling snow, and more!
• Run-ins with cops, tactics on the corner, and evading arrest.
• Jim's first detention sentence and the luck he had with people he met in the system. 

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Light Watkins

Jim St. Germain on Twitter

PLOT

A Stone of Hope

Edwin Raymond

Home Alone

The Wire

Mayor Bloomberg

Governer Cuomo

Just Mercy

The Pact

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Send us a text message. We'd love to hear from you!