Content warning: The following episode contains detailed accounts of childhood abuse, sexual violence, and life inside the prison system. Listener discretion is advised.

In this episode of Bombardened, Eric and Amy sit down with Jacob Ivan Schmitt, the founder and Director of Just Us Solutions — a man whose story is shaped by early childhood trauma, addiction, incarceration, and the slow, painful work of transformation.

Raised around chaos and exposed to drugs early, Jacob illuminates what happens when family dysfunction and physical and psychological abuse are routine and normal. He speaks openly about how his addiction and untreated mental health issues related to his criminal behaviors, his experiences in foster care, treatment, jails and prisons, and his journey to rehabilitation.

Together, they dig into myths around recovery, the limits of the current criminal justice system, and why support and stability are essential for real change. Eric brings decades of law enforcement experience, and Amy offers a compassionate lens shaped by crisis systems reform — creating space for a nuanced, raw, and powerful conversation.

This is part one of Jacob’s story — and it’s one you won’t forget.