The last several years, I have had several people who volunteer in prison, mostly religious service volunteers, tell me that as a part of their authorization to come into prison, they must take training from the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC). As a part of this training, they are told emphatically to not make eye contact with us, not to shake our hands or hug us, and to be aware that all prisoners lie to and manipulate visitors and staff. Fortunately, many of these volunteers do not follow these directives, nor do they believe the MDOC propaganda that seems to say prisoners are worthless and un-redeemable.
Given the MDOC's view of prisoners, it is amazing to me that the Department has elected to provide any vocational training or programming designed to improve prisoners' odds of succeeding after being released from prison. It is clear that, since the MDOC continues to dehumanize prisoners to people who volunteer and work in prison, they do not believe we are worth believing in or caring about. It is certainly true that some prisoners lie and manipulate, and volunteers do need to know the dangers of functioning within prison, but the majority of prisoners do not want to manipulate volunteers. They simply want to be cared about and seen as more than a number.
Security is important in prison, and the MDOC has a vested interest in protecting its volunteers and staff from being "turned" by a prisoner. Once a prisoner turns a volunteer or staff member by forming an intimate (though not necessarily sexual) relationship, the danger of that person violating the security of the institution increases dramatically. Consequently, security trumps seeing and treating prisoners as human.
As soon as a people group, in this case prisoners, are dehumanized, it is easier to violate their dignity as humans created in God's image. Christoph Schwobel, author of Recovering Human Dignity, claims that our understanding of what it means to be a human being is intricately linked with our view of reality, and our view of reality shapes how we behave. This truth is painfully evident in how our society behaves towards its prisoners, its immigrants, its homeless, and its marginalized minorities. Rather than unquestioningly believing the dehumanizing rhetoric of people in power--MDOC administrators, politicians, the news media--people who recognize their own dignity as God's creation must extend that same dignity to those at the greatest risk of undignified and inhumane treatment and teach others to do the same.
The best way to teach prisoners how to treat others with dignity and respect is to begin modeling those qualities to us. Hopefully, in turn, we will then treat others with the same dignity and respect that was shown to us when we least deserved it.
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Negative Feedback Fails to Consider Justice
Over the last couple of years, the prison where I am housed has received a lot of press. In the year I have been at this facility, I have seen news media on the grounds at least a half dozen times, and I have seen the resulting coverage on TV. This is quite unusual for prison, and it is especially unusual to see positive news coverage of prison. But good things are happening at this facility, both in terms of the Calvin Prison Initiative that I am a part of and the Vocational Village where hundreds of soon-to-be-released prisoners are receiving vocational training so they can be successfully employed upon release from prison. These are exciting, positive developments in the Michigan Department of Corrections, yet not everyone is happy about it.
At a recent church service in prison, the volunteer was illustrating a point by sharing that after recent positive news coverage of these programs was posted on a news website, a large number of negative comments were posted by viewers. Apparently, some of the public resents that prisoners are offered a free college education (through the generous donations of others!) or given vocational training for employment readiness. As a prisoner, these sentiments are hurtful, but I can understand, to a degree, the feeling these opponents have. Some of these opponents likely have to go into debt for their own or their children's education, so why should prisoners be given a free college degree or vocational training? Isn't that rewarding bad behavior?
The fact remains that the majority of prisoners are uneducated or under-educated, and studies have shown that education reduces recidivism. The opponents of prisoner education may object on financial grounds, but since education of prisoners is proven to reduce re-offense rates, investigation in educating prisoners actually reduces the overall costs to taxpayers. Crime is expensive, but preventing future crime is not only a sound financial investment, it also pays big dividends in reducing the human cost of crime. Education on its own is not a fix-it-all--some of the prisoners educated at this facility will likely return to prison--but if educating a prisoner keeps that person from harming the loved ones of these opponents, I bet those opponents would change their opinions.
It is easy to judge others when you don't know them--and perhaps people are justified in resenting those who have committed crimes--but making moral judgments about a criminal's unworthiness to be educated fails to consider the cost of releasing uneducated prisoners who have not been properly rehabilitated back into society. And most prisoners will be released from prison. Justice is not limited to getting a conviction and sending a person to prison. Justice also involves investing in healing the people damaged by crime--including the victims, offenders, families of victims and offenders, and communities. Education is one small way to bring about healing and transformation to those who have damaged themselves and others through crime.
At a recent church service in prison, the volunteer was illustrating a point by sharing that after recent positive news coverage of these programs was posted on a news website, a large number of negative comments were posted by viewers. Apparently, some of the public resents that prisoners are offered a free college education (through the generous donations of others!) or given vocational training for employment readiness. As a prisoner, these sentiments are hurtful, but I can understand, to a degree, the feeling these opponents have. Some of these opponents likely have to go into debt for their own or their children's education, so why should prisoners be given a free college degree or vocational training? Isn't that rewarding bad behavior?
The fact remains that the majority of prisoners are uneducated or under-educated, and studies have shown that education reduces recidivism. The opponents of prisoner education may object on financial grounds, but since education of prisoners is proven to reduce re-offense rates, investigation in educating prisoners actually reduces the overall costs to taxpayers. Crime is expensive, but preventing future crime is not only a sound financial investment, it also pays big dividends in reducing the human cost of crime. Education on its own is not a fix-it-all--some of the prisoners educated at this facility will likely return to prison--but if educating a prisoner keeps that person from harming the loved ones of these opponents, I bet those opponents would change their opinions.
It is easy to judge others when you don't know them--and perhaps people are justified in resenting those who have committed crimes--but making moral judgments about a criminal's unworthiness to be educated fails to consider the cost of releasing uneducated prisoners who have not been properly rehabilitated back into society. And most prisoners will be released from prison. Justice is not limited to getting a conviction and sending a person to prison. Justice also involves investing in healing the people damaged by crime--including the victims, offenders, families of victims and offenders, and communities. Education is one small way to bring about healing and transformation to those who have damaged themselves and others through crime.
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Collaboration Brings Reentry Help to Prisoners
One of the most challenging aspects of reducing recidivism (re-offense rates) is helping returning citizens properly re-engage with their communities by finding appropriate housing, employment, and other resources many free citizens take for granted every day. Some paroling prisoners have family and friends to help them through this process, but many do not. Even for those with support, the amount of work necessary to connect returning citizens with services and resources they need to become independent and successful can be daunting.
On October 13, 2017, Jason VanHorn, Calvin College Professor of Geographical Information Systems, and Julie Bylsma of the Calvin Prison Initiative (CPI) met with students enrolled in the CPI program https://calvin.edu/prison-initiative/about/ to share information about an exciting new collaboration designed to improve the odds of success for paroling Michigan prisoners.
For the last two years, Calvin College students and staff at the Knollcrest campus have collaborated with Henry Institute https://calvin.edu/centers-institutes/henry-institute/ to build a new website interface and mobile phone app they have called the "Re-Entry Map Initiative." This application is designed to put all known available reentry resources at the fingertips of returning citizens in the Grand Rapids area (Kent county). So far, VanHorn and Bylsma have identified over 150 resources in the greater Grand Rapids area that are dedicated to helping returning citizens succeed upon release from prison.
The benefits of this application for returning citizens who are on parole include being able to quickly identify the closest resources (many parolees do not have transportation) and to make use of every service available to help them become independent. These resources include both government services, felony friendly employers, non-profits and ministries who focus on ex-felons, counseling, and housing options.
The students and staff who have worked on this collaboration have kept in mind that many returning citizens are unfamiliar with the Internet and smartphone applications. They have designed the interface to be user-friendly and simple. Future additions to this application may include expanding its coverage to additional Michigan counties and possibly other states. Talks are in process with the Michigan Department of Corrections to make the Re-Entry Map Initiative a linked resource for the department's reentry program website.
Those interested in using this resource to help a returning citizen who is paroling to the Grand Rapids area prepare for success, please visit gis.Calvin.edu/rc
On October 13, 2017, Jason VanHorn, Calvin College Professor of Geographical Information Systems, and Julie Bylsma of the Calvin Prison Initiative (CPI) met with students enrolled in the CPI program https://calvin.edu/prison-initiative/about/ to share information about an exciting new collaboration designed to improve the odds of success for paroling Michigan prisoners.
For the last two years, Calvin College students and staff at the Knollcrest campus have collaborated with Henry Institute https://calvin.edu/centers-institutes/henry-institute/ to build a new website interface and mobile phone app they have called the "Re-Entry Map Initiative." This application is designed to put all known available reentry resources at the fingertips of returning citizens in the Grand Rapids area (Kent county). So far, VanHorn and Bylsma have identified over 150 resources in the greater Grand Rapids area that are dedicated to helping returning citizens succeed upon release from prison.
The benefits of this application for returning citizens who are on parole include being able to quickly identify the closest resources (many parolees do not have transportation) and to make use of every service available to help them become independent. These resources include both government services, felony friendly employers, non-profits and ministries who focus on ex-felons, counseling, and housing options.
The students and staff who have worked on this collaboration have kept in mind that many returning citizens are unfamiliar with the Internet and smartphone applications. They have designed the interface to be user-friendly and simple. Future additions to this application may include expanding its coverage to additional Michigan counties and possibly other states. Talks are in process with the Michigan Department of Corrections to make the Re-Entry Map Initiative a linked resource for the department's reentry program website.
Those interested in using this resource to help a returning citizen who is paroling to the Grand Rapids area prepare for success, please visit gis.Calvin.edu/rc
Monday, October 9, 2017
Don't I Know You?
A couple of weeks ago, I was in the indoor weight pit, which I hadn't been in for a while, and as I worked out by myself the guy at the station next to me asked, "Hey man! What's your name?" Well, when a stranger in prison asks for your name, immediately your guard goes up. Either the guy might mistake you for someone else who he knew at another prison (and may have a beef with), or the guy may have some ulterior motives--"Don't I know you?" is a common approach for manipulation tactics.
Putting aside my caution, I told him my name, "Bryan." He replied, "Hope on the Inside Bryan?"
Imagine my shock to hear a complete stranger in prison recognize me because of my blog! I was so taken aback, and I asked him, "How do you know about my blog." Come to find out, he recently arrived in prison, and as he was preparing to come to prison he stumbled across my blog. He said that he read every post and that it was very helpful for him as he prepared for coming to prison--a new experience for him. He happened to end up in the same prison as me, and he remembered what I looked like from my blog picture!
As you can imagine, I was thrilled to know my blog helped a fellow prisoner. Most of the time, I am writing for loved ones of prisoners, but I realize that people headed to prison, prison reform advocates, and others also read my blog. My hope is that what I write can reach the greatest number of people and shed light on prison issues, but I especially want my writing to provide hope and healing. Prison is not the end of the line for most people, but even for those who find themselves in prison for life, life need not cease to have meaning. Being in prison sucks, but as I have written, it can be a monastery rather than a cemetery, if one makes it so. My hope is that by shedding light on the darkness of prison and sharing a prisoner's perspective, people outside the razor wire fences will fear us less, will love us more, and will allow us the opportunity to redeem ourselves for the wrongs we have done.
My blog reader-turned-prisoner is now becoming a friend of mine. He says he is committed to using this time to reform himself, and if my blog had even a little influence in his decision to make something positive of this time in prison, I have accomplished at least part of my objective of being a means for healing rather than a force of destruction. You never know how much of an impact something simple can have on the life of another.
Putting aside my caution, I told him my name, "Bryan." He replied, "Hope on the Inside Bryan?"
Imagine my shock to hear a complete stranger in prison recognize me because of my blog! I was so taken aback, and I asked him, "How do you know about my blog." Come to find out, he recently arrived in prison, and as he was preparing to come to prison he stumbled across my blog. He said that he read every post and that it was very helpful for him as he prepared for coming to prison--a new experience for him. He happened to end up in the same prison as me, and he remembered what I looked like from my blog picture!
As you can imagine, I was thrilled to know my blog helped a fellow prisoner. Most of the time, I am writing for loved ones of prisoners, but I realize that people headed to prison, prison reform advocates, and others also read my blog. My hope is that what I write can reach the greatest number of people and shed light on prison issues, but I especially want my writing to provide hope and healing. Prison is not the end of the line for most people, but even for those who find themselves in prison for life, life need not cease to have meaning. Being in prison sucks, but as I have written, it can be a monastery rather than a cemetery, if one makes it so. My hope is that by shedding light on the darkness of prison and sharing a prisoner's perspective, people outside the razor wire fences will fear us less, will love us more, and will allow us the opportunity to redeem ourselves for the wrongs we have done.
My blog reader-turned-prisoner is now becoming a friend of mine. He says he is committed to using this time to reform himself, and if my blog had even a little influence in his decision to make something positive of this time in prison, I have accomplished at least part of my objective of being a means for healing rather than a force of destruction. You never know how much of an impact something simple can have on the life of another.
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Please Don't Fear Me
While running with my friend John the other day, he recounted a recent experience he had in which he made a visit to a public hospital while shackled and flanked by two armed guards. Most routine medical care (if you can call it that) is conducted on site within prison; however, some procedures and tests require a visit to facilities with more equipment and expertise. When this occurs, the prisoner is handcuffed, shackled, and escorted by armed guards. Such was the case with my friend.
John recounted that once he was in the hospital, he and the guards entered an elevator to go to a higher floor. Just before the doors of the elevator closed, a woman stepped in, not realizing that John and the guards were already in there. According to John, the woman was so shocked and nervous to be enclosed in an elevator with a shackled prisoner and armed guards that she just froze. She didn't select a floor, didn't say a word, and wouldn't even look in John's direction.
Getting a little emotional as we ran, John said to me, "Bryan, I never want anyone to ever fear me like that again, just because of my past!" Of course, this woman knew nothing of John or his past, but just seeing a prisoner in shackles, escorted by armed guards, automatically paints a picture in a person's mind that the prisoner must be highly dangerous and must have done something horrible to be restrained in such a way. While security is foremost in the minds of the guards, for prisoners, being viewed by the public in such a way is dehumanizing.
It is true, many prisoners have done terrible things in their past. Sometimes these things result in lifelong consequences, both for the prisoner and for their victim(s). John's case is no different. But John, just like other prisoners, is still human. His past actions do not define who he is today, and yet the public perception of most prisoners is that we are dangerous monsters who must be kept apart from the public. Bad behavior requires consequences, and sometimes these consequences last a lifetime, but the public might be surprised to find out just how human many prisoners are. We want to be loved and accepted, just like everyone else. We laugh at funny jokes, cry while watching emotional movies, and dream many of the same dreams of the free public. While decorum and rules might prevent it, when someone fears us like the woman did John, we want to reach out and reassure that person that there is nothing to fear.
Yes, we have hurt people in the past, but our past is not who many of us are today. It hurts us to know that others fear us hurting them. We want to cry out, "If you could just get to know me, you'd discover that I am not that much different than you! Please, don't fear me."
John recounted that once he was in the hospital, he and the guards entered an elevator to go to a higher floor. Just before the doors of the elevator closed, a woman stepped in, not realizing that John and the guards were already in there. According to John, the woman was so shocked and nervous to be enclosed in an elevator with a shackled prisoner and armed guards that she just froze. She didn't select a floor, didn't say a word, and wouldn't even look in John's direction.
Getting a little emotional as we ran, John said to me, "Bryan, I never want anyone to ever fear me like that again, just because of my past!" Of course, this woman knew nothing of John or his past, but just seeing a prisoner in shackles, escorted by armed guards, automatically paints a picture in a person's mind that the prisoner must be highly dangerous and must have done something horrible to be restrained in such a way. While security is foremost in the minds of the guards, for prisoners, being viewed by the public in such a way is dehumanizing.
It is true, many prisoners have done terrible things in their past. Sometimes these things result in lifelong consequences, both for the prisoner and for their victim(s). John's case is no different. But John, just like other prisoners, is still human. His past actions do not define who he is today, and yet the public perception of most prisoners is that we are dangerous monsters who must be kept apart from the public. Bad behavior requires consequences, and sometimes these consequences last a lifetime, but the public might be surprised to find out just how human many prisoners are. We want to be loved and accepted, just like everyone else. We laugh at funny jokes, cry while watching emotional movies, and dream many of the same dreams of the free public. While decorum and rules might prevent it, when someone fears us like the woman did John, we want to reach out and reassure that person that there is nothing to fear.
Yes, we have hurt people in the past, but our past is not who many of us are today. It hurts us to know that others fear us hurting them. We want to cry out, "If you could just get to know me, you'd discover that I am not that much different than you! Please, don't fear me."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)