It’s one of the more common occurrences for Amicus staff or volunteers.
When someone hears about the type of work we do at Amicus, a look comes over his or her face as they decide whether to bring something up. Then their voice often lowers and they look a little embarrassed as they speak about their relative or friend who’s either serving time in a correctional facility or is having a hard time getting their life together after being released. The closer the friend or relative is, the more pain is involved as they relate the story and ask if there’s anything we can do to help.
More often than not, the answer from Amicus is yes. If we can’t help directly, we can usually refer the person to another organization which will be able to, so it’s good to see the tense look on our friends’ faces change into something resembling relief.
We’re glad to help of course but the interaction is also troubling in that it points to some thoughtless public attitudes.
I want to tell those who are asking about our resources that there is no reason to feel alone in their concerns. The United States of America jails more of its citizens per capita than any other society in the world. According to the Pew Center on the States, more than 1 out of every 100 American adults is now confined in prison. One in 30 men between the ages of 20 and 34 are incarcerated and one in nine black males in that age group are behind bars.
When one looks at those statistics isn’t it safe to assume that most of us have at least one friend, former co-worker or relative who is currently incarcerated? Rather than feeling shame for being associated with someone in that position, I wish those seeking our help could feel a little pride in the fact that they’re one of the relatively few people who haven’t abandoned the 1.6 million Americans currently in prison.
Amicus is beginning to work with a support group for family members of those in prison and we recognize this as a place where much progress could be made.
If we get past the stigma, I think people would be amazed at how much mutual support there would be for the family members and friends of those incarcerated. Maybe then we’d be able to look each other in the eye and ask ourselves not what’s wrong with our families, but rather, how can we support each other, as those we love do the hard work necessary to change their lives.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
The least of these…
And the King shall answer and say to them, Truly I say to you, Inasmuch as you have done it to one of the least of these my brothers, you have done it to me. – Matthew 25:40
Warning that Minnesotans are facing a time of "pain and sacrifice," Governor Pawlenty and other state officials said they would slash state spending and rethink the role of government in the aftermath of a $5.2 billion deficit over the next two and a half years.
Accompanying the article about the state deficit and public official’s response, the StarTribune posted a survey asking readers, “Where would you make budget cuts to help reduce the state’s deficit?”
After 5718 responses, the top candidate for cutting in readers’ minds was, not surprisingly, “prisons.”
It’s understandable that given a choice between cutting funding to health care or schools and cutting funding to prisons, citizens would choose the latter, but the response and even the wording of the question pointed out an intellectual disconnection which we need to address.
Many taxpayers seem to believe that in tight budget times the choice is between funding one’s family or children and funding some faceless felon locked behind bars that good community minded folks will never see. That’s a false choice.
In 2006 the state of Minnesota had about 17,000 people incarcerated in jails and state and federal correctional facilities. At the same time, over 130,000 other “lawbreakers” are on parole or probation, living and working in our communities. Corrections in Minnesota is not and never has been a “lock em up and throw away the key” operation.
If we are going to cut funding to prisons, let’s take a new look at our sentencing guidelines to see if we can reduce the number of people we incarcerate. Our prisons should be a last resort for those who are too dangerous to live among us. Over the years, sentencing guidelines have wrapped the prison system’s arms around people who could be supervised successfully in the community. As we take a new look at the role of government, let’s also take a new look at our relationship with one another. Let’s not incarcerate more than we have to and when we do have to, let’s make sure that we do everything we can to prepare the those in correctional facilities for their eventual return to the community.
As the bible says, those incarcerated are truly “the least of these my brothers.” And during tough times, families ought to stick together.
Warning that Minnesotans are facing a time of "pain and sacrifice," Governor Pawlenty and other state officials said they would slash state spending and rethink the role of government in the aftermath of a $5.2 billion deficit over the next two and a half years.
Accompanying the article about the state deficit and public official’s response, the StarTribune posted a survey asking readers, “Where would you make budget cuts to help reduce the state’s deficit?”
After 5718 responses, the top candidate for cutting in readers’ minds was, not surprisingly, “prisons.”
It’s understandable that given a choice between cutting funding to health care or schools and cutting funding to prisons, citizens would choose the latter, but the response and even the wording of the question pointed out an intellectual disconnection which we need to address.
Many taxpayers seem to believe that in tight budget times the choice is between funding one’s family or children and funding some faceless felon locked behind bars that good community minded folks will never see. That’s a false choice.
In 2006 the state of Minnesota had about 17,000 people incarcerated in jails and state and federal correctional facilities. At the same time, over 130,000 other “lawbreakers” are on parole or probation, living and working in our communities. Corrections in Minnesota is not and never has been a “lock em up and throw away the key” operation.
If we are going to cut funding to prisons, let’s take a new look at our sentencing guidelines to see if we can reduce the number of people we incarcerate. Our prisons should be a last resort for those who are too dangerous to live among us. Over the years, sentencing guidelines have wrapped the prison system’s arms around people who could be supervised successfully in the community. As we take a new look at the role of government, let’s also take a new look at our relationship with one another. Let’s not incarcerate more than we have to and when we do have to, let’s make sure that we do everything we can to prepare the those in correctional facilities for their eventual return to the community.
As the bible says, those incarcerated are truly “the least of these my brothers.” And during tough times, families ought to stick together.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
The Most Cost-Effective Approach to Prisons? Keep Offenders from Going Back
The Sept. 30 StarTribune article, “Bigger, safer, stronger, a prison for the future,” offers readers a glimpse into the new improvements at Minnesota Correctional Facility – Faribault.
We at Amicus congratulate the Department of Corrections on building a facility which will be more secure, and safer for staff and offenders alike. We also noted with interest some of the other information in the article. The new expansion at Faribault will cost $129 million and there are more construction projects on the way as the state attempts to cope with more and more people being sentenced to prison.
It’s the same story on a national scale as well. The Pew Center on the States recently noted that in 2007 the American penal system held more than 2.3 million adults, making the United States the far and away global leader in incarcerating its citizens. The same report noted that for the first time in our history more than one in every 100 adults is now confined in an American jail or prison. The public cost of imprisoning that many people is shocking. The average per prisoner operating cost in the United States is about $24,000 a year. By contrast, the University of Minnesota’s tuition for a full credit load is $10,065.
Now don’t get me wrong. I think you’ll find that conservatives, liberals and even most offenders themselves agree that, for the safety of our society, some people need to be in prison. At the same time, if we could come up with a way in which we would reduce prison populations and actually improve community safety, would we do it?
At Amicus, it’s apparent that one solution is to make sure that those who get out of prison never return. A large portion of our country’s prison population is comprised of repeat offenders.
Our organization and others like us work with offenders and ex-offenders who are determined to make a change in their lives but need help transitioning back into society. We line them up with mentors, and connect them with opportunities for housing, jobs and the basics of everyday life. The model only works when the offender is willing to make it work themselves, but over our 41 years of existence, we’ve seen that a helping hand and positive relationships do keep determined people from falling back into old patterns, committing new crimes and landing back behind bars.
As one ex-offender recently told us, “It can be hard coming out of a place and not having anything different to go to. If all you have to go to is back where you came from, then your odds are pretty slim that you’re going to be able to change.”
It’s a common-sense approach to the problem, but it means working with offenders as individuals, not numbers, and that takes resources. Amicus is constantly looking for volunteers, supplies, funding and more. When we’re successful, as we often are, the public benefits from one less mouth to feed in prison and one more paying taxpayer.
As Minnesotans, we have a choice. We can either continue to watch our taxes get eaten up by prison building, or we can adopt better ways to protect public safety by investing more than our spare change in those who are determined to make a change.
We at Amicus congratulate the Department of Corrections on building a facility which will be more secure, and safer for staff and offenders alike. We also noted with interest some of the other information in the article. The new expansion at Faribault will cost $129 million and there are more construction projects on the way as the state attempts to cope with more and more people being sentenced to prison.
It’s the same story on a national scale as well. The Pew Center on the States recently noted that in 2007 the American penal system held more than 2.3 million adults, making the United States the far and away global leader in incarcerating its citizens. The same report noted that for the first time in our history more than one in every 100 adults is now confined in an American jail or prison. The public cost of imprisoning that many people is shocking. The average per prisoner operating cost in the United States is about $24,000 a year. By contrast, the University of Minnesota’s tuition for a full credit load is $10,065.
Now don’t get me wrong. I think you’ll find that conservatives, liberals and even most offenders themselves agree that, for the safety of our society, some people need to be in prison. At the same time, if we could come up with a way in which we would reduce prison populations and actually improve community safety, would we do it?
At Amicus, it’s apparent that one solution is to make sure that those who get out of prison never return. A large portion of our country’s prison population is comprised of repeat offenders.
Our organization and others like us work with offenders and ex-offenders who are determined to make a change in their lives but need help transitioning back into society. We line them up with mentors, and connect them with opportunities for housing, jobs and the basics of everyday life. The model only works when the offender is willing to make it work themselves, but over our 41 years of existence, we’ve seen that a helping hand and positive relationships do keep determined people from falling back into old patterns, committing new crimes and landing back behind bars.
As one ex-offender recently told us, “It can be hard coming out of a place and not having anything different to go to. If all you have to go to is back where you came from, then your odds are pretty slim that you’re going to be able to change.”
It’s a common-sense approach to the problem, but it means working with offenders as individuals, not numbers, and that takes resources. Amicus is constantly looking for volunteers, supplies, funding and more. When we’re successful, as we often are, the public benefits from one less mouth to feed in prison and one more paying taxpayer.
As Minnesotans, we have a choice. We can either continue to watch our taxes get eaten up by prison building, or we can adopt better ways to protect public safety by investing more than our spare change in those who are determined to make a change.
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