Do you know about Prison Fellowship’s InnerChange Freedom Initiative (IFI) program? If not, here is a great testimony recently published in a Kansas City newspaper from a recent graduate, Rex Ball.
Theft and fraud fueled by drug addiction landed Ball in the Lansing Correctional facility in 2009. But that’s where he says “his life turned around” because of IFI, a voluntary values-based reentry program for prisoners based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.
“I couldn’t have thought of any better way to do my time,” he said.
Through faith, inmates learn about integrity, honesty, accountability and fellowship, but the bigger goal is to help them re-enter society and stay out of prison. With America’s recidivism rates at 40 percent, programs like IFI, now Brothers in Blue, aim to help released inmates reconcile with their families and become contributing members of society, according to the Brothers in Blue website.
“I really found my significance,” Ball said. …
In the two months he’s been out, Ball has spent a lot of time getting to know his two children again. They were 3 and 9 when he went to prison, although he prefers they call it the time “when dad was gone.”
“It’s shame more than anything,” he said. “But things are different now. I don’t let the past define who I am.”
After a decade of drug use, Ball is clean. He doesn’t even smoke or drink coffee. His relationship with his ex-wife has improved, he said, and his family is happy to have him home.
Ball credits IFI for the turnaround but adds “you’ve got to want things for yourself.” Which is the way it is for all of us.