We’re Still Growing Up

"We're so young, we're still growing up," shares Jordan Baker, 20. "We haven't gotten to experience a lot of things like other people have."

Jordan had an unstructured childhood. His mother left him with a foster family, and he grew up with no rules or consequences.

"I robbed people all the time," he says. "Never went to school, always got truancy cases."

Jordan was frequently ordered to attend different programs for school, but "I … never went to those either."

At 17, he was incarcerated at the Nebraska Correctional Youth Facility on charges of first-degree assault and the use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony. Three years later, Jordan is one of the oldest prisoners at the facility. He hopes to get paroled after three more.

LOOKING AHEAD

Since his incarceration, Jordan has made steps to improve his life.

"[I've been] trying not to follow what goes on around me," Jordan says, referring to the negativity that can be part of life behind bars. Instead, Jordan works a job and has attended Bible studies, life-skills classes, and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. In addition, he's attended several special events hosted by Prison Fellowship® at the facility.

Finding structure through such programs has encouraged Jordan to plan for his future. Instead of resorting to robbery to survive, he hopes to find a job that utilizes his talents—perhaps working in a barber shop or as a tattoo artist.

And he hopes to one day have a family of his own.

"I do want to have a job. I don't want to get in trouble anymore," Jordan says. "I think the prospects of my future are good."

James Ackerman, president and CEO of Prison Fellowship, listens during a class at the Nebraska Correctional Youth Facility.