“I paid my debt to society. I paid my restitution. I stayed out of trouble. Why is my criminal history always going to be at the forefront of who I am? It doesn’t define who I am anymore. To be brutally honest that bothers me, and hurts me, and worries me, but I can’t crumble.
A significant number of cities in the United States reported an increase in homicide rates in 2015—a disturbing trend that some have claimed marks the end of a period that saw historic reductions in violent crimes in places like New York City and Chicago.
In some ways, the races seemed like any other 5K competitions that take place every weekend across the country. The runners laced up their shoes and stretched in preparation for the run, affixing their bib numbers and hoping for fast times.
In 1994, Congress passed a crime bill that strengthened penalties for drug offenses and earmarked billions of dollars for new prison construction. Prison populations across the country boomed as a result, with recidivism rates remaining high. Drug offenses became the leading reason for incarceration, but prisons nationwide struggled to provide programming capable of breaking the cycle of incarceration, release, and rearrest.
At his graduation from the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary in Springfield, Missouri, John Alarid stood out from his fellow classmates. It wasn’t his height or demeanor that separated him, nor was it something pithy and entertaining written in tape on his graduation cap.
David Padilla knew that he deserved to be punished for the drug dealing of his youth. But he didn’t see how it would benefit the community—or his wife Lisette and their four children—for him to die in prison.
After his third drug-related offense resulted in a life sentence, Padilla set out to become a model resident of the federal prison system.
When Danny Amos left prison, he entered a world that was exceedingly bizarre and foreign to him. Having spent five decades behind bars, Danny had never bought his own clothes, and didn’t even know his size. Something as common to most of us as the automatic doors at WalMart were the source of endless amazement to him.
Titles and labels serve an important role in modern society. It is unlikely anyone would submit to surgery to someone who didn’t respond to the title “doctor,” and few of us would let anyone touch our finances if they didn’t have the initials “C.P.A.”
It is becoming harder and harder for who have never had a criminal record to think that they can isolate themselves from those that have. Even if there might have been a time when crime was restricted to certain neighborhoods or classes, the growing conviction and incarceration rates makes it increasingly rarer that an individual would not be in contact with a friend, a neighbor, or a family member who has a criminal past.
Based just outside of Washington, D.C., in Alexandria, Virginia, Together We Bake is more than a typical bakery.
In addition to producing granola, cookies, and other baked goods for grocery stores and restaurants in the metro D.C. area, Together We Bake creates something much more lasting—second chances for women, many of whom are attempting to reenter the workforce after a period of incarceration.
Prison Fellowship Director of Community Engagement Jesse Wiese and former Minnesota Governor Al Quie recently penned an editorial for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, highlighting the challenges that hundreds of thousands of men and women face nationwide when they return to their communities from prison.
Part of New Prison Fellowship Campaign to Expose and Eliminate “Second Prison” for 65 Million Americans with Criminal Records
ST. PAUL, Minn., April 26, 2016—Hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans with a criminal record continually face significant legal, social and other barriers that inhibit them from fully contributing to society.
Searching for employment can be a frustrating and difficult experience even in the best of situations. There is always the challenge to present oneself in the most positive light, and assure the employer that you can be an asset to their business or organization.
By the time Sgt. Joseph Serna left his position in the Special Forces, he had completed four combat tours in over two decades in Afghanistan. He had nearly been killed on three separate occasions, and received three Purple Heart awards, along with several other commendations for bravery and valor.
In celebration of Prison Fellowship’s 40 years of ministering to prisoners and their families, we will be taking a look back at the early days of the ministry and remembering the people and the stories that have helped to make Prison Fellowship the nation’s largest prison outreach.
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