PRISON FELLOWSHIP BLOG: Reentry

Most people know John Legend as a 10-time Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter with a smooth, soulful delivery of R&B ballads with thoughtful lyrics and a timeless sound. But for men and women who are trapped in a cycle of crime and incarceration, Legend is more than just a musician—he is an advocate, supporter, and ally in working for change in the criminal justice system.

A version of the following article originally aired as a BreakPoint commentary on August 18, 2016, and is reproduced here with permission. 

Charles W. “Chuck” Colson was packing his bags to go home, having served his time for a Watergate-related offense.

Nearly every fourth Tuesday of the month, a shabby batch of bicycles arrives at the gates of Folsom State Prison.

Members of the Cameron Park Rotary Club collect the misfit bicycles from a warehouse in Diamond Springs, California, and send them off to Folsom to be repaired, repainted, and restored.

Most of us have them in our wallets or purses right now—little laminated cards with our names and a typically bad photograph that identifies who we are and where we live. They are of vital importance to any number of routine tasks, be it cashing a check, purchasing an airline ticket, or applying for a job.

A new criminal justice reform organization recently surveyed 800 people who have been the victims of violent or property crime in the last 10 years, asking them their opinions on issues surrounding incarceration and alternative sentencing. The answers received reveal quite a bit about the depth of support for justice reform.

Over the last quarter century, the number of women behind bars has increased by more than 700 percent. According to The Sentencing Project:

Hot Chicken Takeover (HCT) is an up-and-coming restaurant in the trendy “Short North” neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio. The popular eatery boasts that it has the best “Nashville style” fried chicken and soul food in town, with long communal tables designed to allow patrons to share the experience with others.

A new initiative in Iowa is encouraging employers to consider hiring men and women with criminal records, highlighting the positive impact such hires can have for businesses and for their communities.

The United States Attorney’s Office will be presenting a series of three workshops across northern Iowa to help assist former prisoners to find and keep employment.

The newly announced president and CEO of Prison Fellowship, James Ackerman, was recently interviewed on WHO Radio in Des Moines, Iowa. During the program, Ackerman described to host Jamie Johnson the work of Prison Fellowship, and how he came to be involved with prison ministry.

The following article appears in the Summer 2016 issue of Inside Journal, Prison Fellowship’s quarterly publication written specifically for incarcerated men and women.  To learn more about Inside Journal, and to read or print out previous issues, click here.

William “Billy” Kidd used to live up to his outlaw name.

“The only thing I’d ever graduated from was drug treatment. I had no training, no certifications in anything. What I did have was a very lengthy criminal history,” says Jessica Towers.

With six felonies and a scant professional résumé, Jessica wasn’t exactly set up for success as a jobseeker.

Amid all the sound and fury emanating from Cleveland and the Republican National Convention this week, a smaller gathering took place, focusing on some of the successes taking place in criminal justice reform on the state level. And while it might not have drawn the same attention as what was occurring on the convention floor, the positive stories of rehabilitation coming from that forum offer hope for the future and the promise of better things to come.