Compassion is a valuable asset in a prison ministry volunteer. But without appropriate boundaries, volunteers can be tempted to assume roles that are ultimately detrimental to the prisoners or ex-prisoners they serve. Prison Fellowship® (PF) field staff members Rocky DeYoung and Jonathan Lowry talked with Frontlines about some of the top things a volunteer is not.
Prison Fellowship is pleased to announce the re-launch of Inside Journal®, a newspaper written to appeal to the unique needs and interests of the prison population. Distributed through chaplains free of charge, Inside Journal delivers timely, inspirational content—and most importantly the Gospel—to inmates who might otherwise never have access to it.
SHORTLY before the Supreme Court released its ruling in Snyder v Phelps, which rightly upheld the rights of the Westboro Baptist Church to stage their noxious protests near military funerals, the court released another ruling that should please anyone who thinks America locks up too many people for too long.
Prison came as a relief to Kathy Davis, a homeless alcoholic and drug addict. "I didn't know how to get out of what I was doing."
Prison Fellowship has been a leader in legislative reform for many years. Through its justice reform arm, Justice Fellowship®, the organization has fought for and celebrated many legislative successes, such as the Second Chance Act and the Prison Rape Elimination Act.
When a prisoner is locked up, the world he leaves behind does not stand still. It moves on without him. So when his long-awaited day of release finally arrives, he can’t just transition back into the same job or community that he left.
A first-time offender for illegal drug possession in Nevada is often placed on probation. But if he fails to pay restitution, leaves the state without permission or skips a drug test, he could land in prison.
Then taxpayers are saddled with his expensive housing and supervision while he is denied the help he really needs.
ALBANY — A former official suing a state agency for discrimination revealed on Monday videos of youths at four state prisons ganging up on and beating guards and other youths in custody.
The former official, Eileen Carpenter, gathered the footage last year while conducting investigations for the State Commission of Correction, which monitors conditions at New York’s adult and youth prison facilities.
A generation after record levels of youth crime spurred a nationwide movement to prosecute more teenagers as adults, a consensus is emerging that many young delinquents have been mishandled by the adult court system.
Last year, Connecticut stopped treating all 16-year-old defendants as adults, and next year will do the same for 17-year-olds.
Ohio prison officials say the state has hit an 11-year low in the rate of inmates winding up back behind bars after they get out.
The Department of Rehabilitation and Correction said Thursday that 34 percent of Ohio inmates now return to prison within three years of release, down from the previous recidivism rate of 36.4 percent.
Seven prison guards were arrested Monday on charges of beating an inmate so badly that he sustained brain injuries and was partly paralyzed. The inmate, Terrance B. Dean, 29, in prison for armed robbery, was assaulted by the guards in December after an argument, according to a recent investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
.Prison Fellowship is pleased to announce that Frank Lofaro will be joining the ministry this May to serve as executive vice-president, assuming leadership oversight of the programmatic, fundraising, and marketing efforts of Prison Fellowship. No stranger to the organization, Frank previously served as an officer with both Prison Fellowship and Prison Fellowship International.
Because of $31 in marijuana sales, Patricia Marilyn Spottedcrow is now serving 10 years in prison, has been taken away from her four young children and husband, and has ended her work in nursing homes.
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Approximately 320 guests, including actor Stephen Baldwin, attended Prison Fellowship’s screening of the new movie Loving the Bad Man. Following the screening, a panel discussion was held on the movie’s themes of forgiveness and reconciliation and how they relate to prison ministry.
It’s no secret that housing plays a huge part in the success or failure of a returning citizen. Without a place to live, it’s extremely difficult to get one’s life back on track and to obtain necessary tools like an ID, a job, food, or transportation.