Your incarcerated loved one is getting out of prison. This is what you've been waiting for. This is why you've run for second chances, signed petitions, and shared your family's story.
So how do you prepare for your loved one's reentry?
A version of the following article originally aired as a BreakPoint commentary, and is reproduced here with permission.
It was back in the 1990s when I was practically a kid writer here at BreakPoint that I first heard about Prison Fellowship’s amazing Angel Tree program.
“Generation to generation, it all stems from me.”
The lament of Sheldon Johnson, Sr. is a familiar one for many families stuck in a cycle of crime and incarceration. A deaf child raised by parents who showed little interest in communicating with him, Johnson struggled with feelings of inadequacy and nonacceptance.
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.
When men and women who have been convicted of a crime are incarcerated, the sentence almost always extends beyond the prisoner. Spouses, parents, and children all “serve time” with their loved ones behind bars, suffering silently as they pay the price together for past misdeeds.
There is little debate remaining that the United States has a significant problem with the recidivism of former prisoners. Department of Justice statistics show that one-third of released prisoners are rearrested in their first year outside prison walls. Within three years, that number jumps to 50 percent, and then to 75 percent over five years.
When a mom or dad is sentenced to time behind bars, the intent is to punish that person for criminal behavior, and, hopefully, to deter them from future crimes. What is too often forgotten is that while they might go to prison alone, incarcerated parents aren’t the only ones that pay the price for their past behavior.
Every year, we look forward to receiving letters from those who were touched by Angel Tree during the most recent Christmas season. Particularly, we love hearing from prisoner parents who express how Angel Tree helped strengthen or rebuild a relationship with their children.
Did you know that a visit from a family member can reduce a prisoner’s chances of returning to prison by as much as 25 percent?
A 2012 publication from the American Correctional Association explains why: “Family members provide both social control and social support, which inhibit criminal activity.”
We often hear stories about how Angel Tree reconnected a child recipient with his or her incarcerated parent. But in this story from California, Angel Tree reconnected a volunteer with her formerly incarcerated father. We received the following personal account right before Christmas.
My son, Josh, is in the last round of interviews for a criminal justice position in a nearby county. The final step before getting the job is a background check. They not only look at criminal records, but also at financial, family, and psychological factors.
A version of the following article appeared in the July issue of Pentecostal Evangel, an Assemblies of God publication.
Rocio remembers it like it was yesterday. “One day there was a knock on our door,” she says. When she answered, a volunteer from a local church told her that he had been sent on behalf of her husband and Angel Tree. “He told me he had gifts for our kids from their daddy,” Rocio recalls.
Find out why the relationship you build with a prisoner can have a lasting positive impact.
Consider eight practical ways to help newly-released prisoners make better decisions.