Any day now, "Chris" is free.

I just received a call from "Chris." He seemed tired and restless after a long weekend couped up with no sunshine and no lunch.  That's right, NO lunch.  This particular prison does not feed inmates lunch on Friday, Saturday, and Sundays.  So inmates hopefully have someone on the outside who will put money in their commissary accounts so they can buy very unhealthy snacks at prison store to get their rumbly tummies through the weekend.  I guess it's the State's way of pushing some of the cost of housing prisoners back on the families (many of which can barely afford to eat anyway now that the breadwinner is locked up).  And I've learned a bit about JPay too.  It costs $4.95 to send $20.00 to an inmate!  That's 25%!!  It seems like having someone you care about in prison is quite an expensive thing to navigate.  One day on the phone with "Chris" I was expressing worry about his ability to survive on the outside during his first few weeks of freedom...his very quick reply was that it would have to be easier than trying to survive in there.   If there is no one on the outside sending you money, then you're pretty much stuck with nothing to trade.  If you have nothing to trade for favors, then it can seem pretty hopeless.  I've seen first hand in the ER I work in what hopeless looks like.  It looks like ligature marks and dead bodies.  No wonder the rate of suicide in prison is so much higher than "outside" in the rest of the world.  In "Chris's" mind, he's survived the worst of it already.  He'll eat dirt if he has to.  He just wants to see the sky, his family, and have a chance to make it on his own.

I should have posted this weekend, but was busy! We shuffled around in the kitchen and baked up some goodies to sell to raise some emergency funds for "Chris" because he's due out any day after October 1st.  Our bake sale netted $42. We already had $33.50 in cash donations.  So we are right at $75 which is not enough to get him comfortable on the outside.  He's our first parolee so we want to make it count, but when I initially made contact with him I had no idea that he'd be out in less than a month.  I have MUCH to learn about the correctional system!  So, please click on that Paypal link and send money for him.  It's in my name until we officially get the non-profit status, but I swear to goodness that you can trust me.  I'm keeping a detailed list of all contributors and the dollars amounts. If you cannot afford to donate, please at least share or promote this blog!  Thank you!

"Chris" is out soon! Help us raise funds for him!

Hello out there!  "Chris," whom the coalition is named for, is getting out very soon, in fact it could be any day after October 1st.  We won't know for sure until the last minute, but what we do know now is that we need emergency funds for him.  We are getting ready to organize a yard sale, so if you have an item to donate please do so! If you'd like to donate cash we could sure use that too.  "Chris" is hopeful that he may have a job when he gets out but it will still take a few weeks to get a paycheck.  In the meantime, he's going to need everyday items and food, that you and I mostly take for granted.  Can you imagine starting your life over with just the clothes on your back and $35?

Letter to Governor Nathan Deal

Governor Nathan Deal

206 Washington Street

Suite 203, State Capitol

Atlanta, GA 30334

September 26, 2013

Dear Governor Deal:

After my mother died in April of a prescription drug overdose, I felt the urge to start a non-profit organization to educate and provide resources to those trying to get help.  In the midst of severe emotional pain however, it’s hard to be creative, or to find the drive to figure out all the details as well as the big picture ideas involved in starting a true, game-changing, community enhancing program.  Also, I had a lot of things to deal with in cleaning out my mother’s apartment, the final disposition of her body and her estate.  Conversations with the funeral home and even checking my own mailbox (where her mail was forwarded) became a chore.

Fast forward to August.

Lying in my bed one night while everyone else was asleep, I decided to surf Netflix for something to occupy my time.  I ran across the new Netflix original series “Orange is the New Black.” Within a week I’d watched all 13 episodes, told everyone I knew about the show, and had bought the memoir by Piper Kerman that started the whole thing.

It’s hard to watch the show without having sympathy for people who have to live in prison.  I’ve always been able to find deep empathy for people who are walking a hard road in life, and I am probably one of the most non-judgmental people you’ll ever meet. So I spent hours that week and the next worrying about and ruminating on the plight of people in prison, especially those non-violent offenders whose crimes all go back to a drug addiction.  Maybe they stole to support their habit? Maybe they never had anyone to care enough for them to teach them how to act as a responsible member of society who contributes in a meaningful and positive way. 

Then I remembered “Chris.”

I’d heard at a funeral a few years back that a childhood friend of mine was “locked up.” A quick search on the Department of Corrections website confirmed his incarceration and there staring back at me was his mug shot – a stark contrast to the adorable, fun-loving, helpful kid I knew more than 20 years ago.   It was staring into the seemingly hurt gaze on that computer screen that threw the urge for action into the pit of my stomach.  You know what I’m talking about…the “knowing” feeling that you have when your life is about to change or take on some new meaning, at least for the foreseeable future.

So I scrawled down his inmate id number and the prison address and wrote him a letter right then, that night. 

Five days later I finally got the courage to put it in the mailbox and raise the flag and within a few days more I had my letter.  “Chris” was delighted to hear from me, and said he very rarely got mail at all.  He also said he was getting out the following month.  During the course of our communication, I asked him lots of questions about how he was going to arrange all the details of assimilating back into society (i.e. where to live, finding a job, getting back his driver’s license, buying a vehicle, even down to what he’d eat and how he’d clothe himself).  He said he’d been working on this planning for the last year and wanted a job first so he could earn enough money to get his license, then a car, then a place to stay.  He told me unequivocally that when he lost his mother ten years ago that he’d also lost himself and had gotten into things and people that were bad for him.  He’d done things he regretted and he knew he had to make some amends.  He assured me that he felt changed, wanted to better himself and his life, and never wanted to be locked up again, let alone commit a crime.

When they open the prison doors and let him go, he’ll have all of $35 to his name – the $10 he had to pay when he went in and $25 the state gives a person upon parole. He’ll have a parole officer checking on him periodically to make sure he’s not in trouble, but I can find no other resources readily available for someone who committed a crime, did his or her time, and is now ready and willing and wanting to make a fresh start.

Voila.  This was the missing link in my earlier thoughts about a non-profit.  “Chris” had a drug problem, which led him to steal in a non-violent way.  Millions of people incarcerated today never tried to hurt anyone, but were simply trying to support their own habit.  My own mother was never incarcerated, but she did struggle with a drug addiction (illegal and prescription drugs) for nearly 40 years. 

The C.H.R.I.S. Coalition

“Communities Helping Reintroduce Inmates to Society”

Now I can completely envision my non-profit organization designed to provide support and reintegration skills for parolees during their first 3-6 months on the “outside.” Many people fail to think about or realize that if we do not properly equip a person to succeed then we can pretty much expect them to fail.  How do we expect newly released offenders to become good law abiding citizens when our society gives them virtually no support upon being set free?  These are people who have had every aspect of their lives controlled for years who are suddenly thrust out into the world and have to scramble for everything they need, which currently can not all be found in one place.  There is no one central resource.

There is a need to fill right here in our community and in our state.  As I’ve begun talking to more and more people about my ideas for this non-profit and about simply helping “Chris” I find that most folks know someone who has been in trouble with the law, arrested, locked up, and forgotten about by the penal system.  Living conditions in prison are bad.  Getting out drives their hopes high, only to feel the most likely fall when there’s no place to go, no job, no car, no health insurance, no food, and no money.

In Athens GA, we have a number of non-profit organizations that could easily work together as a coalition to provide a well-rounded array of services for newly released ex-cons.  Also, we are located right next to the University of Georgia along with its school of social work, medicine, law, and child and family development departments.  As the charity gets up and running, it would be a wonderful place for social justice minded students to complete internships and give back to the community while bettering their formal education with real world experiences. 

Examples of services I believe we could provide are as follows:

• Immediate supply needs including toiletries, food, and vouchers for gas and prescription refills.
• Medical services for those who need it.  Many cons leave prison without any medical follow up even though they have been provided with medicines for diagnosed conditions while serving their time.  Sudden discontinuation of most of these medications can be quite harmful, especially SSRI’s which affect personality and mood.
• Life skills classes in areas like money management, resume writing, computer literacy, diet and nutrition, exercise and wellness, as well as information and resources for continuing education.
• Crisis counseling for those who are having trouble adjusting to “life on the outside.”
• Help finding a job and a reliable place to stay.  (A pie-in-the-sky resource would be a special bunk house designed for those in most critical danger of becoming immediately homeless.)
• Work skills assessments and career counseling.

Neither one of us has ever started a non-profit from scratch, even though both of us has worked for one at different points in our careers.  Currently both of us work as social workers in a local emergency room, so we are no stranger to citizens in need of services and are already well versed in and well connected to other leaders and non-profits in our community.  

It seems logical at this point to ask for State funding in addition to our own fund raising efforts.  I am not aware of any grants that are available for a charitable cause as diverse as this one.

Respectfully,

Heather A. Posey                                       Jennifer W. Aaron

UGA Class of ’97 & ’02                     &            UGA Class of ’98 & ‘07

B.S. (Psychology)                                        B.A. (Child & Family Development)

M.Ed. (Higher Education)                              M.S.W. (Social Work)