A Life Reclaimed: The Reality of Prison Re-entry into Community
It is no secret that the US nation holds the largest ratio of incarcerated individuals in the world. Unfortunately, what few people pay attention to is what happens to these individuals after they are released. Incarceration not only impacts the individuals who are imprisoned, it also drastically affects their families, their spouses, their children, and their friends. Furthermore, rates of recidivism (when a recently released individual breaks their parole regulations or the law and is returned to an incarcerated state) in the US are incredibly high, so clearly there is a disconnect in how we are re-integrating recently incarcerated individuals back into a normal-functioning society. Thankfully, some individuals have taken note of these concerns and developed organizations in response to try and meet some of these needs. One such organization is Prison Fellowship ministries.
At Prison Fellowship ministries, they offer many programs for both the incarcerated individual themself, as well as for their families and children so that they can feel adequately supported and encouraged during that difficult time as they navigate a life turned upside down. As they are a Christian ministry, they invest a lot of time into sharing the gospel and the love of Jesus with the prisoners and families they serve. They offer a year-long curriculum to incarcerated individuals to correct criminal mindset and behavior by teaching them how to apply biblical life principles and build compassionate community to keep them accountable. They also offer ministry options specifically for women as well as more intentionally guided biblical teaching and leadership training for those who want to pursue vocational ministry after incarceration.
Perhaps one of the best resources that Prison Fellowship offers is to the families and children of incarcerated individuals. These family’s members have a high likelihood of experiencing increased hardship emotionally, financially, and socially. Because of societal stigmatization, these families can feel especially estranged and even experience hostility from individuals who don’t understand the situation or are not empathetic to them. In light of this, Prison Fellowship instituted a program called Angel Tree which offers many fun opportunities and activities for the children of incarcerated individuals. They hold summer camps and sports camps among other activities which offer kids not only a safe place to do fun and normal “childish” activities, but it also restores a sense of normalcy to their lives which most likely do not feel that normal the majority of the time. Angel Tree also organizes Christmas gifts to give to children of incarcerated individuals. When family life is in a difficult place, holidays and celebrations often act to exaggerate that difficulty because it highlights the voids and missing places where parents or other family members should be present. Angel Tree’s Christmas gift provision again restores some sense of normalcy to the holiday and adds a little extra joy to the celebration.
Prison Fellowship works hard to make the best out of these difficult situations, to restore incarcerated individuals to a normal way of living and to healthy relationships with their families, and to show them all the love of Christ. We actually had the opportunity to interview James D’Amato and Audrey Santos Fay from Prison Fellowship here on Good Life TV and they were able to share some more personal stories and experiences of individuals they’ve worked with. It is truly an honor and privilege to see the tangible difference their organization is making in the lives of US citizens and families. To watch the full interview on GLTV, click here.