The people vs. recidivism how to help returning citizens succeed
the story is told of two boys
in a remote village in west africa their
names
were niger and nimbu these boys were
stubborn mischievous and energetic
but like other boys they were also
adventurous
often they had to be warned not to
venture
too far from the village because of the
dangers
of the surrounding jungle caught up in
the beauty of the day
the boys had not realized that they had
gone deep
into the heart of the jungle but making
the most
of that moment they decided to race back
to the village off they went ducking and
dodging overhanging branches
dashing through thick brushes they
didn’t even recognize
that they had separated until nigel
burst through the clearing
not seeing imbue he feared the worst and
ran
to tell the chief immediately
the men gathered scattered to do a
search
they searched for hours until it was too
dark
and too dangerous to remain in the
jungle
but early the next morning when the
search party came together to continue
nigel said what if we join hands
we will create a human chain and our
search would be more
effective so every man woman
boy and girl joined hands and set out to
search
soon they discovered the lifeless body
a little enbu broken
and heavy with grief nigel said through
tears
if only we would have joined hands
sooner
if only we would have joined
hands sooner
each year the jungles of africa
claim many precious lives but far more
people are lost to the jungles of
america’s criminal justice system
america has far more people incarcerated
well over 2 million than any other
country
on the planet something is a foot
and i don’t mean the one that i’m
standing on
why are there so many people
incarcerated
in america that is the question
that so many families have been asking
for so many years there are
multiple reasons for mass incarceration
in america i would like to highlight
four of them
the first reason substance abuse
our nation’s correctional facilities are
filled with addicts
who need treatment not captivity
the second reason mental health issues
these people are in need of holistic
care
not warehousing thirdly
financial gain incarceration in america
has become big business especially since
the emergence
of privatized prisons and collectively
these factors come together to
contribute to the fourth
and that is recidivism and that is
my focal point here today
recidivism is defined as the tendency
of a convicted criminal to reoffend and
it is
out of control in this country
two-thirds of people released from state
prisons
are rearrested within three years
it’s like a revolving door out you come
and then back in you go
these numbers make sense especially
when you consider the fact that for a
returning citizen
and by that i mean those who have served
time
the jungles of incarceration are not
just contained
within those prison walls rather
many of these men and women have
resolved
firmly to become productive members of
society
only to find themselves in a deep
dark jungle
of unending discrimination
unemployment homelessness
poverty and isolation their sense of
desperation
and hopelessness of being alone
and lost not being able to find their
way out is somewhat akin
to the story i shared with you about
little imbue
so you might be saying okay what is that
to do
with me well this has everything to do
with all of us
we are affected each of us when a
returning citizen
fails you see we are impacted
financially number one because as
taxpayers
we foot the bill to the tune of way over
30 000 per incarcerated person per year
can you imagine what we can do with that
money
it can help out with our children’s
education
we are also affected emotionally
and mentally because half of us
americans have a family member who is
or has been incarcerated
the toll of a loved one being locked up
is difficult can you imagine
a cousin an uncle
or an aunt what about a brother
or a sister or god forbid
a mother or a father
do you now see the connection
okay what can we do each and every one
of us
to help a returning citizen to succeed
well first you must be proactive and
intentional
ask yourself how can i involve myself
in one of the four critical components
that help them to become successful
and they are family support
stable housing gainful employment
and community support
this is my mission today
i want to ask of you to lend your
support
directly and personally
in one of those four areas that i spoke
of
just now if you are able
but also if you would please assist us
as we build
this national support network for
returning citizens
for this network will ensure that there
is a returning citizen resource hub
in every city in the united states
this resource hub is a place
or a coalition of people who are
committed
to the successful reentry of the
returning citizens
you see we envision this organization
as a champion
and a voice for our returning citizens
this organization also and this is
critically important
can become a source of caring support
akin to that of a a alcoholic anonymous
and any narcotics anonymous for you see
they have created
an atmosphere or a culture of mutual
affirmation
encouragement and peer mentoring
like no other you see
recovering addicts they have a sense of
strong
belonging not aloneness
and they know that someone who is
familiar
with their plight has their back
well returning citizens can build
community and overcome isolation
by that very example
for it is sad but true returning
citizens
often have to go it alone when they come
out of prison
but we will make sure that we put it
into that by joining hands
you may be wondering why am i so
passionate about this well
i also am a returning citizen
for you see i spent 26 years
in the georgia prison system
and upon my release i was fortunate
to be able to become a part of a
transitional program
and during that time that transitional
center program
helped me it gave me opportunities that
i never had before
and these transitional centers can
facilitate
the success of a returning citizen when
they are proficiently operated and ran
by someone who cares however
far too few of these facilities
remain but when i got out
i had those four components and i am
very grateful for them
the four that i told you about
and i was grateful for family support
grateful for community support grateful
for stable housing and grateful for
gainful employment
for they proved valuable
and crucial to my return
you see i also sought out
proactively other assistances but i
found none
absolutely none in my city
but what i did find was that release
did not end my prison sentence
what it did was transferred the stigma
of incarceration that of pain
isolation punishment to the outside
for example i was repeatedly denied
housing every time my background check
indicated that i was incarcerated
but i am grateful that my
support network was there for me
had they not been there for me my return
could have ended differently for you see
while incarcerated i met men
who returned back to prison
not just once or twice but three
times and i could not understand
how so i sought these men out and i
asked them this question
how could you after spending 5
10 even 15 years in a place
that you hated return
and when they shared their story it was
then
that i understood recidivism
i did not condone it but i understood it
i now understand why the rate of
recidivism
is so high but what i don’t understand
is how we
individually and also collectively as a
community
do not do all we can to support them
with a strong network that will prevent
them
from coming back especially when it is
in our power to do so
in my conclusion i want you to think
about
what i have been thinking about
constantly
and that is alone
it is incredibly hard for a returning
citizen to make
it when they open those prison gates
to thrive and survive out here
to avoid the isolation and the despair
that leads them to fall right back into
the behaviors
that got them into prison in the first
place
alone it is incredibly hard
for one concerned citizen to bring about
a change
on a massive scale that their hearts are
crying
out for like putting an end to
recidivism
by eliminating its root causes alone
we are limited but together
we can accomplish anything we dream of
let’s join hands thank you
you