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