Ex-Offenders Benefit from Church Support
By Kenneth Schorr Restorative justice advocate Manahawkin, New Jersey
I was planning a restorative justice talk and needed some information on the parole system, so I set up an appointment with a parole officer.
As I waited to see him, a young man walked in and asked to see his assigned parole officer. While he was waiting, I overheard him talking to another man. His story was not uncommon. Just released, he stayed with someone the first night as required by parole, but he could not stay there any longer and was not able to find another place. The Salvation Army was full, the YMCA would not take him, welfare told him to come back in a week, and he went back to the local church he had attended before incarceration, where they either could not or would not help him.
This man had no job training, therapy or re-entry classes while in prison, so he was on his own. With only a bus pass and minimal gate money in his pocket there was little hope for the future. When his parole Officer came out to the waiting room and this young man explained his problem, the officer all but destroyed any hope by saying, "I can't help you." In frustration the young man threw up his hands, cursing as he walked out. God only knows what happened after that.
Roadblocks Ahead
When offenders come home (it is estimated 90-95 percent will) they are expected to be responsible, law abiding, contributing members of society, as they should be. Yet they are faced with many roadblocks from community, the justice system. and even churches. That is shortsighted.
Crime represents a failure of responsibility on the offender side, and often on the community side as well. When an offender comes home with little or no hope for the future, when what little remaining dignity is taken away; when we condone continued retribution even after time served, when we continue to isolate the more problems society creates for itself The majority of these individuals do not want to go back to prison. The first three years after release are the most critical; they are under enormous pressures from society and from within themselves.
Many of the offenders I have spoken with say that while incarcerated and after release, they feel abandoned by the church. The church puts up roadblocks just like society.
Part of the problem with the fear of recidivism may be due to lumping all offenders together rather than looking at the individuals. I remember a conversation with a clergyperson who felt offenders could not be rehabilitated because that is what he read. I asked, isn't that putting God in a box? Are you saying some things are impossible for God? The church has a God-given mandate, a ministry of reconciliation. That includes prisoner re-entry.
No Quick Fix
It’s not a question of what we feel like doing, but what is required by us in the face of this challenge and opportunity. There is no quick fix.
As Christians we must stop denying our complicity in the social and economic injustice that exists. We must put aside all those things inside and outside the church that fuel the fears. Justice needs to be done as though all people really matter, where the civil and human rights of all parties are protected. Change starts with education, and that is where churches play an enormous role. There needs to be more preaching on restorative justice. We need to move away from continued retribution and toward reconciliation, rehabilitation, and forgiveness, seeing beyond what laws have been broken so we can look at broken relationships. Prayer is also essential.
The next step is to develop a re-entry program in the church. This should include but not be limited to: helping the released offender find a job, housing, support groups, and medical, legal, and educational assistance.
Having a mentor gives the released individual someone he or she can talk to without being judged. Being able to vote again is important, so the church must speak out on this and other civil and human rights issues.
Some have asked how long reconciliation and restoration take. That depends on the willingness of all parties to work together: business, community, and church leaders in conjunction with law enforcement and lawmakers. The sooner and the more we can reduce the basic causes of crime and recidivism, the fewer victims we'll have. But if nothing changes, nothing will change. Churches can take the lead by challenging the community to look at what causes crime and who these human beings are that need help.
Without hope there is no future for victims, offenders, or community. If there is ever to be peace in our communities, the churches must be at the forefront no matter what the crime or how unpopular the issue. The church needs to make these troubled individuals "their own."