“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” – Isaiah 61:1
Most of us cannot imagine what an inmate is facing!
I have been asked to describe a typical scenario for a person who is re-entering our community upon release from jail or prison.
First, let me remind you that the vast majority (99% according to the White County Drug Task Force) of those incarcerated are for drug related offenses: from possession and/or sales to offenses under the influence to offenses resulting from the financial drain of addiction. My personal experience relates primarily to women and their children
I have spoken to and have often become involved with these folks for the past four years, on a daily basis. I have stayed involved with many as they moved on to prison or back into the community; several who have been in and out many times.
Some of these women come from loving families, have a church upbringing, and are educated. Many are second and third generation addicts and have suffered many forms of abuse. Many never completed their high school education, have never experienced a healthy relationship of any kind, and have children of their own living in various unstable situations.
Most of these women leave a wake of destruction in their path. But when you get to know them, most are moms who love their children and are filled with shame and remorse. They have lost hope and lost sight of their dreams. They are ill equipped for life and terrified to try and fail. But most I know do try… over and over again. Until they are too tired or overwhelmed to try anymore.
My team and I offer to find a drug rehab program for the women who are willing, but there are very few in NE GA. These programs require the addict to live under stringent regulations (not attractive after being incarcerated), to spend more time away from their children, to get a series of medical tests for admittance, and to pay a minimum of several hundred dollars to get started.
These women have been clean since their incarceration, sometimes for months or years,
but they are still addicts and need to learn about their triggers and learn new ways of handling life or they will continue to repeat the cycle.
This is what they face:
So they often have no clothes, no car, no license, no social security card, no toiletries, no home, and no money. Their children have been put in the custody of others, often who are hostile toward the parent.
The day following her release, an inmate must report to her probation officer. Within the first 30 days from her release, a woman must find a place to live, food, clothing and toiletries, transportation, and procure a job. She will have to have earned enough money to buy food, pay rent (and in most cases, deposits), and transportation to work. Thirty days from her release, she must report to probation with $132.
Probation fees vary (and an inmate may have multiple probation fees), but the average seems to be $132 per month for about two years. The terms of probation usually involve “drug classes” and mental health appointments, both of which require additional fees (usually about $15-$35 per class). Not paying these fees constitutes a violation of probation, for which they are re-arrested. I’ve known several women who stopped going to their probation appointments because they couldn’t afford the fees and eventually they are re-arrested with more jail time and more probation.
If the former inmate has children who are not in her custody, she must meet regularly with a DFACS worker. To be considered to be reunited with her children, she must meet criteria, including, of course, financial stability. In addition, she must complete a series of “parenting classes” which also involve fees. Many former inmates have been charged with child support payments to the caregivers of their children while they were incarcerated (which has been adding up while they were incarcerated). Non-payment of child support results in arrest, more jail time, probation, and more accrued child support.
Habersham does have a 30 day homeless housing ministry which is faithfully administered by Joanne Kennedy. Unfortunately, it almost always has a waiting list, which doesn’t work for someone in crisis, who is penniless and homeless. Some churches will put people up in a motel for a couple of nights, but then the woman is in the same position. Persons with a felony conviction are not entitled to public housing. Habersham County does not currently have a fully functional transitional home, aside from the homeless shelter and the Circle of Hope (for victims of domestic abuse).
In addition, most businesses, as a matter of policy, will not hire persons with a criminal record. And, without a car, or someone who is willing to drive them, it is impossible to look for a job or accept a job they cannot walk to. Sharing and Caring will give a person a bag or two of nonperishable food, but one needs a car to retrieve it. The Torch operates a food bank weekly, but again one needs a car.
The nearest location to get an ID or license is Gainesville and it costs about $25. You have to bring proof of who you are such as a utility bill (difficult to obtain when one’s residence has been the county jail). The Social Security office (a SS card is needed to get a job) is in Toccoa, but you need a Driver’s License to get it.
Public assistance such as WIC, Tanniff, Food Stamps, etc. is not available to those with a felony conviction. Only if a convicted woman is pregnant, is she eligible for Medicaid.
Most of those I have met who are in jail, are on their way in, or are now out live in “survival mode”. It seems to my colleagues and myself that our current “correction” system enforces the necessity of this lifestyle. They make impractical decisions, often illegal, just to be able to pay their probation and other fees and to avoid being thrown back in jail.
We want these people to turn their lives around: to be responsible parents, to finish their education, to get legitimate jobs, to stay away from drugs, to be contributing members of our community – but our system makes it all but impossible!
I have a friend, “Linda” whom I have been mentoring since I met her in jail a couple of years ago. Linda is determined not to return to her former lifestyle. She works in a factory 12 hours a day. She takes care of one of her 3 children of whom she has custody. She is a loving mom, though usually exhausted. She often makes “survival” choices that put them in difficult positions. But she is learning.
Until recently, she and her son lived in a trailer with holes and rats. She has made it though all her probated classes. She has purchased a car that breaks down regularly. She’s never missed a probation meeting. Over the last couple of years, she has, on numerous occasions, not had the money to buy food, to repair her car, to put down deposits, to pay for medicine or doctor’s bills, to pay probation fees.
Without outside support, it would have been physically impossible for her to have made it legally! It’s no surprise so many turn to prostitution and selling drugs. Recently, with rent, the electric bill, and probation fees due, and worn out brakes, Linda asked about making arrangements for the care of her child as she contemplated returning to jail for the remainder of her sentence so she could be done with her probation. I have heard this from many women.
Isn’t probation supposed to be a support system to ensure the inmate is seeking a legal lifestyle? And if we want to eradicate drugs from our community and we want the addict to turn his/her life around, shouldn’t we implement effective measures to support and mentor them?
Our goal is to work together to set up transitional homes, recovery groups, mentoring teams, food & clothing banks, GED tutoring, etc. – to equip these men and women for life, to help them become healthy parents so the addiction cycle is broken, and to restore dignity to those who are wounded. As it is written in Isaiah 61, “…to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captive, to proclaim the year of our Lord’s favor!…” Thank you for doing your part!
Respectfully,
Marty Wilson, Chaplain
706-768-2452
Habersham County Detention Center
