What’s Missing from Prison Reform?

I am a participant in the program “Foundations for Life’ (FFL) here at Dixon Correctional Center.  The goal of the program is “to develop and grow a framework for how to successfully move from inspiration to transformation.”  This is achieved by putting Biblical wisdom into practice on a daily basis.  Although FFL is a Christian based program, it is open to prisoners of any faith.  I have witnessed prisoners, from different faiths, join the program and praise it for the positive impact it has had on them.

FFL is run by Cliff and Sue, a married couple who are volunteers.  They give their time, energy and love to the prisoners by sharing core values and life skills.  They fill a huge void created long ago by the reduction of rehabilitation programs provided by the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC).  Cliff and Sue are humble people who don’t do this work for any personal accolades and they are not aware I am writing this piece.  This couple, along with their network of family and friends, has earned the respect, appreciation and gratitude of the many prisoners whose lives they have continued to change by helping them achieve impactful transformation.

Normally, that would be a great story in itself, but this gets even better.  During the last class meeting of each cycle, the participants receive a certificate with their legacy and mission statement printed on it.  Cliff and Sue routinely invite guests from the business world, their neighbors and members of their church, to come and be a part of the class.  Yesterday (July 10, 2018) while the program participants were receiving their certificates, two women entered with Cliff and Sue.  One of the ladies sat next to me and introduced herself by her first name only, which was Linda.  I responded by telling her my name and we exchanged pleasantries.  She pulled out a note pad and asked me, “What’s missing from prison reform?”  Imagine that, her asking me that question.  What a coincidence right?

I answered Linda by saying, “Cliff and Sue have it right! They present the material, explain it and tell us why it was selected.  Then they break us into small groups allowing us to discuss the material while trusting us to get it right.  That is exactly what is missing from prison reform; they don’t provide us with rehabilitation material or the skills to use.  They won’t enable us to work on our issues among ourselves and they don’t give us enough credit for our accomplishments which stunts our ability to grow.”

I ended by telling Linda that if she wanted some more perspectives, some real insight from the inside, to check out the website, PrisonersExchange.com.

The program started with a prayer and lasted a couple hours.  After a while, Cliff stood up and said, “I’d like to introduce one of our guests today and invited her to say a few words.  To my surprise, Linda went to the front of the class and introduced herself as State Representative Linda Chapa Lavia.  I was blown away!  How often does a prisoner get a chance to chat with a State Rep?   What made it even more special was that Mrs. Chapa Lavia came because she had a compelling message and desire to see firsthand what was happening in IDOC.

Overall it was a very interesting day.  We broke for lunch and came back for the afternoon when the second speaker, Ms. Robin spoke.  She is and educator and had taken the FFL course in her community.  She stated she was “overwhelmed” with what she saw and would communicate that to her class on the outside.  The afternoon continued with an open discussion between the guests and the class.  At the end, Cliff congratulated the class for a successful quarter and we prayed to close the session.