Part 4: Areas of work that are especially rewarding when working with incarcerated people

I find this work inspiring in so many ways but I have a particularly sweet spot for the young humans connected to people who are incarcerated.  When someone is incarcerated it effects a whole system of people – and the one’s most fundamentally effected are probably the children.  One of the questions on the Adverse Childhood Experiences questionnaire that looks at household dysfunction is – “Did you live with anyone who went to jail or prison?”

If you are unfamiliar with the importance of this groundbreaking research, check out this website from the centers for disease control and prevention.  And if you want something a little less technical, here is a cool piece from the National Public Radio.   Essentially the higher the score (i.e., the rougher the childhood) the higher the risk for various health problems later:

So, seriously, how do we interrupt this cycle for the children of parents who are incarcerated?  I think there are some experiences that I have had that inspire me to believe that this is possible. 

For many years I have been fortunate to work with a team of people who really get this, and are committed to working to mitigate this family disruption (when appropriate – there are unfortunately incarcerated people whose behavior has had adverse [and at times tragic] consequences for their family).

We host regular family events for people who are incarcerated – usually 4x’s/year; typical events coalesce around holidays such as: mother’s and father’s day, 4th of July, Halloween, and end of year celebrations such as Christmas or Hanukah.  Another activity that one of our fantastic clinicians organized is an ongoing group called “staying connected.” This is a group for incarcerated people to stay connected with their children, spouses, family and friends to ensure healthy relationships are maintained while an individual is incarcerated.  These types of experiences help to ensure that people being released back into the community have a better chance of having established positive support systems.  The group is constantly evolving to better fit the needs of clients and their families.  This group model covers really important topics designed to support the values of being a loving, nurturing and present father/mother – even while a person is incarcerated:

• Discussion about what is family, who we consider to be our family, ages of children, what do our children like… characters, games, etc.
• What do we tell our children about incarceration, what message are we sending
• Typical ways we already stay connected with our family and children while incarcerated.
  • Letters
  • Phones
  • Visits
• Exploring ways to stay connected through the mail, how to write an age appropriate letter for your child
• Games to be played through the mail – battleship, tic tac toe, hangman, dots
• Coloring pages to send to children – their favorite characters, client colors half, the child can finish the picture at home.
• Provide pictures and games for the clients
• Always tailor curriculum to upcoming holiday or special event.  Couple times a year bring in things to make cards for birthdays/anniversaries/thinking of you/graduations, etc
  • Cards for Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Valentines Day
  • Coloring pages for Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
• Discuss movies that their children are talking about, what is an age appropriate movie for children
• Make a list, vote on which children’s movie to watch.
• Provide coloring pages which relate to the movie.
• Discuss Children’s books
• Teacher clients how to pick an age appropriate book and how to read to their children (Andre)
• Provide client with facetime or video client reading book to child… sent video and book to child

Another important area of work potentiating family/social connection is organizing community events for people who have been released.  This past year our team hosted a “spring fling” where all of the people who continue to receive support post release were invited to a community celebration.  These events typically bring 50-100 participants together to celebrate the joy of being together.  I have found that with this population, people are most at risk when they internalize stigma and they are living in relative isolation.  This fusion with the thought that one is “less than/not good enough” – the internalized result of stigma and bias – can stand in for “reasons” to act on [insert ineffective behavior here].  People will say they get the “fuck-its, if you think I am this bad then I might as well act that bad.”  These events are meant to bring people together and for them to hear the message that they are more than the worst moments of their past and that they deserve community and to be celebrated.  This is a form of functional validation – they are worthy of celebration!

One year the FCSO hosted a holiday party for clients who have been released.  We rented out a local church basement and invited all people who have been released back to celebrate the holidays with us.  85 former clients came with their families (mothers, fathers, brothers, and children).  We served food, holiday music, had presents for their children, kids activities and raffle prizes.  I find these events remarkable – how many former incarcerated people would you guess would come back to a sheriff’s office event after they have been released?  It is an indication to me that we continue to be on the right track of implementing a trauma responsive environment.

More than anything the participants attending these events came because they felt like it was safe.  Despite the reason why they ended up in jail, they encountered staff that genuinely cared about helping the client take the unwanted stimulus of incarceration and use it as a catalyst to clarify what matters most to them and use awareness to move toward who and what matters most to them.  In a heartbreaking moment, one of our clients showed up in the lobby with their partner holding their newborn child.  The client was so happy to share their joy with staff and particularly the manager of the treatment unit at the time, sadly stating that they wanted to introduce the newborn to “the only family I know.”