A Word or Two About Prison
When we think of the place where the incarcerated serve their sentences the first word most of us think of is “Prison” but we’ve learned the stereotype of the hardened criminal is not always the case or even the norm. An applicable definition we found online is “a state of confinement or captivity or place of confinement, especially for lawbreakers” . Certainly, there are some there who, if you dug a deep pit and dropped them in permanently, the devil himself wouldn’t object but we find most are simply people who have lost their way and have turned to drugs in desperation.
Many whose mistakes have led them here find prison need not be the end but a beginning. Genuine penitence is the essential first step to making prison a turning point in their lives. The applicable definition for the word “penitent” is “a repentant attitude of feeling humble sorrow for sins or offenses” combined with the Latin suffix “ary” which is defined as “a thing relating to or a place for” makes a penitentiary a place for the repentant. It is in this place we seek those we can help when that pertinence has turned them to Christ and seek the blessings of His atonement in their lives so this is the word we prefer. Since tuning to God is explicitly the focus of 7 of the steps in the 12 Step Program and implied in the rest, He is also central to what we are doing here. It is our love of God that has brought us here and it is a love of God that will change them being in prison to the penitentiary and ultimately out of their old life into a new one with a hope they may have thought impossible for them.
Working hand-in-hand with these inmates, we can help to change their environment but only Christ can change their heart, making Him our most important partner in this project. One young woman who had enough understanding of Christ to paraphrase Mark 9:24 in what was both an expression of gratitude and a plea for help when she asked simply that we help with her unbelief. Since we have begun this project, the Atonement of the Savior has become so much more than just a concept or a belief as we have seen it play out in powerfully visible ways in the lives of these lost sheep He urged us to find.
OUR MISSION
Overview
This project is the serendipitous evolution of a simple act of kindness that has become one of the most richly rewarding things my wife and I have ever been involved with. We’ll stay focused on the mission here but if you want the inspiring backstory, click here to learn How It All Began. The overall mission is about expanding the outreach to more inmates in transition who have demonstrated a sincere desire to transform their lives into something better. We also hope to bless the lives of others, like ourselves with what we have found to be an extraordinary journey of ministering to the needs and mentoring for these “Transformees”. Webster may object but we think the word Transformee is a perfect fit for those who are recipients of the ministering care of those who join with us. It’s a far more optimistic, even hopeful description than “former inmate”, “recovering addict”, “ex-convict”, etc. so if we have to invent our own word, we’re OK with that because it describes the outcome we hope to achieve.
We hope this will grow in scope but we are initially focusing on the minimum security women’s yards at Perryville Prison in Goodyear Arizona and prospective mentors who live in the Phoenix Arizona area. People from outside the geographical area who want to help can advocate opening an outreach in their area and/or they can contribute to the Transformee’s emergency trust fund or to the projects operational fund (or both). Click here or scroll down to the “Ways You Can Help” section for instructions for contributing.
Why 2 Pillars?
At the most fundamental level, the mission here is about helping our Transformees consistently look forward and become a “pillar of strength”, not only for themselves but to ultimately pay it forward, once sufficiently strong themselves, to new Transformees coming into the project. The other fundamental truth is that it’s crucial to never look back on your old life, regrets, habits and even friends that will lead you back to bad habits. Looking back is a road map to failure and the reference for the other pillar is Genesis 19:26 where Lot’s wife looked back on Sodom and Gomorrah and was turned into a pillar of salt. That may seem harsh for a glance over your shoulder on what was no doubt a spectacular event with fire and brimstone hailing down on your old home, but I have always believed “looking back” was far more than a casual glance. It’s more likely that “looking back” described a deep longing for the life she had left behind even though she likely knew she was headed for a much better one. This is an ideal allegory for this project so the name evolved from that.
The Outreach
We are working to find more inmates that have demonstrated a genuine desire to make meaningful change in their lives and match them with people who will minister and mentor for these women in ways that will give them their best chance at succeeding. Make no mistake, that change is hard and it’s the Transformee that has the hardest part of the job. As a mentor, it’s not your task to “change them”, because that’s not possible. The changes in their life have to be their own doing but it can be overwhelming and discouraging. That’s where our volunteer mentors come in. They are a friend to turn to when things get rough. A leading cause of recidivism is the desperate loneliness that leads them back to old friends who are a bad influence. Having someone in their life who cares about them and doesn’t do drugs, can be a game changer for them. We know of situations that could have had a dark outcome had it not been for that sober friend in the Transformee’s life.
You don’t have to be rich to help. In fact, our guidelines strongly discourage most direct financial assistance. To avoid this becoming a financial burden to the mentors or becoming enablers to the Transformees, direct cash assistance is NOT part of this project. We are building a trust that can provide an advance for emergency assistance that requires reimbursement. You can contribute to that, as an option. Financial dependence can quickly destroy the more important facets of the relationships we are trying to create so it’s important that it never becomes part of the relationship. Being a mentor is about giving of your heart NOT your wallet.
It’s about building a relationship while they are still in prison, typically through correspondence or even phone calls. This is NOT a prison pen-pal thing, because it’s about becoming a mentor and friend and it will take more of a commitment than simple correspondence. Logistical support like helping them find good transition housing, job prospects, etc. They don’t have access to the internet in prison so this kind of research is difficult. Picking them up when they are released and get them to their transition housing. Acceptable financial support would be to take them to Goodwill so they can find a change of clothing, or stopping by occasionally and take them to lunch where the financial aspect is only incidental to the relationship building. They aren’t looking for a casual relationship, they need someone they can trust enough to lean on when they are struggling and someone who believes in them when their belief in themselves falters.
We know some people may feel uncomfortable fully opening their life up to a stranger, especially one who has been incarcerated for breaking the law. The first reassurance is that we are dealing with minimum security violators, at present. Mostly drug violations and the non-violent crimes that tend to follow addiction. The women that come into the program are going to be screened on criteria that shows they are serious about putting that old life behind them, for good. We also offer a way to send correspondence via blind-box so you can correspond with your Transformee as often as you wish without ever sharing your home address. For you, it’s all online. You pay the postage, write the letter and we print and post inbound and outbound mail through our P.O. Box. For a modest monthly subscription to offset the cost, we can provide an email address and phone number that operate as a blind box for those services. You can ultimately write letters, send and receive email and even make phone calls without the Transformee ever knowing any of your personal contact info. You never have to openly let them into your private life unless you are completely comfortable doing so.
The Central Role Our Belief In God Plays In This Project
One of the things that is most central to all of this is the need these Transformees have for God in their life. This is not just about helping them feel less lonely and helping them successfully transition to a better life. Those are important goals but we know we won’t succeed without God becoming a partner in this, as well. The vast majority of those who will come into this program struggle with addiction and the 12 step program is a time tested method for overcoming addiction. The role of God in that recovery process directly occupies 7 of those 12 steps and the rest are based on principles that God has given His children for a better life for all types of people. Never have we seen the Atonement of Christ play out in such real and powerful ways as we have seen in the people we have worked with in this project. It is beautiful and inspiring and it must be central to what we do for these women. It is our personal love for Jesus Christ that leads us to reach out to help those who truly need that help and it is His love for them that will ultimately empower them to change for the better. Success without that is rare so we are going to follow the pattern of success as our Transformees embrace the the role of God in the 12 Step program and embrace the teachings of Christ, both of which put humility with a recognition of their mistakes and seeking forgiveness of Him and those they have hurt, powerful and positive change will occur. It is our hope to help them change their circumstances in a way that allows Christ and the power of His atonement for us to change their hearts.
What Our Transformees Need
A Place To Live
Having a place to call home is crucial for all of us but Transformees need a place that is safe and affordable with proper supervision and accountability to prevent relapse outside of prison.
A Job
A job can be difficult to find for someone with a record but they need to pay the bills just like the rest of us and they will never achieve their goals back on the street.
A Friend To Support Them
They need a friend they can turn to when things get tough. Just being lonely can be a trigger to looking back and is often a contributing factor to why they were in prison in the first place. It's a difficult journey and having someone who cares about them, is so important.
Ways you can help?
Volunteer As A Mentor
Scroll to the next section where you can volunteer as an individual or a group.
Donate Your Old Computer
It's hard to be productive these days without a computer, if only for job searches and email. Our corporate partner, Personal Care Tech Solutions will securely wipe and refurbish your old computer for our transition inmates.
Contribute
We are building a trust to provide emergency financial help in a way that conforms to our accountability guidelines. There are also growing administrative costs for the project and you can contribute to keep it financially healthy.
Do you want to...
Volunteer as a mentor?
Volunteer as an organization to help?
About us
We are an ordinary husband and wife who discovered some women who landed themselves in prison because of some bad choices but prison became a catalyst for a change and a better future. There are plenty of women in prison who are hardened and bitter but we have been able to find some who have been deeply humbled by the experience and genuinely want to turn their lives around, putting their past behind them. Most are quite lonely because their old life has driven away family and real friends. If you’re using, your only friends use too and the friendship is primarily a partnership for maintaining the habit. You’re not useful in prison and they would be unlikely to help you get clean when you get out . That loneliness makes everything they have to do much harder so we’ve opened our hearts to a growing number of women who have good hearts and need someone to care about them. There are not words to describe what a blessing this has been to us and we love all of “our girls”. If you can get past the misconceptions about the type of people who are in prison you will find a wonderful relationship you never expected, like we did. We have some still on the inside as well as on the outside, some who are doing great and some who are struggling but still trying their best.
While visiting one of our girls at their transition home, another woman there, not part of our project said, “It’s so nice what you are doing for these women in spite of who they have been in the past.” Our reply was, “It is our purpose to follow the example of the Savior and not do this in spite of who they have been but because of who we believe they can become.”
When Christ was asked in Matthew 22:36 “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?”, His response was a beautiful simplification of His gospel…
“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
We have taken this project on for both of the above reasons.
Check Out Recent Articles
Tom is Co-Founder and Regular Blogger.
Read Tom's blog posts about where this project is going.
Joyce is one of our Transformee bloggers.
Joyce is one of our Superstar Transformees. Check out her blog.
Sabrina is one of our Inmate bloggers.
Sabrina is the one who started all of this. Check out her blog.
