September 2018 Newsletter

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Transition From Prison Life

“I had khaki pants, a button up shirt, and a paper bag of paperwork. That’s all I had,” David described, as his only earthly possessions given to him when he was released from prison. His parole would begin at the Mission. He had done his time and needed a place to transition back into society. David said, “I received clothes from the Mission store, meals, a bed, a bus pass, and help with a letter to get my I.D.”

David’s path to the Mission began as a child, growing up in a drug house. He said, “Everybody else was doing drugs; my parents were doing it. Every morning, the man in my house across the hall smoked meth right in front of me. All day long tweakers were coming in. Bikers beat me up all the time. My world was around drugs, so I just made it work. Back then, I didn’t know what a choice was. Drugs got me everything – food, a place to live, girlfriends. To get off it, you need a place without drugs. I used prison to get clean. It became a new normal to not use drugs. The temptation was not there anymore. I was in control.”

Now at the Mission, David made a remarkable statement, “I am still institutionalized for the moment. I need more time to transition to find just the right place for me.” Institutionalization is the dependence of individuals on a facility to provide the necessities of meals, clothing, shelter, instruction, safety, rules, routines. When released from such a facility, a person naturally feels inadequate and reluctant to function on his own, until he reaches a point of confidence and ability. Within days of arriving at the Mission, David landed a full-time job cooking in a local restaurant, and since has gotten three other people at the Mission jobs at the same place. He has enough money now to move out, but he is very cautious about the environment of any rented room or apartment. Clean living is his priority over independence.. His plan is to rent a room at the Mission in our Transitional Housing Program.

He got involved with Christian services while in prison, but, he said, “Everybody there just wanted to talk out their past. Before, I was always mad. I had so much hate, remorse, anger. I learned how to forgive and let go. Now I feel like I don’t have that weight anymore. I don’t need to take revenge; I just need to forgive.” At the Mission, he wants to continue to go to chapel every day. David said, “Any chance I have to learn about God, I’m there. God is working in my life. I pray and now try to help other people. I am living a life for Him. He gives me the power to stay off drugs.”

The Mission is a type of institution by the very nature of our communal dayrooms, dining rooms, dormitories, and chapels. We have structure, time schedules, and security; yet, we are more of a transitional operation with freedoms to learn to be self-reliant. We are a Christian organization with the purpose to evangelize by preaching, teaching, counseling and praying. We connect people to employment, housing, and a church home, so they will become independent from us.