On Monday, Milton Jones from the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute joined us for a wide ranging talk on the causes of violence and the ways we must work to break the cycle. Speaking of its causes, he emphasized that "Hurt people, hurt people... Most people involved in criminal activity are not involved due to want or like, most are very much hurting. They have been brought up in toxic environments, they are addicted to some substance... Criminal activity and that lifestyle is also an addiction. Folks are not in that because they like it, they have hearts, but their hearts have been torn, ripped, they’re trying to bring it all back together, find themself." He also emphasized the inadequacy of our current response: "We know all to well that there are individuals who walked out of their house and got shot by police. That person didn’t commit the crime they thought he did, so now this person is dead or in prison cause he looks a certain way." Incarceration does not work to rehabilitate the incarcerated, and often works against rehabilitation: "I know one guy still in prison 42 years later... there’s an issue of over-incarceration. If you know you’re going to let him out anyway when is the right time? If you keep him too long, that’s a danger to the community because it’s too late, he doesn’t care anymore. You want to know, when does this person still have the capacity to re-adjust his life? If he returns to his own ways whose fault is that?"
Re-entry, he explained, is everyone's responsibility and in everyone's interest: "Re-entry is absolutely necessary. I have to live in this world. I have to live in my community. 97% of incarcerated individuals are coming back to the community. How do we want them?" Milton then went over the Peace Institute's programs to enable healing and rehabilitation: they run a "Healing Within" program in the Plymouth and Dedham correctional centers, and a 6-group session "tough love" program called the Community Re-entry Preparation Group, offered closer to release. For people just released, they run a Community Mentor Services program, and a committee made up of people with specialized skills such as substance abuse, housing, and mental health professionals, that conducts a needs assessment. The conduct sessions with the formerly incarcerated person's family to enable reconciliation, since the family dynamic is one thing that can cause criminal activity. They partner with job training organizations such as culinary and diesel engine programs, and strive to help recently released individuals find not just a job, but a career. The process is a long one, ideally lasting three years. "The reason," he explained, "is statistically guys recidivate between 1 and 3 yrs. A lot of guys come out, are given a little help and are let go too soon. So we want to follow them for that 3 year period. If they get past that, 9 times out of 10 they’re good." Throughout, Milton emphasized the spiritual dimension of his work. In response to a question about frustration he answered "I am frustrated! What keeps me being able to deal and handle my frustration is God. I’m spiritually grounded. I know I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing." Amy Meyer from King's Chapel stepped forward to volunteer her skills as a literacy teacher for the program. If you have skills you would like to volunteer, please contact Milton Jones at Milton@LDBpeaceinstitute.org Comments are closed.
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