Content area
Full Text
I dedicate this to my brother, T-Lo, who's always encouraging me to just be me and to give life my best effort. Thank you for always being my rock. And to all of my sweet children who continue to love me, even when discouraged from doing so. You are my strength. I love you.
"For the LORD heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners" (KJV Psalms 69:33)
Hello, my name is Chris. I'd like to walk you through a journey on what many of us experience while incarcerated. This is not my first time in prison or even my first prison. Of course, hopefully it will be my last.
I am writing this because I feel we have been let down by the very people we've placed our trust in. We come to prison hoping we will get "rehabilitation." We set goals and beg staff to help us achieve them. We don't understand why we have to beg for help. We thought that was the actual reason we came here. An example from my personal experience is this: while talking to two case workers about taking some classes that have been on my case plan for years, they told me to get signed up. I crossed my arms, blinked my eyes and nodded my head, like on I Dream of Jeannie. I asked, "Did it work?" One case worker laughed and said, "I'm serious." I said, "So am I. I don't have access to a computer to sign myself up- you do. If it were up to me, I'd have taken those classes years ago."
The expectation to do the absolute impossible is so overwhelming. The majority of us are working toward change. It's a terribly slow process. I personally don't feel it would be so slow if we received the help and encouragement we were promised upon being sent to prison. I have written a series of letters that discuss some of our thoughts and feelings to the people who affect or are affected by the prison system. These letters range from the prisoners all the way up to the President of the United States. They are not directed toward any one prison, but all prisons in America.
While we live inside the...