7/31/2019 Lets Help Prisoners Contribute to the Greater Social Good

1/1

Prison populations continue to rise while rehabilitation efforts, if they evenexist, continue to fail. We can do so much better. The Washington state prisonsystem might just be onto something really, really good.Theyve begun using inmates as ecological assistants in conservation efforts to save endangered species. Inmates are ideal for this wor , with a controlled environment and lots of time to dedicate. Perhaps most importantly, the wor allowsinmates to feel they are contributing to a broader social good. I have probablyspo en to more inmates than any doctor or psychiatrist nown to me. Granted, they have all been in the state of California but I refuse to believe they are very different elsewhere. When I as ed most of them what they were in for, the answer was parole violation. I tried to get them to tell me their index or original volation but that was li e pulling teeth. Most of them could not remember very much, or were evasive, or told me they had spent long expanses of time behind bars. They had self-esteem you could have trouble scraping off the floor. Sometimes they would have wor shops in things li e upholstery or auto repair. I have seenthem do private wor for the warden, li e upholstering his cabin cruiser. I have seen them get depressed when various wor shops were closed for financial reasons. Mostly, I have seen them unable to imagine life outside of bars. The one thing they have is time. The different ways they use this time is amazing. A few, the intellectual ones, may write boo s, run businesses with outside help, or ta

e some ind of correspondence courses. But my experience tells me this is rare.I would tell inmates things. I would tell them how some great writing was donein prison, including the writings of Marco Polo. Most of all, I would tell themthat as far as I was concerned there are no bad men, just good men who do bad things. So the best thing I could wish them was to pay whatever debts society had imposed upon them, be good, and move along. I thought this was obvious, but Iwas surprised how often it resulted in some pretty tough loo ing guys crying, getting down on one nee, and issing my hand. I did not thin what I said was that extraordinary. They did, for they had been bombarded with messages that theywere totally useless. The idea that they could do something, anything, after they got out was delirious and radical. Many turned to religion to help themselv

es feel good. It was good stuff for some, but rang hollow for others. I have never, ever, heard of a wor project more powerful in helping inmates feel good about themselves than this project in Washington State. These inmates have nothing but time on their hands to do some time consuming wor to eep endangered species alive. Bravo. This is refreshing in a sector that is only growing and doeslittle or nothing in the way of rehabilitation. Trust me, Ive wor ed in about a half dozen prisons and have not laid eyes on it yet. But finally, somebody who isseemingly unencumbered by habitual ways of thin ing is doing some profound humanitarian good.