The Christian mandate for caring for those in prison comes from Jesus Christ.
In exhorting us to care for those in need, including prisoners, Jesus said, “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:37- 40.
An excellent address on issues to do with the care of prisoners in Tasmania was given by Revd Ross Duncan, Chaplain to the Prison Service Tasmania, at a breakfast to support the Freedom Centre which cares for prisoners upon release.
The Freedom group who is involved here today has a vision and calling to assist in the accommodation areas for people coming out of prison. But this is only one of the challenges that inmates face when they leave.
What I want to explore with you are the aspects of the reintegration process.
The first of these is preparing for release and this is approached in different ways around the world.
The second is post release and what it is like for an inmate.
The third is prevention. What are the things that we are doing as a society to stop the need for incarceration.
And in his final section, Chaplain Ross throws us a curved ball:
Today we talk about freedom but many of these kids have never experienced this because freedom is not a physical thing but a psychological one.
I’d like to throw the Cul-de-sac at you. Imagine a keyhole street of four two story houses and a drop in centre. From the outside these houses look like any other but on the inside each has a house mum and house dad (one of which goes out to work the other engaged within the project) and several young teenage people who cannot for some reason reside with their family. These kids go to school and come home; they congregate at the drop in centre where several of the house parents, who are specially trained, assist them with home work or projects, or counselling. Each night the family sit down together for a meal and chat about the days events. There is a time of one to one discussions but also just being together. These kids would know that they have a safe place; that they are loved. The families would support each other and they would learn as they live.
As a society we need to think seriously and carefully about how we prepare those in prison for re- entering into society. But just as important we need to consider how we respond to them coming back in. We need to look at the need of the whole person. I applaud the efforts that are being made by the Freedom groups in seeking gain accommodation for those leaving prison but would offer the advice think big think creatively and talk with inmates and support services.
If you ever wanted a challenging introduction to prison chaplaincy, this is it! Read, pray, participate.
See, Presentation to The Freedom Centre Support Group. Also, Visiting the prisoner-visiting Jesus.
