Challenges of Reentry for Long Time Inmates
One of the wonderful opportunities for (male) volunteers at OCC (Yokefellows) is to be able to take one of these justice involved individuals from the “camp” on CV [Community Visitation] passes into the community, as they prepare for moving back into society after incarceration. Some have shorter terms and others much longer ones. This vignette is about an inmate who has been in prison for 37 years, but with his MAPP [Dept. of Corrections plan for inmates to be released] is looking to reenter the community in 3 years and is the type of justice involved individual for which RHP is dedicated.
On Saturday, September 9, 2023, Yokefellow volunteer David Stanford took “Fred” on pass and writes on his Facebook page:
I just returned from taking a resident of Orange Correctional Center on a 3 hour CV Pass. It was the first time Fred had been out in the community in 37 years. A simple lunch (his first experience of a sit-down restaurant) at a Mexican restaurant and a visit to Orange County Library in Hillsborough was an unfathomable experience for someone who had come within 15 minutes of execution before the US Supreme Court intervened and granted him a stay of the sentence. Now 37 years later, he is looking at 3 more years on his MAPP before he is eligible for parole and release.
After lunch we went to the Orange County Library in Hillsborough, and looked in the novel section at the library for books by William Johnston, whom he loves. Fred is an avid reader and was able to browse many other titles by the same author, which he has not read. His first trip to a library, ever! What a treat for him!
As I returned him to the OCC “camp”, my heart was rich and full of gratitude from sharing such an experience with a justice involved individual.
And Fred couldn’t wait to tell his fellow bunkmates about all that he had seen and experienced in this brief time “outside”. It gives him an incredible “nugget” on which to begin working and hoping and planning for his next 3 years, until he is finally released back into the community, where a program like Reentry House Plus, Inc. can help him with transitioning to “modern society.”
The challenges of getting an email account, filling out job applications on-line, and getting a bank account into which, he can be paid,(since businesses mostly use direct deposit any more) – all these are the bewildering challenges of reentry. Remember your world 37 years ago and how different it is from our world today! Imagine what our residents at RHP are facing as they reenter life!
Public Statement to the Neighbors of Carolina Loop
The following is a statement released to the Neighbors of Carolina Loop following the incident with officers of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and one of our young residents. We ask your prayers as Derrick recovers in the hospital.
August 30, 2023
Neighbors,
What happened last week on Carolina Loop is a great tragedy for all of us. We certainly understand how unsettling it is for all of you. The safety of the men and of the community has always been of paramount importance to Reentry House Plus.
Reentry House Plus will have further comments once the incident has been fully investigated by both the Sheriff’s Department and the State Bureau of Investigation and a definitive statement of facts has been offered. In the meantime, we ask everyone to reserve judgement until all of the facts have been fully disclosed. At this time, we would like to offer some indisputable facts that are either obvious or a matter of public record:
- Derrick Williams, a young man of color, 24 years old, has been shot multiple times by an officer of the Sheriff’s department and is in serious condition in the hospital.
- That young man has been living at Reentry House Plus for over eight months.
- Derrick has never been in Prison and is not a convicted felon. His previous troubles with the law have been non-violent and resulted in some local jail time.
- We have very strict rules about the men not having weapons of any kind on the premises or in the house, and each man signs and pledges to that promise. In our years of existence we have never had a violation of that rule.
- There has been no official public statement that Derrick’s alleged gun has been found and all published comments about a gun being “displayed” have been surrounded by quotes, indicating that those making those comments do NOT know if it is established fact.
We do not offer these facts as a way to underplay the seriousness of what happened at the house last week. We fully appreciate how difficult this is for all involved, not the least for all neighbors on Carolina Loop. We do offer these facts as a way of asking for your forbearance during the time necessary for all aspects of the event to be fully investigated and reported. Until then we ask that all of you offer up prayers for Derrick’s speedy recovery, for the other men in the house who shared this experience, for the men and women who are working with these men daily, for the officer involved, and for residents in our community who have been touched by this tragedy.
Faithfully,
Doug Peterson, President
Reentry House Plus, Inc.
“Something to Say” 2023 Art Exhibit
After a very successful first event last year, Yokefellows, in cooperation with other prison ministries, will be sponsoring it’s Second Annual Art Exhibit of works by the men of Orange Correctional Center from 9/27 to 10/14 with a “family and friends” showing on Oct. 14. All are welcome to come, view the art, listen to the music, and hear stories and poems from the creative efforts of some of our amazing residents at OCC. Please mark this special event on your calendars!
