We are always looking for more mentors! Our January trainings are coming up. Don’t miss out on this experience if you have any interest in mentoring. Check out the mentoring page for more information and volunteer applications.

Our mentor trainings focus on Motivational Interviewing. Here is a short video that describes the process:

Fleet Maull is the Founder and Board President of the Prison Dharma Network. He was sentenced to prison for 14 years (1985-1999). It was in prison that he helped start the first prison hospice program that provided daily care to dying prisoners. In 1991, he founded the National Prison Hospice Association, which has been launched in 75 state and national prisons. To learn more about Fleet Maull and his program, click here.

This image is from this website. http://prisonphotography.wordpress.com/

I encourage all readers of this blog to check out this photography website. Blogger, Pete Brook, is on a 12 week journalism trip  between the dates of October 1st and December 20th, 2011. By the end of this excursion he will have  interviewed two dozen photographers who have documented prison life. His goal is to expose the conditions of overcrowded prisons and express the reasons for pursuing a prison reformation.

The staff at FOCUS are planning the next mentor training. We are excited to meet all our new volunteer mentors for the month of January and we are always looking for more! If you are interested in participating in this rewarding opportunity please contact us. We would love to hear from you. Call us at (720) 304 6446, or email us at meghan@thecollaborativecommunity.org.

We are excited to introduce you to some information about our upcoming forum panelists. First, we would like to thank Tom Robichaud, President of Precision Plumbing, for co-sponsoring the event and participating as a panelist. Our other speakers include: Joshua Onysko, Owner of Pangea Organics, John Tayer, Public Affairs and Communication Director of Corden Pharma, Rich Lotterhos, Owner of Urban Mattress, and David Page, Owner of David Page Photography.

Here is some information about each panelist:

Tom Robichaud: Precision Plumbing is a business that encourages the financial sustainability of local non-profits. They are giving back to the community by donating $1,000 a month for the next 12 months to a Boulder County non-profit. Those that have won the drawing include: Colorado Sled Hockey, Boulder County Audubon Society, Boulder Chorale, Veterans Helping Veterans, Mercy Project Colorado, CareConnect, and the Boulder Institute for Psychotherapy and Research.

John Tayer: Corden Pharma is supporting the Boulder County community in a number of ways. First, Corden contributes a great deal of financial and in-kind resources to charitable causes and will match dollar-to-dollar employee contributions toward the annual Boulder County United Way Campaign. To boost civic engagement, employees of Corden are encouraged to invest work hours on community service projects. They are also conscious of how they are operating their plant and facilities so that is it safe for the environment, their employees, and the community as a whole.

Joshua Onysko: Pangea Organics is a socially and environmentally conscious business. Pangea Organics is a company that takes special consideration in creating earth-friendly beauty products that are free of harmful artificial ingredients. Joshua also supports the work of Women for Women International that helps women survivors of war. As quoted by Joshua, “What we consume today directly impacts how we—and future generations—will live tomorrow.”

Rich Lotterhos: Urban Mattress is a technically advanced corporation dedicated to helping us all sleep soundly. However, they reach far beyond that. Urban Mattress supports the “Lost Boys of Sudan,” by donating and by helping the boys with employment. They have also taken special care in protecting the environment by offsetting their carbon footprint. This is done by offering products that are eco-friendly and bio-degradable.

David Page: David Page Photography is a Longmont based image company dedicated to portraits and photographic art. David Page photographs weddings, high school portraits, and engagement photos. His vision is to create a fun atmosphere for his customers and build relationships with his community. Currently, David is working on a book that tells the stories of the homeless population in Boulder County.

This is one of the many shocking facts that we covered in our October 27^th forum on “Offenders: The Challenges to Re-Entry and Reintegration.” We are grateful for the amount of curiosity and liveliness that our participants showed.

Dr. Elise Flesher, Research Analyst at the Longmont Police Department, covered some facts regarding why incarceration rates have risen, and how we got to this point of a 70% incarceration rate. Elise said that incarceration began as a way “of taking offenders out of immoral settings and putting them in a moral setting as a way for them to reflect. However, it turns out that this approach only makes them go mad.” What is needed is more support program for offender re-entry.

Joy Eckstine, Executive Director of the Bridgehouse, reported that 50 billion dollars is spent on incarceration and that it is a growing problem in supporting offenders returning into the community so that they don’t return to jail. What we can do now is support those offenders by encouraging the community to help encourage offenders with resources to keep them on track.

Tim Schaaf, Case Manager at the Boulder Shelter Programs, brought to our attention how hard basic resources are to come by for released offenders. For example, most leasing agencies will not allow anyone with a charge to rent from them. Schaaf gave an example of a man who was charged with an armed robbery ten years ago, but still cannot find housing despite the positive changes he has made in his life.

Jose Nieves, represented the population of released offenders. Jose presented to us a heartfelt story of his challenges in re-entry. What he described most was his concern for his family’s well-being and how much support they needed from him. He brought a very touching, very real, story of what it means to face the challenges of returning back into the community.  

We would also like to thank our facilitator, Leslie Ogeda, of the Community Justice Services, for her participation.

This was one of the many surprising facts that we learned this past Thursday, October 27th.

Dr. Elise Flesher, Research Analyst, of the Longmont Police Department, headed off the conversation by bringing up several important questions. One being, “How did we get to this point of high incarceration rates?” Part of the response to this question is that we have not moved with the changing times. In the beginning the whole idea behind jail was to remove the offender from their immoral environment, and confine them in a space where they can reflect on their behavior. As it turns out, this instead made the offender go mad and re-offend or develop new destructive behavioral patterns.

The War on Drugs Movement has also increased the amount of people that have been incarcerated. According to the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men sent to prison were convicted of a drug offense. That is far too many people sentenced for drug offenses when there are other helpful programs that they could be admitted to, especially when about 50 billion dollars is spent on incarceration. Of the 35,000 people in jail in Colorado: 40% do not have basic skills, 35% have minimal school, 14% have HIV (or the likes) with no insurance, 56% have a mental illness, and 80% have a serious addiction problem.  When these people leave the jail they are basically on their own and end up back in the social circles that got them in trouble, because that is the only support they can find.

Reentry programs are now being implemented to give needed support. These programs included program in a reentry practice while the offender is in jail. These progressive programs will hopefully give the offender the basic skill set she/he will need when they return back into society. For example, the Re-entry Council of Boulder has identified these major primary needs; jobs, housing, substance abuse treatment, and mental health care. The Re-Entry Council says that their program aims to motivate offender clients to think about their strengths and goals, and help them make connections. They seek to prevent former inmates from returning to the streets, and encourage change.

We are grateful for such a curious, passionate, and lively crowd at this month’s forum, “Offenders: The Challenges of Reentry and Reintegration.” We wish to thank our panelists, Dr. Elise Flesher,  Tim Schaaf, Joy Eckstine, Jose Nieves, and Leslie Ogeda for their extensive knowldge.

Join us for our monthly forum and discuss this rising social problem. Reentry and reintegration has become crucially important to Boulder County because, those released from the county jail are integrated back into our neighborhoods. Listen to our knowledgeable panelist discuss what we can do to help assist these offenders back into the community safely. With collaboration, we can enhance community safety, help offenders find jobs and housing so they are off the streets, and better the living environment for all. After all, we are all humans and all make mistakes and the recidivism rate of 70% proves that jail isn’t the answer anymore. 

When: Thursday, October 27th, 2011. 11:30 a.m. -1 p.m. 

Where: Congregation Har HaShem, 3950 Baseline Rd., Boulder CO 80303

Who:

Elise Flesher, Research and Analyst, Longmont Police Department

Joy Eckstine, Executive Director, Bridge House (formerly Carriage House)

Tim Schaaf, Lead Case Manager, Boulder Shelter for the Homeless

Jose Nieves, life experience of the issues.

Leslie Ogeda, Facilitator, Program Specialist, Community Justice Services

We are happy to announce that the idea for offender mentoring is spreading… globally! It has become apparent in many countries that jail/prison time is only a temporary solution. More sustainable measures need to be taken, especially when the offender is released. Ninety percent of those released are returning back into our communities, and it is our social responsibility to assist in their reintegration. This helps enhance community safety, save the money used in re-incarceration, and keeps people off the streets and out of poverty. Most importantly, we are all human beings and that have the ability to make another’s life joyful. Our Peace Corps visitors came from Malawi, Suriname, Thailand, and the Philippines. We wish to thank them for their interest and honor them for all the wonderful work they are doing!

The Community Reentry Council hosts and Bridgehouse co-sponsors:

“Offenders: The Challenges of Reentry and Reintegration.”

Join us for our monthly forum to learn more!

Here are a few surprising statistics:

• The U.S. incarcerates more people for drug offenses, than the European Union does for all offenses combined.
• Colorado has unprecedented growth in the prison population. In 1980, there were 2,658 people in prison. In 2009, that number increased to 23,152.
• 65% of women in prison are mothers with children under the age of 18.
• Children with a parent in prison have a much higher likelihood of being incarcerated themselves.
• A large, three-state recidivism study found that less than half released prisoners had secured a job upon their return to the community.

*statistics found at ccjrc.org

When: Thursday, October 27th
Panel: 11:30-12:30, Q&A: 12:30-1:00

Where: Congregation Har HaShem
3950 Baseline Rd., Boulder 80303

Elise Flesher, Researcher, Longmont Police Department,
Joy Eckstine, Executive Director, Bridgehouse (Carriage House)   
Tim Schaaf, Lead Case Manager for the Shelter Programs 
Jose Nieves, life experience of issue.

Facilitator:

Leslie Ogeda, Program Specialist, Community Justice Services
 
Please join us at our free Forum. Snacks are provided or please bring a vegetarian lunch, as our host site is kosher. 

Restoring the Soul’s monthly Forums are presented by local experts who are personally involved with the topics. You may listen to the Forums regularly from 8:35-9:30 on KGNU 88.5 FM. Forum broadcasts will continue on the fourth Thursday of the following months:  January, February, April, May, July, August, October and November. 

We look forward to seeing you there!