Jonah and the FailWhale

The System is built for you to fail..

The other day, I noticed the absence of a colleague who had been coming regularly and who I had really admired for his persistence in trying to turn his life around amidst trauma, incarceration, and building a future business. “G” is smart, persistent, kind, and resourceful. Unfortunately, G also wasn't following the rules and got a probation violation for a minor, but punishable, infraction in Halfway House rules. All this progress, a small business plan, dreams all seemingly crushed by a simple misstep of a rather intractable rule of the halfway house that had little to nothing to do with recovery, safety, or even criminal behavior. I must admit the whole thing seems stupid. You are going to violate a guy instead of giving him a warning for this one and only mistake that puts nobody in harms way, has to do with transportation, and which if he were not at a local Halfway House would be a normal activity? GIVE ME A FREAKING BREAK. At the same time, Rules are rules, no matter how inflexible they are, and the many rules are often what the system uses to keep you in line regardless of whether or not they are “fair”. Deciding what's “Fair” and what is not is something those of us who have a record gave up the minute the cuffs went on. Yes, we DO have basic rights, but we also have responsibilities to those who have jurisdiction over us. It's not either/or, it's both/and.

This incident with G brings up a truth that we all know but don't want to say too loudly- If the System that controls offenders were really about their success, then why is it that over 49% of Fed offenders go back to prison, usually for technical parole violations? State rates are not much better. Time and Time again, guys getting out of the Connecticut DOC tell me that they were given a list of places to go that may have been closed, couldn't help them, or were not open on the day they were dropped outside the gates. Many tell me that the people at local Halfway or Sober Houses they are assigned to don't really give them much help at all. These men and women are expected to rebuild their lives, get work, and be productive citizens all while having to find their own resources in a maze of various agencies. Is it really any wonder so many want to give up?

My own experience has been that I've had to do my own reentry largely on my own. Sure, my PO has helped with suggestions here and there, but when I actually called a reentry place, they suggested that I should try and be self-employed because they “didn't have success” placing people with felonies recently. My mentor recently said that I am “Resilient” because I keep on trying to get my career going in the Addiction Recovery field despite naysayers. While this is true, it has been because I long ago realized what many people leaving addiction and incarceration realize very quickly-Nobody is coming to save us. We must save ourselves.