Thanksgiving Postscript

I began this blog as a journal of my reentry experience.  Relatively quickly, the focus of this blog became the prisoner reentry experience in the United States.  When I went to prison, personal computers had yet to come online.  Information gathering, and information sharing, required much more time, energy, and money.  During my 30 years behind bars, the information age arrived, and, as the saying goes, the rest is history.

 

Upon my release from prison in 2007, I immediately began a crash course in the new ways of learning and sharing.  And when I say immediately, I mean immediately.  I spent the first night of my new freedom sitting in front of a computer, applying much of the awareness I had gained through a voracious reading regimen in prison that included everything I could get my hands on concerning the internet, and the countless ways it had transformed life as I knew it before prison.  When I finally went to bed on that first evening home, I did so with eyes so wide that sleep was merely an afterthought.  What a great time to come home, I thought, simply amazed at the power I found at the nexus of my fingertips and a keyboard.  That sense of amazement has continued to grow, on each day since that very first night.

Little did I realize, on that first night, just how important that sense of empowerment would become in my reentry experience.  Through all of the rejection and exclusion that I have written about in a number of blog posts, the sense of empowerment I have gained from developing my internet awareness and skills has insulated me from much of the alienation and despair that so many former prisoners succumb to in their reentry experience.  Most former prisoners fail in their reentry experience because the obstacles to successful reentry loom large indeed.  So large, in fact, that successful reentry ultimately becomes a virtual impossible dream.  That sense of impossibility, too, becomes magnified when most so-called providers of reentry services and programming have no sense of real possibility to share with their “clients.”

I offer my experience with this blog as support for a greater sense of possibility for persons with criminal backgrounds—and for those who aspire (read: claim) to serve them.  I began the blog in June of 2010.  To date, 38 posts have generated 3,392 page views.  Twenty-two percent of those page views have come from outside of the United States: 8 percent from Slovenia, 5 percent from Russia, 3 percent from Germany, and 2 percent from France. Other page views have occurred in the Netherlands, China, Brazil, Japan, and Hong Kong.

 

As further support for a greater sense of possibility for convicted persons, I offer three other points.  I successfully completed five years of parole supervision earlier this year.  I also gained, and have maintained, a full-time job as a case manager at the largest homeless shelter for men in the state of Ohio—where the bulk of my clients have criminal backgrounds.  And, just this week, I completed the draft of my master’s thesis. I will soon graduate with a Master of Arts degree, in English, from Cleveland State University!

So, this Thanksgiving postscript signals an end, of sorts, as well as a new beginning.  While I hope to continue this blog, I suspect that it will take on a different tone and emphasis.  I’m less focused now on the obstacles to successful reentry, and more focused on contributing to that greater sense of possibility I referred to above.  I hope to post articles of empowerment that lift spirits and counter lowered expectations.  I also hope to create a greater sense of community, among convicted persons, and among those who truly want to help; a sense of community built on that greater sense of possibility.

WE must solve our own problems.  WE can best do that through building a community of folks who share our issues.  I hope that you are down for that.  I hope that you will stand up for that.  You can signal your support for this work, this mission, and this cause, in the comments section below.  If you’re reading this post via social media, you can “like” it and “share” it. 

You've survived the prison experience; you can overcome the obstacles to successful reentry, too.  If you didn't go to prison but you have a criminal conviction that thwarts your progress, let’s talk about it.  Together, we can make it better.

I expect 2013 to be a great year for me.  Let’s make it a great year for you too!