A Failure

I set up a bursary to help inmates with further education. I understood that education was the proven way out of crime. But some men and women had already obtained a high school diploma, so the prison system would do nothing for them. And there were others who just wanted to take a college course in a subject they were interested in, high school diploma or not.

I moved carefully at the beginning. It would be better if the donations were handled by a trusted group that could issue a tax receipt to people. I talked to the John Howard Society and they agreed to sponsor this effort. http://www.edgriffin.net/bursary.html/

Now comes the failure. I’m not out in the streets promoting this bursary. Yes, I mention it now and then in this blog, but I don’t contact other businesses, or certain charities or rich individuals. Why not?

Maybe I’m afraid of people yapping about “Those dirty convicts, I wouldn’t give them a dime.” I pay attention to stories in the news about criminals and I must say the media is far from objective. I know that with some people, I would have to remind them that these are human beings we’re talking about, human beings who are going to get out of prison someday.

Maybe it’s just my nature NOT to raise money. When I was a Catholic priest, I absolutely hated to raise money. Several times a year the bishop would send a letter that we had to read at every mass, raising money for this or that Catholic charity. I said to myself that I didn’t get ordained to raise money. Either I skipped it entirely or I skimmed over it.

That sounds like an excuse to me. What’s the matter with me?

Education is the Proven Way out of Crime.

I started teaching in a Canadian prison in the early nineties. I met a few inmates who had been in the prison’s college program in the eighties. All of them were changed people, men and women. Maybe there were some failures, but I never met any. These people had studied literature and science and math, all the usual programs of a university degree. The instructors came from a near-by university, Simon Fraser University. I never saw the program in action, but I learned about it from the students and from comments made by administration.

•             Sarah seemed to know who she was after taking the program. She was no longer a failure, a drug addict, but she was a proud woman who was ready to write and to teach at a high school level. While she was in college, she stayed in the prison’s infirmary in this all-male prison.
•             Tom learned about the environment and after his release, he became an environmental employee for the government.
•             I don’t know where Luke ended up, but I could tell by talking to him that he was finished with the life of crime.

Why did the administration kill the program? I got a lot of different answers from people:

• Because the average family had to pay for university education for their children and these evil convicts were getting it for nothing.
• Because a degree was too much for the average convict. Never mind literature or science, these guys needed a good welding program.
• Because graduates of the program began to question everything in the prison and in fact the whole institution.

Parents know that a high school diploma is not enough in today’s world. Their children need a college education, even a master’s degree, to succeed. Yet the prison system stops at grade twelve. If a student wants more, he has to pay for it himself or herself.

This is why I started a bursary with the John Howard Society. This group helps inmates in prison and out of prison. They give a tax-receipt for donations. Inmates apply for the grant and if they succeed, the John Howard Society sends money not to the individual but to the institution. This year three inmates split twelve hundred dollars, rather their universities did.

The only fund-raiser for this project is me. I’m not very good at that, but I want it to succeed. I really do believe that education is the way out of crime. I’m going to change the way I sell my 7 books – 25% of the sales will go to this bursary. That’s a little more advertising and a little more money.

I’d appreciate any suggestions about how to advertise this bursary.

P.S.  “Harsh Justice: Comparing Prisons Around the World” would be a great fit for your blog. Here’s the link: http://www.criminaljusticedegreehub.com/worldprisons/.

P.S. #2 “How Big Is the Drug Trade?”, that I think falls right in line with theme of your blog. Here’s the link: http://www.top-criminal-justice-schools.net/drug-trade

Education is the Proven Way out of Crime

Good news. The John Howard Society has granted three inmates portions of the Ed Griffin bursary. The money goes to educational institutions, not to the individuals.

•  One man is working toward a college degree. He has a long sentence for a serious crime, but prison officials, teachers and the chaplain all agree that he’s a changed man.
•  Education is a big part of his plan for reform, but the prison system doesn’t pay for any classes beyond grade twelve.
•  The second man wants to take his first university course. He’s almost finished getting his Dogwood diploma (Highest high school diploma)
•  The third man is working toward a PhD in education. He’s on parole now with another year to go before he’s finished his sentence. Working toward a doctorate in any subject is a challenge in a prison setting or in a parole setting.

I’m very happy that something I did has helped these three men. Where I have failed is in raising money. I sort of know what has to be done, but I haven’t done it. My job is to explain all this to the general public. To explain that education is the proven way out of crime. That the prison system only provides education up to and including grade twelve.

More than that, I have to put this in front of the public. We hear about heart problems, cancer, etc. etc. We’re asked to help children in the third world. But how can I help people see that education is the way out of crime? I have to try harder, to be bolder than I am now.

P.S. For an interesting view of private prisons in the States, http://blog.arrestrecords.com/infographic-privatization-of-the-us-prison-system/.

Helping Inmates in Prison

I’m not very good at raising money. It’s kind of embarrassing from me to ask for money for any cause. But on the other hand, people ask me what they can do to help people in prison. It isn’t practical for them to become official volunteers in prison, but they’d still like to do something.

An educational bursary is a perfect idea.

The Ed Griffin Educational Bursary

A man in a Fraser Valley prison struggles to complete his degree. It’s part of his correctional plan that he finish, but there’s no money in the system to pay for courses. A female inmate wants to become a drug and alcohol counselor to help others avoid the pitfalls that led her to jail. She just needs a few college courses, but the little money she earns in prison ($6.90 a day) goes for phone calls to stay close to her family. She can’t afford tuition.

Through the John Howard Society, a humanitarian organization (http://www.johnhowardbc.ca/), Ed Griffin has set up a bursary to help BC inmates with the expenses of higher education. Those who seek education are trying to better themselves. They know that education is the proven way out of crime. You will receive a tax receipt from the John Howard Society, who will in turn present money to the educational institution that the winning inmate has chosen. To donate, simply follow the directions below.

To donate by cheque: 
Mail to:
John Howard Society of BC,
Attention the Ed Griffin Bursary Committee
763 Kingsway
Vancouver, BC
V5V 3C2

To donate by credit card or interac:
Go to http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=s5877
On the second page, Donation Details, be sure to mention “For the Ed Griffin bursary account.”

The John Howard Society of BC is a registered Canadian non-profit charity created to work within the criminal justice system promoting safe and peaceful communities.

The John Howard Society of BC and the Ed Griffin Family have established a program to promote, encourage and sponsor the continuing education of individuals who have been incarcerated in the Canadian Correctional System.  To be eligible, the applicant must have participated in educational programs within the Correctional Service of Canada or the British Columbia Provincial Correctional System.  The applicant must be enrolled in a registered educational institution.  Studies may be part- time or full-time. Studies should be directed toward the specific goals of enhancing the individual’s literacy and employment skills, and to assist the individual with reintegrating into society as a contributing citizen.

Applicants to the Ed Griffin Bursary must:

• Be a Canadian Citizen or Landed Immigrant
• Be enrolled as a full-time or part-time student in the next academic school year, at a recognized university, community college, technical institute or other post-secondary institution for advanced learning
• Must have participated in educational programs within the Correctional Service of Canada or British Columbia Provincial Correctional System
• Write a letter as your application and you may submit an essay specifying the reasons why they should be considered for the bursary. This bursary has a special, but not exclusive, interest in creative writing.

Life in Prison

Ten years ago Hal made a terrible mistake. Everybody at the party was drinking and drinking a lot. Hal kept up with the crowd and in fact, surpassed them. After the party he went to another party and ran into an old buddy, he’d gone to high school with. The buddy drank a little, but nothing like Hal. They decided to go for a late night walk, and Hal took his bottle along.

An hour later the buddy lay dead on a path around a lake. Hal received a life sentence.

You would think that the prison system would focus in on his drinking, but they didn’t. Aside from his drinking, Hal was an accomplished young man – graduated from high school and had finished two years of college, just as the buddy had. Now Hal faced life in prison, either a meaningless life of prison gangs and violence or a life of improving himself. He chose the latter. He felt that if he worked hard and did the best he could, somehow he would be honoring his dead buddy. It was not giving the man his life back, but it was the best he could do.

The prison didn’t help him. They don’t pay for any post high school classes for anybody, so Hal hunted for grants and bursaries. With the generous help of a relative and applying for bursaries and grants, he finished college and has now started his masters.

All on his own he goes to AA.

What is wrong with our prison system? Education is the proven way out of crime. It’s much cheaper to pay for a college education than it is to pay the $100 a day it costs to keep a man in prison.

What the prison won’t do, I’m trying to do in a small way. I’ve set up a bursary to help incarcerated men and women with post grad education. The money goes, not to the person, but to the college or university. And a non-profit society manages the fund, the John Howard Society (http://www.johnhoward.ca/) so contributions are tax deductible. Recently $500 went to Hal’s university to help with his masters’ degree.

Hal is trying to make up for his crime. Help him, please, and others like him. Make a tax-deductible contribution (http://edgriffin.net/bursary.html )

Players on Stage

This week I’m happy to present another blog by our Fraser Valley inmate.

A note on this man. He was one of the very first winners of the money from my bursary and he plans to use the money for environmental studies. The funds will go directly to the university of his choice. However, for him it will only be a start. $250 is only a beginning to university studies. (This is a plug to see more donations to this bursary which the John Howard Society administers — http://edgriffin.net/bursary.html ). Education is the proven way out of crime.

In his letter to me this inmate told me some sad news. Sometimes the judge sends a man to prison for some charges, while other charges are still pending. This inmate just received news that seven years has been added to his sentence. I don’t know his crime, but I’ve been thinking about those seven years. Seven years of what?

• Seven years of a dynamic program to deal with his crime? No. Just a few cookie-cutter programs to take.
• Seven years of advanced education so that he can make a living when he gets out? No. He’s already got a high school diploma, that’s all the system pays for.
• Seven years of apprenticeship in a trade. No.
• Seven years of mentored individual study leading to a degree? No. The system does not pay for any post secondary education.
• Seven years of boredom, seven years of being warehoused, seven years more of crime school, seven years of wearing a mask, as described below — YES

 

Players on Stage

It was Shakespeare who said, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his life plays many parts.”

The prison system is its own little world where the words of Shakespeare ring true every day.

Our prison system is a stage where a tragic comedy plays out on a daily basis. Both sides of the equation playing their parts according to scripts that have been written over time with little, and I mean very little, room for improvisation.

Among inmates there is the expectation that one will live by the ‘inmate code,’ however ridiculous it may be at times. For instance, even if I know that an inmate is in the wrong about something involving staff or administration, the expectation is that I take his side no matter how wrong he may be. This does, of course, lead to support for some pretty paranoid and suspicious views that to any rational person would be bordering on mental disorder. This is the game we play because too many of us don’t want to hear the truth or accept that “the man” many sometimes have a point.

On the other side there are the same types of behaviour playing out. Among guards there is an expectation of unity, lest they show weakness in front of the inmate population. It is not very often you will see a guard contradict or go against what another guard has done even if they are in the wrong. POs (parole officers) rarely will go out and say that something that a previous PO has done regarding an inmate’s file is wrong. They merely pretend that no mistakes have been made, and that the

Think outside the box, end up inside one.

system is infallible. The system doesn’t encourage original thought, and eventually it grinds down idealists and original thinkers under the weight of apathy.

It’s sad that we have to play the game like this with too many of us having to become players on this scripted stage that leaves little room for creativity or original thought. We all wear our masks and play the roles that we believe are expected of us and go through the motions every day. It’s time to play a different role; it’s time to change the script.

Images courtesy of:

• ilene.typepad.com
• finestkiss.wordpress.com
• cartoonstock.com
• forbes.com

Who Helps Inmates?

Helping inmates is not like other causes such as helping flood victims or cancer sufferers. I don’t know of a single Hollywood star or singer who signs up to help inmates. This is especially surprising since some of them were inmates. I’m thinking of a well-known comedian who did time.

So who helps inmates? The John Howard Society for one. They help men in prison and especially when they get out of prison, a very critical time for an inmate. In my community they run a half way house that’s a model for others. Management of the house works to keep the neighbors informed and supportive. The John Howard Society takes care of the bursary that I established to help inmates with further education. (If you’d like to donate, here’s the link   http://edgriffin.net/bursary.html) The bursary is for men or women in prison.

John Howard was a great prison reformer who lived from 1726 to 1790 in England.

The organization that helps female inmates in Canada is called the Elizabeth Fry Society. http://www.elizabethfry.com/   They operate a very quiet and successful halfway house for women in my immediate neighborhood.

Both organizations struggle for funds, but it’s in the self-interest of the community to support them. They’re just trying to make things safe for us.

 

Images courtesy of:

• dawn.thot.net
• jhswindsor.org
• eventbrite.com

Amazing Staff

I often complain about the staff who work in prison, but I have to mention some outstanding staff. One who comes to mind is a teacher. She works for about half of what she could make in the public school system. I’m talking $25 dollars an hour compared to $50 an hour. That’s a substantial difference.

She works for a private company who won the contract from the prison system. Like so many other things in prison, it’s the low bidder who usually wins the contract.

This teacher has no union to protect her, but she teaches on, giving a hundred and fifty percent of herself. “Damn fine teacher,” one inmate says. “Taught me how to read,” another says.

The men respond to her because she respects them. Does she have trouble in her classroom, fights breaking out? No. And if a few guys get close to mixing it up, other inmates stop them. “Take it to the yard,” they say.

She teaches basic skills and hopes to bring each man to a high school diploma or an equivalent diploma. Sadly, there is no higher education in prison unless an inmate pays for it. That’s why I set up a bursary  (http://edgriffin.net/bursary.html)

I doubt if society will ever acknowledge teachers like this. She is the true ‘crime fighter.’ Since education is the proven way out of crime, she is at the center of the rehabilitation process.

People do everything to get the dandelions out of their yards. They spray them with deadly chemicals, they root them out with sharp instruments. Here’s a woman who works with dandelions, respects them and helps change them into good members of society. Kudos to a teacher who cares.

 

 

 

Images courtesy of:

• eyeontheedge.blogspot.com // dandelion
• school-clipart.com // teacher
• familycrafts.about.com // best