In the clip below, listen to one of my heroes, Akbar Cook, the principal of West Side High School in Newark, New Jersey. He says, "Let's put some loving people in the building...." If he is right, and this is, "...the new norm for education...," we all have a place in his vision and some work to do.
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One really creative initiative for keeping at risk boys out of jail was described in an article in the Milwaukee Neighborhood News (MNN). It's about a rolling jail cell on wheels! The mobile cell is part of the work of the Phenomenal Men’s Support Group (PMSG), a nonprofit dedicated to, ". . . helping youth make good decisions that lead to positive futures."
Johnson “Smithy” Chapman, a PMSG member, describes how they partnered with the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Department to create the “Cell on Wheels.” For the last six years, the group has taken their rolling jail cell to neighborhood events to show young people what it’s like to be incarcerated. They routinely visit community events including church gatherings, school events, and block parties.
Mr. Chapman said most of the PMSG members are men in their 50s. Like him, most are military veterans, and some have suffered negative life consequences, including incarceration because of substance abuse or drug dealing. After serving in Vietnam, Chapman himself struggled with PTSD and substance abuse, which led to a three-year jail sentence.
As the young people visit the rolling cell, the PMSG men are there telling them stories, encouraging them take their education seriously, and become contributing members of society. By creating Cell on Wheels, Mr. Chapman says he hopes to, ". . . shatter misconceptions and provide a clear picture of life in prison."
In this audio clip, Mr. Chapman describes what the PMSG men are doing:
To read the whole story about these men and their great idea, go to the full article in the Milwaukee Neighborhood News at this link.
"...use your life's experience to create a better world..."
What a great way to make a point to vulnerable youngsters, and to use your life's experience to create a better world at the same time. The PMSG men are doing their part to reduce youth incarceration and the school to prison pipeline. I can't help but wonder what our communities would be like if all men showed up sharing their important life experience with our boys in some way.
I honor the good men of the truly Phenomenal Men’s Support Group. Thank you for stepping up. You are all truly phenomenal!
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By Guest Reviewer: Brian Mier of Eagle Health Resources, Melbourne, Australia
Healing is a 2014 Australian movie about hope and the healing of the spirit in a most unlikely place. It ranks very high in my list of worthy movies about men – young and old – and men’s work.
The movie is based on a true story about a raptor rescue program at the Won Wron Correctional Centre, a low-security prison farm east of Melbourne. The heart of the film is about bringing together male prisoners, emotionally damaged by their past violent actions, and wounded birds of prey. It’s about how both men and raptors heal and prepare for release.
Viktor Khadem is in prison for the murder of his best friend, and has had no contact with the outside world for 18 years. He’s at Won Wron to get ready for release and re-entry. During a work detail in the bush, prisoners witness an eagle colliding with a barbed wire fence and being injured. This event gives rise to an unlikely partnership between Viktor and the bird which profoundly changes them both.
"Never look too deep into the abyss my friend, or the abyss will look back into you!"
How is it relevant to Man-Making? In addition to what happens between Viktor and the eagle in the film, we watch two older men, Viktor, the prisoner, and a case worker, each of whom has been damaged by events in their lives, as they help two younger prisoners. One young prisoner is in the pit of isolation with low self-esteem, and at the start is unable to look anyone in the eye with his head constantly bowed. The other is a brash young guy who is too easily influenced by others and is induced to be part of the drug circle at the prison camp. We often see both types of young men in society. Through mentoring and support, the young men work through issues such as anger, low self-esteem, guilt, and social isolation to rehabilitate themselves. In the process, these young men also find healing which takes place in unexpected and many-layered ways.
In this video clip you'll get a sample of the beauty of the location and some of the inter-play between the characters.
I liked how the film was different from so many prison dramas in that it doesn’t focus on the ugly and violent side of incarceration. Instead, it powerfully speaks to the need for prisoner rehabilitation and the importance of preparing men for re-entry into everyday life. It directly shows us the need for true healing of an incarcerated man or boy’s spirit prior to release, and the importance of intentionally reconnecting them with a realistic hope for a meaningful life.
In my view, this is a superb and inspiring movie to screen for discussion in any men’s group. I also think men working with younger males in a correctional setting would find it especially valuable.
At this Wikipedia link you can find a brief synopsis of the film, but there’s a lot more available with a quick web search. The DVD is also available on Amazon and through other movie outlets.
Brian Mier is a 70-year-old man who is Eldering with Purpose – offering his services to men, families and communities who are seeking to be the best they can be. He is the father of four adult children, eight grandkids, and loves taking the latter on Adventures with Grandpa to explore the simple beauty of life and relationships. You can contact Brian at info@eaglehealth.net.au
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Getting a tat (tattoo) can be an impulsive act, an artistic expression, a symbol of membership or affiliation, a historical record of the wearer, or simply a gesture that carries deep personal meaning. The tough thing about tats is that they stay when you and your life go on.
The history of the word tattoo is commonly believed to come from the Tahitian word ‘tatau’ which means ‘to mark something’. Regardless of where the word comes from, the practice is believed to be well over 5000 years old, and it is found in many ancient cultures.
One important historical use for tattoos or body scaring has been the marking of a young man’s body to honor his crossing into manhood and his new status in the community. The pain associated with this act was considered one of the ordeals required for a successful passage into manhood. The bearer was then instantly recognized in the community as a man with the status and responsibilities that went with his role.
Sadly, in the same way, tattoos are used today to claim membership in a street or prison gang. Gang tats, as in ancient times, can display a lot of information about the wearer. They can identify the gang, the wearer’s skills, where they are from, the type and number of both criminal activities and jail time. Even the size and where on the body the tat is placed carries meaning.
It’s not my place to judge the choice to tat or not. But I do like the idea that when a young person decides to check out of the gang life or when they get out of jail, not only can they sometimes find a fresh start, but the physical story of their past can often be erased from their skin.
Gang Rescue and Support Project (GRASP) is in Denver, Colorado. It’s an intervention program for young people 14-21 who are at-risk, in some way, of gang involvement. A big part of why GRASP is successful is because it’s run by ex-gang members who have gotten out of the lifestyle and turned their lives around. They know first-hand the dangers and challenges of stepping out of gang life and they can and do help.
Just one of GRASP's services is tat removal. In the video at this link, you can watch as ex-gang members get their tats removed and talk about the impact on them. As you will hear, getting tats removed is an important step, physically and emotionally, on the path out of gang life. What GRASP is doing is powerful work that can reduce violence and criminality in our communities. More importantly, it will save kid’s lives.
For more information, check out the GRASP website or give them a call at: 303-777-3117.
Check out these solid messages from GRASP in the clip below:
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I'm always pleased when I hear a story of how a man has reached out and had a positive impact on the life of a young male. Every once and a while, however, a story of a dedicated man, influencing (and sometimes saving) thousands of lives, just takes my breath away. This post is a book review by guest contributor Peter Sullivan. The book is, Tattoos on the Heart - The Power of Boundless Compassion.
I’ve recently read Tattoos on the Heart - The Power of Boundless Compassion by Father Gregory Boyle. Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. It is about a Jesuit Priest who has worked for over twenty years in a gang-intervention program. The program is located in a neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA, a community with a high concentration of murderous gang activity, over a hundred different gangs, and in what many consider to be the gang capital of the world. What Father G (as the boys call him) started is now called Homeboy Industries, a collection of business created to, assist at-risk and formerly gang involved youth to become positive and contributing members of society through job placement, training and education.
For anyone interested in mentoring boys, I don’t think there could be a better role model than Father G. Because he is loved, respected, and trusted, he is able to have a powerful influence on the young guys around him. The subtitle
of the book, "The Power of Boundless Compassion" speaks to Father Boyle's approach, and is dominant force you can feel in his work.
I was very deeply moved by Father Boyle's descriptions of the lives of the young men around him. The struggles they go through, the poverty, the violence, the need to keep up their "rep", as well as their loneliness, humor, and humanity. I came to actually admire and care about each character he portrayed. Because of my attachment to them, I also felt a deep sadness when, just as these young men were beginning to make progress and experience success, they would often be cut down in a senseless drive-by shooting or other violence. These individual stories are woven into parables that spoke directly to my heart in a way that the spiritual lessons couldn’t be missed and which profoundly changed my world view. Here is a quote from the book, which also describes what happened to me:
“If we choose to stand in the right place, God, through us, creates a community of resistance without our even realizing it . . . Our allocating ourselves with those who have been endlessly excluded becomes an act of visible protest. For no amount of our screaming at the people in charge to change things can change them. The margins don’t get erased by simply insisting that the powers-that-be erase them . . . The powers bent on waging war against the poor and the young and the “other” will only be moved to kinship when they observe it.”
I am part of a small group in my community called Just Faith. It's a program to encourage learning about social justice issues and then taking actions to help change things. In “Tattoos on the Heart" I was indeed "moved to kinship," and motivated to do what I can do to make a difference in the lives of the young men around me. For starters, we will be visiting homeless shelters in Camden, New Jersey. I am developing a plan, with others, to consider how we can move into action based on what we learned from Father Boyle’s book. I highly recommend it to the readers of this blog.
Tattoos on the Heart teaches us how to fight despair and to meet the world with a loving heart. It's a story of people overcoming shame and hopelessness and learning to stay strong in spite of failure. Maybe most importantly, it clearly demonstrates the impact unconditional love and boundless compassion can have in the lives of those giving and receiving it.
Here is a short video clip describing Homeboy Industries and Father Boyle's work:
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I’m in deep grief, a little disoriented, and angry.
Today’s New York Times has an editorial by President Jimmy Carter describing the dismal failure of America’s 40 year-old “war on drugs.” In addition to the tragic failure to limit drug consumption in the US, he describes an increase from a half-million people in prison when he left office in the 80’s to nearly 2.3 million by 2009. The increase can be attributed for over-incarceration of non-violent and often minor drug offenses. So much for another costly and failed war mostly fought on distant shores. If you add to the people in prison, those on probation or parole it adds up to 7.2 million. That means for every one hundred thousand Americans, 743 are in jail and 3 percent of all American adults are dealing with the justice system.
But that’s not the only reason I’m sad . . .
The dollar costs and human trauma represented by having that much of our population incarcerated is hard to imagine and reason enough for sadness. But there is a related statistic that really breaks my heart. A lot of those people in jail have kids. It is estimated that close to 2.5 million children have incarcerated parents, and they are living with the remaining and now single parent, their grandparents, or they are in some form of foster care. That’s almost 1 in 23 kids in the US. These are kids who, because of their family dynamics, neighborhoods, poverty, lack of education, or social influences are 4 times more likely to enter the criminal life.
But that’s not the only reason I’m sad . . .
Over the last year I have been working with communities and mentoring organizations who have been serving these Children of Incarcerated Parents (CIP’s) with funding from the Mentoring Children of Prisoners (MCP) federal grant. The grant was launched in 2010, and administered by the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB). It awarded $49.3 million dollars to support tribes, faith-based organizations, and hundreds of mentoring programs. That meant some 30,000 of those kids with parents in jail got a mentor who could help with homework, have some fun with them in their community, and all those kids would get to experience safe and trusting relationships with positive adult allies and mentors. In these relationships, kids found a source for objectivity and guidance around their very difficult life issues, they had role models for appropriate social behaviors, and they had a caring adults who could see, and frequently name, the beauty they saw in their mentee.
The MCP grant, and the amazing work done by so many dedicated staff, in countless organizations, and the gifts of time and energy from so many generous and caring adults who signed on to mentor CIP’s stops this September because the grant was shut down. Gone, done, unfunded, deleted. Something about we can’t afford to invest our own tax dollars at home, and why should we care about those people anyway.
Never mind the foolish shortsightedness of eliminating well-spent prevention money. What about a very large portion of those 30,000 kids with parents in jail, again, losing an important and caring adult in their lives. Again, finding themselves alone in facing almost insurmountable odds in their very hard lives.
Now THAT makes me really sad . . . and more than a little angry.
You?
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I am doing training workshops for Mentoring Children of Prisoners (MCP) grantees through MANY, the Mid-Atlantic Network of Youth and Family Services. The data indicates there are near two million children of incarcerated parents in the United States. For a variety of reasons, these kids are four times more likely to enter a life of crime than "normal" children. Organizations funded by the Federal MCP grant are working hard to connect these young people with good male and female mentors, and the hope of a better life. I'm proud to be connected to so many people doing such good work, in often very difficult conditions. They are some of my major sheroes and heroes.
An email from MANY today really shook me up. It announced the results of the budget cutting that is going on in the U.S. House of Representatives. The budget they passed includes cutting $100 billion dollars compared from the President's FY 2011 proposed budget. These cuts include, "zeroing out of the following youth programs: Mentoring Children of Prisoners, YouthBuild, Teen Pregnancy Prevention Community Grants, Teach for America, and State Grants for Incarcerated Youth. It also significantly cuts the Corporation for National and Community Service (the agency that runs the AmeriCorps programs), Juvenile Justice programs, Head Start, and 21st Century Learning Centers".
The H.R.1 bill now goes to the Senate and that is where the battle to serve at-risk and other youth is going to be fought. In all the years of publishing this blog, I have never mounted a soapbox in support of political agenda, but this time it feels necessary to take a stand. While I very much understand the need for fiscal restraint and deficit reduction, and don't want to see taxpayer dollars wasted on bad programs, the complete elimination of successful core safety net programs, for short term (and perhaps political) impact, seems too drastic and very shortsighted.
Congress is currently on recess and will return to Washington DC next week. When they return, the Senate will vote on this bill before it goes to the President. At that time, important decisions will be made which will have profound impact on millions of people going forward. If you care about the lives of children served by these programs, if you are concerned about the hidden costs (community violence, incarceration, damaged families, reduced literacy . . . etc.) that will certainly accrue when these populations are not served, if you care about the quality of life for everyone in this country, then now would be a good time to let your elected officials know how you feel. You can read the MANY email here and in it find guidance on how to approach your elected officials. IF you care, NOW is the time to act. Contact the youth/children staff members in your Representatives’ AND Senators' Washington, DC offices this week.
To learn more about Mentoring Children of Prisoners grant, how to support children of incarcerated parents, or to learn about the DVD: Troop 1500: Girl Scouts Beyond Bars, visit the Resource Center website for The Corporation for National and Community Service.
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In order to acquaint my readers with the wide variety of organizations working to make a difference in the lives of young males and their communities, I want to introduce the Alliance of Concerned Men (ACM). ACM is a nonprofit organization with the goal of saving lives of at risk youth in the high crime areas of the Washington DC metropolitan community. They are doing creative, and in my eyes, heroic work.
The ACM mission is to ". . . contain and prevent the cycle of violence, by building concentric cycles of care, support, and intervention . . ., " using a core set of values that include Love, Faith, Peace and Service. Beautiful. If you are tired of hearing about all the downside news of violence in your community, check out just a few of ACM's inspired programs:
A Gang Prevention and Outreach Program, the builds on collaboration with the police, various city agencies, community leaders, as well as the parents and neighbors of the youth involved. They call this, building concentric cycles of care, support, and intervention.
Their Fatherhood Initiative, that includes helping incarcerated fathers to connect with their children on the outside, and mentoring services for their families.
A very innovative program called The Prison Adopt-a-Block Program. In this initiative, ACM works with inmates who have the potential for becoming transformational leaders, and is built on the following, solid concepts: Their children, families and communities on the outside are hungering for the very commodity they represent—positive male leadership. The fact that many ex-offenders wish to “give something back” to the communities they once harmed, and their ex-offender status gives credibility and authority on the streets that neither law enforcement nor other “mentors” can hope to achieve.
In addition to the above, they have individual programs for identified very high risk kids, and even an in-school program to . . . assist students in their educational endeavors of earning a high school diploma or GED and prepare students for college, technical and or trade schools.
Here is what Eric Holder, US Attorney General has to say about ACM: I have great respect for the Alliance. I’ve seen the miracle they’ve brought. It needs to be duplicated. It can work in New York, Detroit, Los Angeles, and any other community in America with similar problems.
To learn more about this group bringing hope to incarcerated parents, their kids and families, reducing the cycles of violence in their community, and helping low income kids meet their educational objectives, check out the ACM website. Knowing these dedicated brothers and sisters in mission are doing their very good work gives me hope for a better world.
PS: The ACM headquarters burned down just after Xmas putting a serious dent into their abilities to provide services. If you want to support their work, you can contact them or make a donation on their site.
I was recently invited to speak at a conference about Mentoring the Children of Prisoners. It is being sponsored by MANY, the Mid-Atlantic Network of Youth & Family Services in Pittsburgh, PA. This conference comes out of the sad story about the challenges facing the children who have an incarcerated parent. With more than 5.6 million Americans in prison or who have served time, the U.S has the highest incarceration rate in the world (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2003). Right now, one in forty children in the U.S. have a parent in prison. In relationship to this huge need for mentoring and support, there are relatively few agencies or programs to help these children. The result is that children of prisoners are among the most at-risk population of children in our country.
Research from the Arizona Children of Prisoners Bill of Rights Project (2007) showed that just in my winter home state of Arizona, there were 175,000 children with parent/s in jail, prison, or on probation. The discussions and focus groups they conducted indicated that these children often lacked food, shelter, clothing, parental guidance, good role models, love, societal acceptance, a basic sense of security, and stability in their lives. The absence of these basic nutrients almost invites a child into a life of crime for survival. Research indicates these children are six times more likely than other children to become incarcerated at some point in their lives.
To learn more about opportunities for man-making with this very needy population contact the Resource Center. They are a provider for the federal Corporation for National and Community Service. The Resource Center's site offers lots of background information, links to related topics, and suggested volunteer opportunities.
You can also just do a Google search on Mentoring the Children of Prisoners in your state and see what comes up. If you want to be on the front lines of man-making, this could be a very good place to begin.
This incredible video clip of Daniel Beaty was recommended by Man-Making Blog reader Erick Rainey. It's performed by Daniel Beaty, an an actor, singer, writer, and composer. In this powerful, two and a half minute experience, he passionately and poetically states the need for Man-Makers, and puts out a call to action at the same time.
It is so elegant I really can't (shouldn't) add anything . . . just sit down, open your heart, and click the play button. You WILL feel what he's talking about.
Here is a great Man-Making program suggestion from Lowell Johnson, a Minnesota subscriber.
Earl, I think you and your readers might be interested to know about the FRED program here in the Brainerd Lakes Area of Minnesota. Fathers Reading Every Day (FRED) is a national program which encourages men to connect with young children by reading to them regularly. We are in the third year of programming and will have almost 2000 participants at 11 different sites by our June 30 year's end. We have expanded the standard FRED format to include an option called Run and Read where we play a lot of active games as well as read to kids and give away free books. A new FRED development this year has us doing parent/literacy education to inmates of the Crow Wing County jail.
I believe FRED is a great Man-Making program because it's a non-threatening way for men to connect with young children in a positive way. If any of your readers would like more information about FRED, they can reach me at ljohnson@brainerd.net. Keep up your good work!
I have lots of fond memories of being read to, mostly by teachers. I especially liked when the stories were done in a serial fashion and you'd have to wait a day to get to the next exciting installment. We do the same thing on a boys to men weekend utilizing a storyteller. That last thing to happen prior to bedtime on both Friday and Saturday night is that a man will read or tell the initiates a compelling and relevant story. Don't ever under estimate the power of a good story to interest, inspire, and calm down a group of adolescent males. A campfire doesn't hurt either.
FRED was originally developed by Lynn Bourland White and Stephen Greene in 2001 at the Texas Cooperative Extension at Texas A&M University. The program was named for Fred Bourland, who read to his children as they grew up. For more information on this program, you can contact Lowell Johnson at his email above or you can contact Steve Green directly at Texas A&M at (979) 845-6468 or s-green@tamu.edu
Lowell is right! The idea of men reading to kids at home, as volunteers in schools, in support of young fathers in prison, on a rite-of-passage weekend, or in any setting, is indeed first class man-making.
Usiko is both an organization and a program in South Africa which deals with youth at risk and young people in conflict with the law. Started in 2000, they state that they are in the business of . . . healing youths by taking them through our rites of passage programs, giving them both the confidence and skills to become leaders in their communities.
Usiko was established in response to the legacy of apartheid. The painful socio-economic disparity that still exists between rich and poor, typically following racial lines, as many of the disadvantaged communities continue to suffer from high alcoholism, unemployment, low income, low educational levels, domestic violence, child abuse, and the prevalence of gang cultures.
On their website, they quote an old Zulu saying: You are the stories you make about yourself. They believe that young people in disadvantaged areas… join gangs because they need to build both real and magical contexts for themselves in the absence of strong family bonds. They need to make stories about themselves.
At Usiko camps, by using . . . ancient and modern rituals, powerful real-life experiences, mentor support, and the balm of affirmation, we help young people create new stories about their lives. Stories with different outcomes. Our programs are the most powerful buttresses we know against the lure of gang life. They work - spectacularly.
On the Child justice link on their site you'll find this poem. It's a tragically eloquent description of what happens in young males when Man-Making comes from the dark side.
I have been sent to Sea Point Police Station, Where I was beaten by civil servants, I have been to Polsmoor Prison, Where I was sodomized And left bleeding On the damp floor. I have been to Places of Safety and Reformatories Where I was hardened by Warders and fellow inmates, Where I learned to hold on To what was mine and take From those who could not fight. I am now the perpetrator of violence And not the victim. On the streets I am a law unto myself.
