Growth of the Re-entry Network and Vision for 2009

By Ivan A Owens ADC#114488
It has been am arduous journey from the inception of my motivation for “Fair Chance Ministries” and the Re-Entry Network in 2007. At that time I was at Arizona State Prison complex – Kingman unit (ASPC Kingman Unit).

In conjunction with the unconditional love and support I get from my church family, the coordinated efforts o Prison Chaplains, and prison ministry volunteers who selflessly give of their time and resources in preparing the ex-offender towards success of life, we have had our share of rejection, set backs, and personal shortcomings of all sorts. Nonetheless, this labor towards the challenges that lie ahead of us on this quest. As we know, that witch dose not kill us only makes us stronger.

“Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.” James 1:3 KJV, and “ there hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it” 1 Corinthians 10:13 KJV.

With this hope I am convinced more now that ever that it is within God’s purpose and plan for our work to move forward, As his handprint is clearly seen on everything we have accomplished so far, he will see us through this time by His Grace. However we need your help as it will take a communities effort to bring this dream to fruition.

On May 17, 2008 I was featured in a news paper article written by John Rudolf of the “Today’s News-Herald” which serves Lake Havasu City and Lower Colorado River area, In the article under the subsection “Prisoners under stress” Mr. Rudolf states: “Increasing from about 20,000 in 1995 to slightly less than 35,000 in 2005, Arizona’s prisons populations is expanding fast, and shows no sign of slowing. The financial burden of incarceration is growing even faster. Between 1997 and 2007, spending on prisons more than doubled from $409 million to $817 million. This was before our current economic crisis erupted.

If those trends persist over the next ten years the growth rate of Arizona’s prison population will outstrip virtually every other state in the nation. According to a Study by the Council of State Government’s Justice Center, Arizona’s state prison population is predicted to increase by 52 percent between 2007 and 2017, from 35,000 to 56,000.

Yet, perhaps, the greatest pressure on the prison system is the state’s high recidivism rate. Which returns 42 percent of all those released back to prison within three years. One-third of those admitted to prison are those who have violated probation, with 17 percent more locked up for parole violations.

What I am led to believe based on Mr. Rudolf’s research is that the state is not looking to find solutions to this problem. This is evidenced by the fact that the state of Arizona had existing contracts with (for profit Management and training Corporation MTC) which is currently building a prison facility in Kingman, Arizona, that will house 2000 inmates.

It is up to the individual ex-offender seeking positive change, and his church and neighborhood, to help make a way for successful re-entries into the community by prevailing a pathway that leads to success for life beyond the first three year period post incarceration The old way of dumping ex-offenders of on society bitter, angry and ill equipped for coping with the challenges, is played out.

We must move beyond the superficiality of providing cosmetic services to ex-offenders reentering the community, to effective new methods that will last. Merely opening a 72 hour window (in a three year black hole) for these guys to connect with agencies who will help them find a place to stay and employment is asking for trouble. This process calls for more that a suit, buss pass, a food box, then leaving them to their own devices on a park bench. This program must have substance, ant I must start early working from the inside out.

Realistically, as a member of our progressively maturing society when a ex-offender reenters the community would you rather see him/her working to become a better person, or in a parking lot breaking into your car while you are inside working to earn a living? Case in point, it takes all of us to make our world a better and safer place.

In this light we now enter 2009 with a fresh new vision. As the author of “The Reentry Network,” I believe that ex-offenders reentering the community can realize their full potential, as good citizens, and their right to a healthy and productive life when they truly apply themselves and are bolstered by a community who cares, and encourages them to do so.’

I am Ivan A. Owen, and on May 28,2008 I was transferred here to ASPC-Lewis Bachman Unit from the ASPC-Kingman Unit. I have been in the custody of the Arizona State Prison System for over three years now. During this period of incarceration I have been privileged to grow and encourage other inmates as well as prison staff to get out of the problem, and become part of the solution.

Today I am a proud member of a Christian Men’s Movement founded by the late Dr. Edwin Louis Cole, known as “the father of the Christian Men’s Movement,” and I have entered the final year of my sentence 5.5-year prison sentence received for selling a $20.00 rock of crack cocaine to an undercover Phoenix police officer. To be more specific I was entrapped by an undercover Phoenix police officer who asked me to take him to where he could purchase a $20.00 rock cocaine. Because I accepted $3.00 from him to support my crack habit the county prosecutor gave me two choices.

1. Take a deal on modified charge of “attempted possession of a narcotic drug for sale,” and get 5.5 years or…
2. Go to trial and take the chance of getting 18 years for selling a narcotic drug to an undercover police officer. All this took place while I was a homeless crack head on the lamb in Phoenix suffering from mental and emotional problems in August of 2004.

I left Phoenix in late August of 2004, and relocated to Tucson where I had been for nearly for a full year before this pretty kettle o fish caught up with me in June 2005. Unknown to me there was an outstanding secret indictment warrant out for my arrest steaming from that August 2004 incident in Phoenix. While I was in Tucson I cleaned myself up, and became a better human being.

During the time I spent in Tucson re-inventing myself, I was lent a hand by a community who cared and encouraged me to do so. My friends at the primavera Foundation took me in off the streets and gave me employment and a place to live. Due to the tenacious efforts of my advocates at the Arizona Center for Disability Law, I finally secured AHCCS to address mental and emotional issues at the core of my bout with drugs and other personal irresponsibility. The center made sure that La Frontera behavioral Health Services provided me with all the help I was due as a person with special needs. I was also led to a terrific church home (St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church) where I instantly received a warm welcome from this great Christian Community.

St. Mark’s is undeniably settled on out solid rock. At. St. Mark’s I have a fantastic Christian family. In May of 2005 I became a confirmed member and I have always been accepted there without rigid preconditions. St. Mark’s has supported me throughout my incarceration and my sisters and brothers in that Christian Community forget my dear friends at Tucson’s Arizona Theater Company facility who accepted me unconditionally and helped restore in me a sense of human decency, belonging and self-respect when I was on the rebound.

The Status Quo
For over three years now since my incarceration, as a result of my efforts to re-invent myself, I have been set free from my dependency on medications once needed for me to cope with the daily tasks such as getting out of bed, bathing, and dressing myself. I gave up the use of any pharmaceutical drugs unless I have absolutely no choice but to use them which has been a rarity. I also gave up smoking and the use of caffeinated beverages.

While at ASPC-Florence, East Unit in early 2006, and before being transferred from that unit on January 29, 2007; I was led in the spirit to do some writing projects to make know how God is working on me. Here, drawing from many failures in life I turned out a number of positive papers from an incarcerated Christian perspective. These writings coupled with my consisted efforts to get out of the problem and become a viable part of the solution have given encouragement to both inmate and prison staff, as well as many folk in the community.

On January 29th, 2007 I hit the deck at ASPC Kingman unit with both feet running, and through May 28th 2008 god allowed me to make great strides there. I played an instrumental role as a substance abuse teacher’s aide working for the Substance Abuse Department. Working on a volunteer basis I helped one instructor start and facilitate a behavior modification group called “Why Try.” “Why Try” was a huge success. While active in many other Christian Men programs, along with over thirty other brothers in Christ, on December 1, 2007 I graduated from a three year long “maximized manhood” course that we completed in nine months. We were commissioned by Jack King, (understudy to the late Dr. Edwin Lewis Cole and the founder of Faithful Men Ministries) as members of Faithful Men Ministries with the authority to make disciples of men. I have been empowered through the Holy Spirit to have made disciples of many men from many different racial backgrounds and walks of life, and those men reentered the community as better persons for the positive works they accomplished while serving their time. I have received good word that these men are having a profound impact of their own on the lives of many in the community.

At Kingman, I also volunteered my services to the Chaplains office in whatever capacity I was permitted. I was the door man of both English and Spanish Christian Services. This work bridged gaps that traditionally divide us and established a united intercultural Christian front as we supported each other in the presence of many witnesses. There is strength in numbers and as our numbers grow the stronger we become. “When God is for you who can be against you.” Our strength was self evident in the respect shown us by all who knew we are Christians, and those who knew us were in the majority of the population there.

I was also helpful in getting the “Celebrate Recovery Group” off to a good start as part of Kingman’s Religious Programs, and I completed a public speaking class by a volunteer Pastor from Lake Havasu City before I was transferred May 28, 2008.

Before graduating from the public Speaking Class on May 27, 2008 along with the Chaplain and others, I was part of a May 17, 2008 feature Article written about the positive effects of Faith Based Prison Programs at the Kingman unit. That article was written by John Rudolf of the “Today’s News Herald” of Lake Havasu City. I am told that same article was ran again in June of 2008. it was also picked up by other news agencies through out Arizona, and by the Associated Press.

Our December 1, 2007 graduation from “Maximized Manhood” also made the news. The Kingman unit was the first prison unit to implement such a faith based initiative in this prison system. As a result of our success the maximized manhood program is now a regular part of Kingman unit programs curriculum.

The most passionate memory I carry with me about Kingman is about the success of our prayer circle on the yard. Before the yard closed for evening count each night, we brothers in Christ got together for evening prayer. We would form a human circle, and exchange prayers for the world, our cities and borderlands, our loved ones, the inmates, prison staff and administration, the eradication of racism and racial separation on the yard and just whatever needs we could think of that day.

After prayer brothers from all the different race groups without shame or fear of reprisal would openly embrace in brotherly love. The night before my departure from Kingman 49 brothers showed up to pray me out, and I recently received good word that the prayer circle is still going strong. This will never be a priceless jewel for me.

I write you this letter because I am persuaded that this work is God’s will, and to give you an account of how He is blessing this task, and allowing me to be a blessing to many others. Moreover, to let you know how much we need your involvement in brining this vision of the ex-offender re-entering the Community to fruition.

As I wrote in my original treatise on this subject nearly three years ago: Departing from unsuccessful traditional methods we are accustomed to in dealing with these problems (now) in this year 2009, God has revived my vision for alternative approaches for addressing the issue of drug addiction and backsliding in America.

Drawing from my many past failures, and now my many successes, I know that some of our greatest problems come from serious catastrophic failures in Management and a lack of trained Behavioral Modification therapists. Trained staff who specialize in meeting the needs of people who suffer from drug addiction and backsliding and who care about producing workable solutions to these ongoing problems that plague our society. Pertaining to these very real and present threats to self determination, I care and I know what it takes to make a fresh approach work. trust me on this one.

Here I introduce you to “Fair Chance Ministry” and the “Re-Entry Network.” We are a non-profit Christ based initiative, interfaith in scope, and we recognize the inherent dignity and equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family. These rights are the foundation of Freedom, Justice and Peace in the world. Each person in the human family has a right to full development of his or her personality and potential. Here we strive for holistic change in keeping with tenants of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Sound Christian Doctrine.

In contrast to prison reform, our mission is to be personally committed to prisoners who are trying to do better. Through the Re-Entry Network, our aim is to link ex-offenders who demonstrate self improvement with individuals, businesses and organizations who are willing to risk going the extra mile to support and help them pave a pathway to becoming productive citizens.

We know that the negative effects of drug addiction and backsliding are far reaching, and we are doing something about it. Drug addiction and backsliding in the United States is not exclusive to any given class. Both the wealthy and influential and the lowliest wino and transient living on the street can fall victim to it. Their families, friends, work colleagues, every one whose life they touch, are affected by it. We hear more every day about big named celebrities coming for ward in favor of rehabilitation as an alternative to the (tired old way) punishment, resulting from their battles with addiction. They all have tragic stories of those among their ranks who have lost their positions in life, or their lives, and brought shame upon themselves, their families, friends, and loved ones as a result of their drug use. President Obama is outspoken about our nations insatiable and voracious appetite for illegal drugs coming into the United States from Mexico. According to a recent article featured in the April 6, 2009 issue of Time Magazine, “the Obama administration hopes to reduce demand by expanding drug court programs that require rehabilitation. But if the U.S. wants a real, long term solution to the drug crisis, it is going to have to do more than that.”

In “The Hidden Problem of the time Served in Prison” Maver wrote: “If we are to some day reverse these trends and move toward a more humane and constructive response to interpersonal conflict, it behooves us to both transform the political climate in which policies are developed and to identify the particular policy changes necessary to move toward no incarceration.”

He went on to say “these are clearly all important areas of attention and indeed, there is evidence of some impact on diverting offenders from prison. Suck examples include drug courts and other treatment oriented diversion structures, sentencing guideline mechanisms that encourage community based sanctions for parole violations that avoid lengthy new prison terms.

Recent U.S. Justice Department reports show that the U.S. incarceration rate is the world’s highest followed by Russia. During recent years in the U.S. the total federal, State, and local adult correctional population incarcerated or in the community grew from 159,500 persons to over 7.2 million.

Since the enactment of Mandatory minimum sentencing for drug users, the Federal Bureau of Prison’s Budget has increased by 1,954%. Its budget jumped from $220 million in 1986 to more than $4.3 billion in 2001. See prisons, jails, and probation overview at: www.drugwarfacts.org/prison/htm for this complete report.

According to the International Center for Prison Studies at Kings College in London, commenting on the prison figures show about U.S. society, King said various social programs, including those dealing with education, poverty, urban development, health care, and child care have failed.

“There are a number of social programs we have failed to deliver. There are systemic failures going on, and this is a programs failure of which President Obama and his team will need to rid the American people.
In Marshall v. United States 414 U.S. 417,421 (1974) the U.S. Supreme Court stated in the context of drug addiction, “There is no fundamental right to rehabilitation…at public expense after the conviction of a crime.”

I’m dreadfully sorry, but locking people up for committing petty crimes (at a cost to the tax payers of over $25,000 a year per inmate) to support their drug addiction is doing absolutely nothing to solve this problem, and I speak from experience. As a matter of fact there are as many or more drugs in prison than there are on the streets. In many cases a person doing time for using, leaves prison with a worse addiction than they had coming when incarcerated.

We are looking at some very serious failures when it comes to traditional methods: the halfway house, drug rehab, and homeless shelter way of dealing with this urgent problem that must be changed for the better. We have been slumbering on this too long now and we need to wake up and smell the coffee. This is not a criminal justice problem; it is the American peoples problem. In the spirit of the Good Samaritan we, the American people must come to the aid of those who are falling by the wayside.

I continue my one-on-one efforts with inmates (using my limited knowledge and access to outside resources) when they seek me out for help in preparing their reentries. “One inmate at a time” we are developing workable solutions to meet our challenges, and with the dedicated support of a few loyal prison ministry volunteers we are finding ways of overcoming obstacles that have hindered our progress in the past. These trusty servants of God are qualified and reliable for this task. To them this is indeed a labor of love, and they are helping us acquire tools that given access upon reentry, will equip us to be the men our families and community need us to be while successfully overcoming life’s challenges.

Although we have had and still have our share of challenges, here at ASPC-Lewis Bachman Unit, I continue the good work God began in me at East Unit in 2006 and we are witnessing the dream come to fruition. However, for this dream to be fully manifest we need more resources and serious long term commitments.

While I was at the ASPC-Kingman Unit I was heavily involved in the Christian programs there, so it was not unusual for me upon my (May 28, 2008) arrival here at ASPC-Lewis Bachman Unit to immediately seek out Chaplain Okonkwo to see how I could be of assistance to him in this ministry. His ministry is concerned with developing workable solutions to help change the mundane mind-set of the average inmate toward success for life.

Without wasting anytime upon my arrival I began offering my services as a volunteer in the ministry by encouraging our fellow inmates to stop just doing time but to see this time as an opportunity for maturing, personal growth and positive change.

We are witnessing a remarkable turn around for the good in the ministry among the inmate population as we encourage inmates to take advantage of various programs to reinvent themselves.

Our numbers in the Christian community are once again on the rise. With each new week we are increasing, and I continue to thank God for this ministry which includes Chaplain Okonkwo and our volunteers from the “Life Changing Prison Ministries.”

Our volunteers, who come to us from “Prison Fellowship Ministries” for our Tuesday night Discipleship group are still with us and we are also enjoying an outstanding increase in attendance there. Although we have seen some set backs in our Wednesday and Saturday Spanish Christian Services on Wednesday nights we are seeing some improvement. We can use all the support with resources for Spanish speaking Christians we can get.

While we have all grown some since my “Prison Revival and Transformation Awakening in Bachman Unit” in 2008 Chaplain Okonkwo still sees himself as a servant who merely shows up, and allows the Holy Spirit to use him as God sees fit.

In conclusion, on September 15, 2008 we were taken aback by news of the loss of Pastor Dean’s wife Pastor Darleen., who on the above date lost her battle with cancer. Hers is a most remarkable testimony as she selflessly journeyed to this prison week after week to meet our needs until the very end. With her dying breath Pastor Darleen, from her hospice bed, admonished Pastor Dean to continue their work here at this prison unit and for him to tell us how much she loves us and for us not to give up the good fight. Not three days after losing his wife to Glory, Pastor Dean was here at Bachman Unit for our Thursday night Nondenominational Christian Services. He also showed up for us for the 2008 Thanksgiving and Christian Services.

Starting here and now, we can make a difference by getting out of the problem (the old tired ways of returning ex-offenders to the community) and becoming a viable part of the solution.

As I have adamantly said before let me say again, I really receive a lot of spontaneous understanding from the Chaplain and our volunteers, because I know they believe in what they do. They are dedicated to the ideas that all people deserve a right to live a healthy and productive life. As I believe that ex-offenders reentering the community can realize their full potential as good citizens when they really try, and are bolstered by a community which cares, and encourages them to do so. I truly believe this mindset will make a huge difference in the problem of backsliding and recidivism in the state of Arizona for future generations to come. Should we not receive such needed support all our efforts could easily wash down the drain upon reentry. Beyond these walls some of us have nothing at all going in our favor.

Some of us get released back into homelessness with all odds against us, to those same halfway houses, drug rehab centers and homeless shelters that didn’t work before. These places are usually located in drug infested areas riddled with all kinds of vice. This is why it is vital that we have a solid Church Foundation and start developing healthy relationships with brothers and sisters in the community. They will know where we come from, accept us where we are now and believe in our futures. They will be people who will support our efforts to reenter society successfully.

This is the purpose of Reentry Network, connecting people with people who care and are willing to give a person a chance, especially those who probably have had few fair chances in his or her life. We are building qualified, reliable Men of God, and we need you to survive. We are not limited in scope. We understand that in some cases one may need to change geographic locations to achieve success for life. In this we are open and willing for positive change.

We must move beyond the superficial aspects of providing services to ex-offenders reentering the community, to more effective long lasting methods of support. Giving these folks 72 hour window of opportunity, an outfit, bus tokens, a food box, and then leaving them to their own devices sitting at the City Transit Center creates an undue burden for society. It simply will not suffice our need for positive change in this needy area. It is imperative that we start this process prior to the individuals release from prison.

Fair Chance Ministry and the Reentry Network is not allied with Arizona State Prisons, any other government or private prison agency, Church organization or private entity. We are open to working in cooperation with all of the above in rehabilitating drug offenders and helping make our world a safer place to live.

This is a Hebrews 6:10 Production