Useful Rehabilitation

Posted on December 28, 2015 by Rich

I have to say that I am fairly proud of the State of Ohio’s Department of Rehabilitation and Correction in many ways. This may seem odd for someone who spends a great deal of time criticizing our nation’s legal system as punitive and draconian in nature, but some things have started to change.  Ohio is far ahead of much of the nation in moving closer to a more reasonable justice system.  Currently, we restore the right to vote to anyone not in prison.  That is not the case in many states.  In fact, some states remove the right to vote permanently after a felony conviction.  Our Governor, John Kasich, is a Christian man who believes in second chances and redemption.  He is a big supporter of reentry projects.  He has appointed a man named Gary Mohr to head the DRC, and some changes are starting to occur.

While Ohio may not be as progressive as some states, Mr. Mohr seems to be open to making changes that make sense.  Our reintegration centers are starting to prepare inmates for returning to society.  Faith dorms are one example of this theory.  This is not done out of some misplaced faith in religion, but rather on demonstrable fact.  Several studies have shown that those who participate in faith based programming on a regular basis are far less likely to recidivate.  It is in these dorms that much of the most progressive programming is being tested.  Inmates are permitted to learn to use computers and computer skills.  While they are not granted access to the internet, they are given tutorials in typing, Microsoft Office, and Quick Books.  These skills are essential to finding a decent job in today’s society.  Many prisoners have never used a computer in their life if they have been locked up for any significant period of time.

States like California go even further.  They permit the teaching of computer programming skills through coding bootcamps.  This is not easy when they have no internet access, so a system had to be created on an intranet.  There is such a demand for these skills right now, that many software companies do not care about someone’s criminal record but only about how well they can code.  These are high paying jobs that can give a returning citizen a real chance at a normal life.  There is no reason that this could not be done here in Ohio.  I would like to see this tested in the faith dorms here to see if it works out.  The same model could be used for other skills, as well.  The trades are desperate for new apprentices, so why couldn’t a local union set up an apprenticeship program inside the walls too?  These are also high paying jobs that typically do not care about a person’s criminal background.  For some reason, probably budgetary, prisons have moved away from training inmates for employment, but if we are serious about reentry programs being successful, we need to institute programs that will enable prisoner to have an employable skillset.  One example that would be simple to introduce would be to reopen prison farms.  Farming is in desperate need of new trained farmers.  The prison farms could teach these skills while supplying many of the prisons with the food they grow.  This would actually reduce costs to the prison system while teaching a valuable and in-demand skill. These common sense changes could reduce recidivism, which would also reduce costs in the long run.

Hopefully, Comprehensive Reentry can be a catalyst to help the Ohio DRC to adopt some common sense changes.  In addition to this project, we would like to help facilitate a coding program in a local prison reintegration center’s faith dorm.  We would track the graduates in scientific way to determine whether they return to prison or successfully find employment and actually reintegrate.  If this model proves successful, we would like to extend it to other prisons across the state.

The Giving Season and a New Reentry Model

Posted on December 14, 2015 by Rich
    

I have long felt that the ex-offender community needs to follow examples often seen in immigrant groups from our nation’s past. I was sitting in a political science class a while back, and we were discussing the Chinese model of immigration. When they first arrived, the Chinese were welcomed and found abundant jobs in the mining and railroad industry in the American West. The nation then went into a financial downturn, and the welcome mat was pulled out from underneath their feet. The doors were closed due to a policy known as the Exclusionary Acts. The Chinese were then barred from participating in the economy in the way they had. This presented a huge problem for them not dissimilar to the plight faced by many ex-offenders.
The Chinese resolved their issue by banding together. They pooled what money they had and supported one another. They also made an astute observation. The American West was devoid of women, so they noticed a need for restaurants and laundries. They pooled their money and started businesses. They hired on another, and they expanded. They still dominate these industries today. There is absolutely no reason that ex-offenders can’t follow this same entrepreneurial model. The problem is that many ex-offenders do not have any money at all. Many struggle with homelessness and hunger. Many, however, have succeeded in reintegration and are in a possession to share. In addition, there is a growing interest in solving the reentry problem, so perhaps outside help in the form of an accelerator will be forthcoming. It is important to remember that if enough ex-offenders gather together to accomplish this task, even a small amount of money from each participant could accomplish great things.
The next step would be to seek out voids in the economy where there is an increasing need for labor but not enough help. Right off the bat I can think of three: lawn care, the trades, and computer coding. The last two pay a significant amount of money. Starting businesses in these areas will, of course, require training, but training is available. In many cases, the training is available for free to ex-offenders through programs.
Caring about others who suffer the same fate you have suffered from is sometimes difficult to do, because it is human nature to turn your back on the negative parts of your past. If things are ever going to change, it is important to take positive steps to do just that. This is the season where caring about other humans who are suffering is brought to the forefront. If you are an ex-offender who has managed to successfully reintegrate, please us this time to think of your brothers and sisters who are either not as fortunate or are just starting to climb the mountain. Even if you have no extra money to give, you can always give time. You can volunteer to distribute meals to the homeless or shut-ins. You can volunteer at a halfway house or some other nonprofit that helps with reentry. This season is all about giving. It is not about us and our selfishness. Someone helped you along the way, so please take the time to help someone else. I will be taking a break from writing for a few weeks to celebrate and donate my time, so have a Merry Christmas and we’ll talk again soon.
-Rich

GOING OFF ROAD: The link between terrorism and the green economy.

 

By Rich Alvarez
Disclaimer: This week I feel compelled to veer a little off the usual topic matter in light of the recent terror attacks both in Paris and Los Angeles, as well as it being the anniversary of Pearl Harbor.  The normal reentry theme will resume next week.  I want to preface this by letting you know this is an opinion piece by a regular guy.  I’m not political or history expert, but I am an avid buff and a former Political Science major.  I realize that there will be those who disagree with me, but I hope it doesn’t dissuade you from reading my blog in the future or utilizing my site if you need it.  It is just an opinion after all.
First of all, I want to say that I give all of the victims of the attacks and their families my thoughts and prayers.  I also want to say that I condemn anyone who kills innocent victims and uses a religion to justify their actions.  There is no justification for taking the lives of innocents.  With that being said, it may surprise some of you, given my work, that my political leanings are often conservative.  I agree with many of the positions of conservative leadership like more personal freedom and less government interference, support of law enforcement, the second amendment, capitalism, reduced taxes and a strong military.  On other topics, I tend to be more liberal.  I am against the death penalty, am pro criminal justice reform, believe in helping the less fortunate, believe in anthropogenic caused global warming, and support the legalization of marijuana.  One of the most important points that I support is the pursuit of strict anti-fossil fuel laws for several reasons.  Of course I like clean air, and I want to stop global warming, but I am more concerned with energy independence from a national security standpoint.  You might ask how this ties into terrorism?  Well, I’ll tell you, and no, it doesn’t follow Bernie Sanders’ logic.
While the President and Mr. Sanders are correct that if we don’t stop global warming, our children will be unable to enjoy living by the coast, and our military and police will be tied up dealing with these catastrophic changes at home, that is not the primary reason for my concern.  I believe dependence on foreign oil is key to the current terrorism concerns we are experiencing.  In order to understand this, we must first understand a little bit about the Middle East.  The West has a long and not-so-proud history in the Arab world, which started with English colonization during the heyday of the British Empire.  The British had little understanding of the cultural differences among the people in the nations they conquered, and I doubt they cared.  The people of the Middle East were largely tribal and nomadic.  There were also cultural, ethnic, and religious differences.  When the British drew national boundaries, they did so without regard to the differences, which resulted in splitting up some groups and bringing together others that hated one another.  Because they ruled with an iron fist, these groups appeared, at least on the surface, to get along.  As an example, Sunni Islam and Shiite Islam are very different and can’t stand each other.  If left to their own devices they would have chosen to live separately or kill each other.  In Iraq for example, the Shiite were the majority, but the Sunni dominated the capital city of Baghdad.  Oil was also discovered in many of these nations, which helped fuel the industrial revolution and brought great riches to those who controlled the wells.  Therefore, the West had great interest in the Middle East.
When the British left, they often supported iron fisted dictators who could hold the nations together, as opposed to fostering democracies.  These dictators controlled the oil wells and enriched themselves instead of sharing it with the people who lived in utter poverty and under abusive regimes.  Western nations continued to meddle in the affairs of these countries to ensure continual access to the oil that fueled their economies.  If a dictator got out of line, they fostered a revolution so another, more favorable, leader could take over.  If the people became restless and wanted to revolt, they would funnel better weapons and more money to the dictator to prop him up.  Our addiction to fossil fuels fostered oppression and abuse of the people of the Middle East, so we could keep driving our cars.  A resentment toward the United States and other Western nations grew.  It grew even more, when after WWII, we established the state of Israel.  While no one disputes that the Jews were abused and deserved a homeland, it displaced many Arab peoples and put them in the middle of their arch enemies.  The United States supported the new Jewish state by providing them with advanced weaponry and money, which was used against the Middle Easterners in that region.
Things really began to change in the 1970’s when radical Shiite Muslims ousted the American-supported Sha of Iran.  This resulted in the taking of American hostages at the U.S. Embassy.  There were also a rash of anti-American terrorist incidents including the downing of a Pan Am airline by Libyan supported terrorists and the killing of Jewish athletes at the Olympics.  We have continued to meddle in the affairs of the Middle East, and we support one side or the other depending on who seems to support our interests at the time.  The problem with that is that we give little thought to the long-term consequences.  One example was the horrible decision to invade Iraq after 9/11.  Iraq had nothing to do with the terrorist attacks, and Bush had a personal grudge to settle, because Saddam Hussein had tried to have his family assassinated.  We tried to install a democratic government, and when we did, they threw American forces out of their country.  It subsequently descended into chaos. The current example is ISIS.  The Syrian dictator, Bashar Assad, is vehemently anti-American, and is abusive to his people.  The U.S. has wanted to get rid of him for some time, and the Arab Spring, which overthrew several Middle Eastern dictators, provided the opportunity.  Like Egypt and Libya, the Syrian people rose up against their oppressor.  The United States supported this, thinking it would result in democracies in the their place.  Libya fell apart and the Egyptian government that resulted was just as, if not more oppressive, than the one they overthrew.  In fact, it was primarily composed of members of the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the oldest Islamic terrorist groups in the world.  They oppressed women and killed anyone who did not adhere to their strict version of Islam. President Obama supported this government with money and weapons, but the Egyptian military finally overthrew them and re-established order.  Assad did not go so easily as these other two examples.
Assad cracked down on the rebels and used chemical weapons on them.  A prolonged civil war has ensued and hundreds of thousands of people have been killed.  Furthermore, millions of Syrians have fled their homes and headed for Europe.  The United States supported the Syrian rebels and gave them weapons to fight the regime.  Most of these rebels were Sunnis, while Assad is Shiite.  One of the groups we, and other Sunni Arab nations have supported, was ISIS.  ISIS grew strong, but they got bigger than we could control.  They exploited the chaos in Syria and Iraq and carved out a nation of their own in these two countries.  The crazy part is that the Sunni groups we have given support to are either sympathetic to or member of the same people we have been fighting in other areas like Afghanistan and Iraq.  They hate us but have no problem taking our weapons and money.  To make matters worse, the Assad regime is sponsored by two of our enemies, Russian and Iran.  Oh what a tangled web we weave.
All of this comes down to our dependence on oil.  We are embroiled in all of these conflicts because we want their oil.  We have supported regimes that oppress and kill the people of that region, and we have killed many ourselves.  It is little wonder that they hate us.  The answer is really simple.  We could solve 90 percent of the Muslim terrorist problem with the United States by extricating ourselves from the Middle East by becoming less foreign oil dependent.  Developing green technologies and using our own shale oil in the meantime is the best way to reduce terrorism against the United States.  We will still have periodic problems due to our support of Israel, but we can resolve the majority of the issue by this simple policy shift.  This is where I diverge from my Republican friends.  While they may deny climate change and resist green technology, they do have an interest in national security.  Green energy and domestic oil production as a national security tool could be a way to bridge the differences between Democrats and Republicans who are diametrically opposed on so many issues today.G