May 8, 2000
Former inmates ask for support
___By Dan Martin
___Texas Baptist Communications
___HOUSTON--With tears in her eyes and her voice breaking, the ex-convict pleaded with participants at the seventh annual Restorative Justice Ministry Convention to help former inmates after they get out of prison.
___Don't just go into the jails and prisons to teach the Bible and to minister to the inmates, she said. Be there when the gates open and the offender walks free too.
___"Don't make the mistake of going in unless you are going to be there for us when we come out," she said.
___She told of serving time in one of the state jails, but, like most of the offenders who shared their stories, she did not give any details about the reason for her incarceration.
___She described accepting Jesus as her Savior, of being discipled while she served her time and of her joy in singing in the state jail choir.
___"Most of us did not make the decision to give up what had put us in there while we were in jail," she said. "The choice was taken from us. It is when we walked out the gate that we had to give up the habits and behavior which put us in jail."
___She committed herself to be a different person when she came out of the gate, but it would have helped tremendously if the people who had been so interested in ministering to her while she was behind bars had been available to help her with all she faced after being released, she said.
___She found a support group that loved her and accepted her and helped her walk straight, but it was not comprised of the people who had come to see her in jail.
___"For two and a half years, I have been on this side of the fence," she reported. "I have been tempted to go back to the old habits. I would not have been able to resist them without those who supported me."
___She was one of three women ex-offenders who spoke during the conference.
___Each of the other ex-offenders told stories of waiting for help from people who had been eager to minister in prison but were not there when the gates opened and the women walked free.
___They faced all of the problems of freedom--finding a place to live, clothing, food and a job, as well as reconnecting with family and children.
___"When I got out of prison, I didn't have nobody," one said. "I didn't have no place to go. It would have helped to have somebody there; I think somebody should have been there when I got out."
___Because she had no support, she had to go to the home of a family member. "But it was drug-infested, and my money was stolen, my things were taken. It was only the grace of God that I was able to stay out of that," she said.
___One of the young women said she was in prison for a long time, and "when I got out, I was so scared. I had been locked up for so long. It would have been nice if somebody had been there, somebody who could give a little comfort and hope."
___"In prison, I found God through Jesus Christ. I had a mentor who told me somebody would be there to help when I got out.
___"She gave me a phone number, but when I called, I got an answering machine. It said, 'I'll get right back to you.' But I've been out two years, and nobody has called back yet."
___Both young women found help in inner-city churches. "That church was a place where they loved me and accepted me and didn't look down on me," one woman said. "They helped me."
___The other added: "In prison, we found Jesus. We studied in prison and learned about the Bible. We can make it when we get out; we just need a little help."
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