Cindy

What follows is a story submitted to me by Chris Oliver, a valued member of our Homeless Outreach Team that focuses all their efforts on developing redemptive friendships with homeless persons living on our Downtown streets.  This account simply reveals that recovery, when achieved, is the result of a process that demands courage, hard choices, work and patience on the part of everyone involved. 

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Cindy
We first made contact with Cindy on August 16, 2011 at Main Street Garden. We already knew Cindy from her time as a resident at CityWalk.

Cindy, and her boyfriend Sam, were frequent visitors to the downtown area where they spent a majority of their time panhandling and drinking before returning to their campsite.

After talking with Cindy, we discovered she had a history of going through treatment programs at Solace, Nexus, and Homeward Bound. On October 14, Cindy came to our office to discuss a plan for getting her into treatment again. We ended up escorting Cindy to Nexus for in-patient treatment on October 25. Cindy completed the 3-week program at Nexus, and upon her release on November 16 went to stay with her sister in Mesquite.

Although she continued classes with Nexus and tried to find a job, in the end her support system wasn’t the strongest it could be and Cindy relapsed in mid-December. In her own words, she was “out there with Sam again,” and all we could do was be there for her when she was ready to try again.

It took almost 4 months before she was ready, but on April 9, 2012 we escorted Cindy to the Homeward Bound treatment facility so she could try once more to break free from her addiction.

Upon completing 3 days of detox, we initiated a transfer for her from Homeward Bound to the residential treatment program at Turtle Creek. We continued to work closely with Cindy and her counselor at Turtle Creek, putting together a plan that would best support Cindy in her recovery efforts.

Upon her completion of the program at Turtle Creek, Cindy was once again released to the care of a family member. However, this time Cindy went to stay with her sister and her 2 nephews in The Colony, where she was immediately put to work at her sister’s chiropractic practice. Cindy also started to attend an AA group in the neighborhood at least once, sometimes twice a day. She also has a sponsor who is helping her work through the 12 steps of recovery.

Cindy just spent the Memorial Day weekend with her family, even getting a chance to spend time with her son in west Texas. She made her way downtown one day during the last week of May and ran into Sam, who continues to struggle with his addiction. She said seeing Sam in that condition reinforced for her that she doesn’t want to put herself back there. She called it “closure.”  Cindy is set to go to Destin, FL in mid-June with her sister and nephews on a family vacation, all the while continuing and enjoying her sobriety.

Spending cuts--what will be the payoff?

As the Texas legislature targets a wide range of potential programs and departments for the budget knife, some program cuts could cost more than the cuts save, while making our communities less healthy, productive and safe for everyone.  Take funding for programs that engage ex-inmates. 

Budget cuts slice programs for ex-inmates

In some states, the number of people committing new felonies while on probation or parole has inched up, in part because of cuts to programs that helped former inmates stay out of prison

USA TODAY
By Kevin Johnson
February 10, 2011

NATIONAL — Cuts in probation and parole programs to reconcile state budget deficits could undermine recent successes in shrinking bloated prison populations, criminal justice officials say.

In some states, the number of people committing new felonies while on probation or parole has inched up, in part because of cuts to programs that helped former inmates stay out of prison. Other states are weighing substantial budget cuts to all parts of their criminal justice systems, including probation and parole programs.

Adam Gelb, director of the Pew Center's Public Safety Performance Project, says some of the most successful criminal justice programs launched in recent years are at risk. "The (financial) hole is so deep," says Gelb, whose non-partisan group has helped develop state programs for managing offenders outside prison. "Programs for convicted felons are an easy target."

Carl Wicklund, executive director of the American Probation and Parole Association, says the fiscal crisis is "pushing more people out of prison" with fewer people to supervise them and fewer dollars to support drug treatment, housing and job assistance. "We're setting these people up for failure," Wicklund says.

A report Tuesday by the Council of State Governments Justice Center, a bipartisan group that promotes public safety policy, urged lawmakers to spare programs that have been effective in reducing prison costs.

In Kansas, where officials just two years ago were spotlighting the success of the state's probation and parole strategy in reducing high prison costs, an additional 322 probationers returned to prison for committing new offenses in fiscal year 2010.

Overall, the portion of Kansas probationers who successfully completed their terms dropped to 54% in 2010 from 61% in fiscal year 2008, according to a January state report.

Roger Werholtz, Kansas' former corrections secretary, says the losses are "a casualty of the economic crisis" and stricter sentencing policies that added mandatory prison time for more offenses.

In the past two years, state records show, $10.1 million has been cut from four separate funds that support post-release rehabilitation efforts, including offender re-entry programs that match inmates with jobs, housing,
and substance abuse treatment. An additional $7.2 million in cuts have been proposed for fiscal year 2012, starting July 1.

"I had been getting invited to talk (to corrections officials in other states) about what we did right. Now I spend just as much time talking about what we could have done better," Werholtz says.

In Florida, the number of offenders who committed new felonies while on probation jumped from 7,164 in fiscal year 2007 to 9,000 in fiscal year 2009. The number declined slightly in fiscal year 2010 to 8,440. But Florida Department of Corrections spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger says there is concern that expected cuts to plug a $3.5 billion state budget shortfall could threaten those slight gains.

Among the most closely-watched budget battles, Gelb says, will be in Texas, as the state tries to close a deficit of up to $27 billion. Republican state Rep. Jerry Madden of Plano says cuts would threaten some
of the $240 million in treatment programs for some offenders who, without those programs, would have been ordered to prison.

Madden says the programs also were central to a slight drop in the number of parolees who returned to prison for committing new felonies in fiscal year 2010, from 24,692 in 2009 to 24,239. "We can't afford to go back (to growing prison populations)," he says. "We're not conceding anything yet."

Reflections on "the game" as Spring Training 2010 begins. . .(Part 4)

[What follows is the conclusion of an essay written while I coached an inner-city baseball team in the Texas Rangers Rookie League.  For Parts 1-3, see my posts on the last 3 days.]

Economic Disparity and America's "New Economy."  Observing John's world reveals that the use, trade and delivery of illegal narcotics involve not only serious criminal, health and addiction issues, but crucial market issues as well.  The drug trade in Dallas promises (actually one of urban America's most tragic lies) to provide the highest income possible to persons whose limited skills mark them out for a life to be scratched out well below the poverty line.  When faced with the option of taking a job that pays just above minimum wage or becoming a player in the illicit drug industry that promises to pay much more, many people, especially young people, chose the more dangerous route. 

While I am not  attempting to relieve anyone of personal responsibility, the fact remains that the teens and adults in John's house do not possess the skills needed to compete in America's "new economy."  Our community has the will to support the revolving door, created by our criminal justice system that shuffles adults in and out of John's world.  Evidently, what we lack is the will to adequately fund training programs that could provide real economic options for these same teens and adults.  Add the powerful factor of addiction to the mix and we create a recipe for social destruction, one person, one family and one neighborhood at a time. 

[When I wrote this essay, Dallas corporations were crying for qualified employees, especially in the technology sector.  The need was so great that immigration policies were being reformed and relaxed to accommodate the need for foreign workers who could fill the need quickly.  The economic bust of 2008 changed all of that, but the need for livable wage employment skills for our citizens remains very urgent.]

The mental leap necessary to move from coaching in a summer youth baseball league to a discussion of drugs, crime, the state of public education, employment training and market-driven economic options may seem strange or even strained. 

But not if you know my buddy John. 

He lives in the tough world of inner city Dallas. 

As a result, I estimate that John has possibly two more years of semi-innocence before he faces some very tough choices forced on him by the circumstances of his world.   If he takes the wrong turn, he likely will end up repeating the mistakes of his older family members. 

Fortunately, John has a number of friends in the neighborhood who are committed to staying near him to help navigate these critical times of decision.  Not every Dallas child in his position possesses his small advantage. 

Since serving as his coach, I know I will never be able to watch a baseball game in the same way again.  From sandlot to second grade Little Leagure, the game has always been very special to me.  Now I think I know how I'll occupy many of my thoughts during the slow, steady progress of America's game. 

[Eight years after I first wrote this reflection, I am pleased to report that John graduated high school, went on to college and served last summer on our AmeriCorps team.  I expect that he will graduate with his degree in about two more years.  Would that John's story could be repeated across urban America a million times over.]

Reflections on "the game" as Spring Training 2010 begins. . .(Part 3)

[What follows continues the posts from the past two days.]

Here's John's list of life issues that compose a large part of his reality.

Education.  Amazingly,John does fairly well in school in spite of the fact that no adult in  his world seems to be involved or pays much attention.  he is bright and good.  Bemoaning a lack of parental involvement in the public schools in a city like Dallas wastes energy, time and breath.  The adults in John's world cannot be counted on to lift test scores, attend the school's PTA meetings, provide encouragement or demand better educational options, strategies or administration.  Others will need to fill that gap for John.  But without a supre-charged educational experience the likelihood of John escaping his extremely limted world is slim indeed. 

A clear understanding of the world John navigates daily should provide our community more than enough motivaton to act boldly, radically, and creatively to make sure he experiences only the very best in education.  Our public schools must step up to the challenge of standing with John.  Simply put, my little friend John deserves the very best we have to offer. 

Criminal Justice and Addiction. John watches out for himself because the adults in his world, almost every one of them, are crack cocaine addicts.  Given the manner in which our criminal justice system deals with addicts, objectivity would push me to say John's world is filled with adults who are, for the most part, "hopeless" addicts. 

On numerous occasions John and his young cousin, another one of my players, have witnessed the arrest of several of the adults (including their closest family members) who use and sell drugs off of their front porch.  City, county and state criminal justice authorities investigate, raid, arrest and incarcerate; but they seldom treat addicts.  The system that periodically takes the most significant adults out of John's life to jail or to prison, never returns them to him in any better condition psychologically or spiritually. 

The idea of placing these adults back in his world with new skills that might lead to gainful employment outside the "drug industry" never seems to cocur to anyone involved.  Apparently very few consider treatment for addiction either.  The criminal justice system's answer to durg addition boils down to containment and incarceration. 

Children like John receive little or no assistance from Child Protective Services.  Operating with severely limited resources (including far too few foster families), under-staffed and over-worked, an over-burdened CPS system cannot respond adequately or effectively to the thousands of children in Dallas County who live in places and with adults like John.  He deserves better from all of us.

[For the final post on John and the challenges of his life drop in tomorrow.]

Courage, Man!

Young man, just a lad,
growin' up in a swamp of pain--
poverty so hard, so raw,
stumblin' just part of every day
you live.

Young boy, puttin' on
that smile--unforgettable glow
makin' me wonder what you got
to keep your feet in all this and not quite
fall today.

Just a kid, you keep walkin'
against all the stuff, all the
mess of this 'hood of yours,
and mine, no matter what
comes along.

Young man, true man,
such courage you put up
against it all, don't matter
what they throw at you,
you stay alive!

Young friend, so young,
you keep walkin' toward me,
includin' me in the game,
smiling all the while, teaching me
all about life.

Young fellow, bright-eyed,
eager to move on, grab it all
no matter what comes down,
you live strong and all around you
gets better. . .against such
unforgiving odds.

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