B--,
What follows is a letter to the editor of the Restorative Justice Newspaper, dated
July - Sept. 2003. Sorry it took so long to get to you but I just got it myself.
I wish I had a scanner, I'd just scan it in but I can't. Anyway, here it is:
Former Sex Offender Wants A Chance
Editor's note: The following letter
was written by a former sex offender to his mentor. He was paroled about mid-May
last year. However, because of his classification as a sex-offender he is required
to live inside the fence of Travis County Correctional Complex.
I am writing to thank you for being my friend and maybe someday I will be able
to help you as much as you have helped me.
Most of the time I don't feel
worthy to be anybody's friend and I am always afraid I will disappoint anyone
who is my friend. I don't think I am worth anyone bothering with. Everything that
parole and my therapy, and just about everything else won't let me get away from
my past and move forward.
When I was in prison I had plans about getting
a lawn mower and an old truck and working mowing yards until I found a regular
job. But because of my restrictions I can't find a job I can work at with the
hours I'm allowed to work.
I am trying to keep my focus on God and Jesus.
But since I can't go to church regularly and be with other Christians it is hard.
I would like to go to communion service, but they don't have that here so far
as I have seen. We haven't been allowed to go the last two weeks. I have just
about given up even thinking about going to church until I get out of here if
that ever happens. Even after I get away from here parole and therapy are going
to make it hard to go. Also I would have to find a church that would accept me
before I get approval from the system.
I want to thank you for trusting
me to come to your house to do some odd jobs and for being a spiritual guide for
me. Like I told you before, there are a lot of Christian programs out there that
are willing to help ex-cons until I tell them I have a sex offense and then they
act like God doesn't care about us…and I find myself in an inner battle about
whether or not they are right. I haven't found a single Christian help service
for people with sex offenses.
Note from mentor: I can understand,
at least in part, why some organizations react like this. However, Jesus Christ
made himself so terribly vulnerable to provide for each of us. I think we need
to re-examine our relationship with Him, and perhaps we could then become willing
to make ourselves a little bit vulnerable for the likes of this brother.
B--,
I hope you can find this useful on our site. I don't have
it quite so bad, but I haven't been able to find work since February of last year
either. So, I'm not too far off from being in the same predicament.
All
the best this year and ever so hopeful,
- M
"The
degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons."
-- Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881) |
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