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There is a real opportunity for the Church today to transform society by transforming the lives of prisoners and ex-prisoners—namely, by linking mentors with ex-inmates.

While opening more doors of opportunity to ex-prisoners helps them transition into society smoothly, once they walk through the prison gates into freedom, former inmates need to know how to behave and reorient themselves in the community successfully.

That is where mentors come in. A mentor not only helps the returning offenders think through the choices that confront them, but also acts as an intermediary if problems arise on the job.

At Prison Fellowship, we have found that matching inmates with a mentor is essential to their successful return to the community. Mentors can “meet them at the gate” and help them make choices immediately after release that ensure success and not failure.

In our experience, it is during their difficult first days on the street that returning prisoners are most at risk for re-arrest. A loving, morally grounded mentor provides stability and companionship at a time of acute vulnerability.

Programs are helpful, but a program cannot love these former inmates; only people can do that. Local faith communities can provide these men and women with the love, encouragement, and assistance that they so desperately need.

THE CHURCH AND SECOND CHANCES
Earlier this year, the Second Chance Act finally was signed into law by President Bush, as Pat Nolan recently reported in BreakPoint WorldView. It may have taken years of perseverance, reintroducing and lobbying for passage of this bill, but now the real work begins.

Part of the provision of the Second Chance Act is to provide inmates education and job training in prison and mentoring programs when they leave. Both of these elements, among others, are critical for returning offenders to transition successfully back into society.

Recently, I testified in Congress before the House Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia about the importance of their attaining jobs once inmates walk outside the prison walls. Finding a stable and adequate income upon release could well determine whether an offender makes a successful transition or not.

Finding employment has a direct and positive impact on the viability and stability of ex-offenders, their families, and communities. Jobs provide ex-offenders with money for rent, food, and support of their family. Jobs often include medical coverage for the worker and his or her family.

Moreover, idleness is destructive, particularly for former inmates, who leave the strict control of prison life and suddenly confront unending hours of unstructured time. A job gives them the structure they need and helps them stay out of trouble.

Even the military recognizes the value of a stable job in an ex-inmate’s life. As I described recently on “BreakPoint,” Angelo Vaccaro, a combat medic in the 32nd Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division stationed in Afghanistan, posthumously received the Medal of Honor. He had left his outpost to help fellow wounded soldiers and was hit by enemy fire and killed instantly. Vaccaro, who spent his youth getting in trouble with the law, was a recipient of the military’s unofficial practice of issuing conduct waivers.

Speaking at the same congressional hearing where I testified, Army Major General Thomas Bostick said, “These men and women are raising their hand, asking for a chance to serve their country. They are asking for a chance to be a productive member of society.”

Besides the practical benefits of a steady job, there is the sense of dignity and self-worth that work provides—critical for former inmates looking to establish their place in the world outside the prison walls.

Work matters, in that it gives former inmates a sense of purpose and contribution to the community. It provides an opportunity to make a positive impact, offsetting the previous negative impact they made. Whereas, being unemployed leaves the ex-offenders feeling inadequate and further lowers their feelings of self-worth, already very low as a result of their incarceration.

THE BARRIERS
Sadly, however, societal fears and skepticism put barriers in place, preventing ex-inmates from becoming productive members of the community.

For example, there are the systemic barriers. The federal government and most of the states have laws that prevent ex-offenders from holding jobs in certain environments such as schools, nursing homes, and hospitals. These “invisible punishments” may make sense for offenders whose criminal history would pose a threat in particular types of work, but blanket prohibitions needlessly limit the job prospects of returning inmates. Furthermore, they also present serious risks—and lost opportunities—for the communities to which large numbers of prisoners return.

The underlying, but unstated, philosophy behind many restrictions on employing ex-offenders is a vague fear that because the offender once broke the law, he can never turn his life around and be trusted to make moral decisions. The fact is, though, that there are many inspiring stories of formerly incarcerated people who have made great contributions to society after their imprisonment. And there are many businessmen who have hired ex-offenders and found them to be among their most loyal and trusted employees.

Just one example is John Sheehan, a former member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. He owns Korns Galvanizing in Pennsylvania, and more than half of his employees are ex-offenders. He says that they are loyal and hard-working. One of his employees did 17 years for armed robbery, and he is now the manager of Korns’ floor operations. Sheehan says hiring ex-offenders can make good business sense and promote justice in the community.

WHERE THE CHURCH COMES IN
As I mentioned above, opening doors of opportunity is just the beginning of solving the problem of ex-inmates looking for a new chance on life. They need mentors to show the way, and that’s where churches comes in.

By linking returning offenders with mentors from their community, churches can partner with government to help offenders obtain and keep a job. In Washington, D.C., the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA) has made a priority of working with local churches to assist offenders in making the transition from prison to the community. CSOSA has knit churches into the fabric of their services; thus, there is a seamless delivery of assistance to the ex-offenders they supervise.

In St. Louis, the Chief Probation Officer of the U.S. District Court has forged a partnership with local businesses and churches to prepare, match, and place inmates with jobs. The unemployment rate among the offenders they supervise is one-fourth of the unemployment rate of St. Louis as a whole. That is truly remarkable.

In his recent study of the Texas InnerChange Freedom Initiative^TM (IFI), Dr. Byron Johnson, Professor and Co-Director of the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University, found that IFI graduates were two-and-a-half times less likely to be reincarcerated than inmates in a control group. Moreover, of the inmates matched with mentors, the recidivism rate after two years was only 4 percent. Dr. Johnson emphasized that mentors were “absolutely critical” to the impressive results.

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A MENTOR
Being a mentor to an ex-offender is not terribly different from being a mentor to a college student looking to get a start in life. The areas in which a mentor advises are the same ones in which we all navigate.

Mentors educate offenders about the “job of getting a job”: helping them develop their sense of purpose with daily lists of things to do to find a job, and providing resources such as computers for writing résumés and cover letters. Mentors can help them prepare to explain their criminal background and their desire to restructure their lives, as well as help them overcome the procrastination, fear of rejection, and discouragement that can sabotage any job search process.

Then, a mentor can help the ex-offender think through employment options and tell them what their employer will expect of them on the job. A mentor can teach them that they need to get up on time, go to work each day, and call their supervisor if they must be late or absent. The offender may find it difficult to take direction or may lack skills to cope with a difficult boss or fellow employees. To us, these are obvious standards of employee conduct; but to someone who has never had a working adult as a role model, it is new territory.

Mentors can also help the offenders learn decision-making skills and teach them how to keep track of bills and pay them on time. In prison, inmates do not have to deal with any of this. Mentors also help returning inmates deal with many of the personal problems they typically encounter upon leaving prison: no reliable friends outside their former gang network, marital problems, and no easy way to get on with life.

We can all remember a teacher, coach, or neighbor who believed in us and helped us believe in ourselves. That is exactly what returning offenders need, yet most have never had someone like that in their lives. Mentors can fill that void. A loving mentor lets returning inmates know that the community is invested in their success.

Mentors provide the love that St. Paul asked Philemon to give to his returning cellmate, Onesimus: “So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me.”

Learn how you can make a difference in the lives of prisoners and their families by visiting Prison Fellowship and Angel Tree today, either by volunteering or by donating. And learn more about restorative justice issues at Justice Fellowship.

Mark Earley is the president of Prison Fellowship.