![]() Every time a prisoner returns to his or her community as a safe and contributing person, it reaffirms the life of that community. Every time a victim feels their pain honored by a heartfelt apology, we all stand a little taller. Instead of looking at TV shows like The Voice and these dance competitions, why don’t we look at the gifts in our own neighborhoods and create some celebration or talent shows around expressing that, and lift up young people to share their gifts?Ĭan you see that the possibilities are endless and that there is so much meaning to gain this way? Every time a kid spits his/her destructive impulses into a poem, it makes that anguish sing, teaches others, and the community wins. Who will document the oral histories of our elders? What if seniors came together, pooled their resources, organized how they could stay in their homes, and how to employ folks in the ‘hood to help? Who grows a garden in their backyard? If there’s three, four of you on the block, how can we get you together? Who wants to be on the team to clean up the little park that’s full of dog shit and drug pushers and take it back? Who’s interested in sharing a meal once in a while? ![]() Feeling that we are contributing gives us meaning. ![]() So what if you went to some of these neighborhoods, or your own for that matter, and started a “listening initiative” to truly hear from the people living in your neighborhood by asking “What are the real issues in your life? What are your real needs? What can you offer? How are you part of the solution? All of us yearn to feel that our gifts are seen and recognized and that we are needed for those gifts. Sometimes I jokingly call us “the nonprofit industrial complex.” At times, the nonprofit efforts fail to empower the community as much as they could because work is focused on doing to us and not for us, by us, about us. Perhaps too many of our solutions are channeled singularly through nonprofit projects. What if our communities had COSA’s? Wouldn’t you like one of those circles to support you? The guys meet with their circle once a week, knowing that they can share their truth and you can call on any member 24/7 for unconditional support. They pick several people to be on it, such as a family member, an AA sponsor, a friend, a clergy person. When the men leave prison after sometimes 30 or more years, we frequently create a Circle of Support and Accountability (COSA), to assist them in stepping out of their time capsule. Imagine, next to having a police force, having Brothers’ and Sisters’ Keepers stationed in our own communities, having allies who are available to check on us and express concern, care, and kindness? They are like the canaries in the coal mine with the intention of spotting suffering before it leads to self-destruction. Among other things, they are taught crisis intervention, including how to read the early warning signals of mental disorder and suicide. As a response to the shock we felt about how that could have happened, we helped develop a program called Brothers’ Keepers: a way the men can check in with the wellbeing of others in the community. What is all this violence trying to wake us up to? What’s that pain about, the pain underneath the violence? A prisoner well-known to the community in San Quentin committed suicide several years ago. In this second post, he suggests surprisingly basic ways we can begin to address the causes of violence. A father, community organizer, and teacher, he directs "Insight-Out" which helps prisoners and challenged youth create the personal and systemic change to transform violence and suffering into opportunities for learning and healing. Last week, in the first of two posts, Jacques shared insights about the roots of violence in our culture. Jacques Verduin is a subject matter expert on mindfulness, restorative justice, emotional intelligence, and transforming violence.
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