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[Back to index of July/August articles] Group helps inmates face life after prison By Lucy Chumbley On a sunny spring Saturday, a stalwart group gathered in the undercroft of St. James’, Potomac, to watch a video on substance abuse and listen to two speakers from Alcoholics Anonymous describe their struggle with addiction. But the eight adults, from five area churches and four denominations—Presbyterian, Baptist, Episcopal and Catholic—were not there to keep themselves afloat. As Prison Aftercare Ministry volunteers, they were learning how to throw others a lifeline. Several weeks into a training program that is preparing them to work with prisoners at the nearby Montgomery County Detention Center and the county’s Prerelease Center in Rockville, the participants are learning how to lend inmates a hand after their release. “A lot of [inmates] can quote more of the Bible than most people at church, but a lot of times the Bible gets left on the bed when they get released,” said James Finch, a St. James’ parishioner who conducts the training. This program is designed to help them through the difficult transition from incarceration to a productive life on the outside. “The road to recovery is never a straight line,” he said. “There are always a couple of blips on the screen.” One of the most prevalent problems former prisoners face is the possibility of relapse into substance or alcohol abuse, Finch said, so two full sessions are devoted to this topic. “The ones that we see—usually 80 percent have a drug or alcohol problem,” he said. Despite good intentions to remain abstemious on their release from prison, stressful circumstances and old associates can quickly dissolve even the best of intentions, making relapses all-too-frequent. “The heart of this course is active listening,” Finch said. “A lot of [inmates] have never had anyone to listen to them in their lives. They need to work through their issues.” The St. James’ Prison Aftercare Ministry has been operating since 1993, when the church’s Mission Committee, led by Michael Lash, approached the Montgomery County Detention Center to ask if there was any way the church could be of service. The prison chaplain, a minister with the Virginia-based Good News Jail and Prison Ministry, stressed the importance of aftercare—helping inmates to maintain their faith and build constructive lives after their release. Named for the disciple Stephen, who distributed food to the needy (Acts 6: 1-7), the ministry helps churches set up and maintain lay ministry in their congregations. By training lay ministers for service, churches are able to offer one-on-one care and attention to members experiencing problems. The St. James’ Aftercare Ministry, based on this model, consists of a six-week training course for volunteers, which includes a retreat and two field trips to the detention centers. After completing the initial training, volunteers visit inmates while they are still incarcerated—usually for three months before their release. They attend twice-monthly meetings at the church for continuing education and peer counseling, and continue to meet with and mentor the prisoners after their release. In order for the volunteers to be effective mentors, both the training and the group support are essential, Finch said. “The one thing I can’t stress enough is that when you deal with people it can cause burnout,” he said. “It can cause you to start to wonder about what you’re doing. Yeah, you can do it on your own, but it’s very, very unusual.” Despite the stress it can cause, Finch finds his ministry both rewarding and worthwhile. “Most of these people have asked for help,” he said. “They’ve been incarcerated a number of times. The guy I have now, he’s going to get out [of jail] whether I’m part of his portfolio or not… I think he really wants to change and it’s like, ‘If not for the grace of God, there go I.’” Eventually, most prisoners are going to be released, Finch said. “They’re going to shop in the same grocery stores, they’re going to be in the same community whether we like it or not.” Reaching out to former prisoners is the Christian thing to do, he believes, and he invites “anyone who has a heart to try and change an individual’s life” to attend the training. “How can I expect to be forgiven for anything I do if I can’t forgive?” he said. “This is a proving ground.” Contact Lucy Chumbley at lchumbley@edow.org Resources: [Back to index of July/August articles]
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