Sorry for the delay, no email allowed at work.
The curriculum is too long to post here, but below is the basic philosophy I built it on.
Wounded and Lost Men
When we speak of the recidivism problem with offenders we tend to paint them with a broad brush. Some are in fact sick with psychological illness and can only be helped with proper treatment. Some are indeed dangerous men and need to be locked away in a humane way to keep them from the public. But I propose that the majority of them where in fact injured by their environment and carry within them the emotional wounds of neglect, abuse, molestation, violence and poverty. The resultant grief from these traumas, if not expressed and shared with others ultimately manifests itself as rage. A rage that, turned inward results in drug abuse and alienation from society, turned outward results in violent and anti-social acts.
Our beliefs, ideas and conceptions of how the world works, as well as our place in it, are shaped by our early role models and environment. Children and young people who bear witness to a reality where the sale and abuse of drugs is commonplace, and criminal acts are presented as an acceptable – even necessary – means of survival, are prone to form a faulty mental map of the world and a myopic vision of their role in it. That these young people become adults programed with anti-social views and living habits should come as little surprise. This disengagement from pro-social living habits is identified as one of the most common criminogenic personality characteristics of a criminal lifestyle. Addressing this lack of connection, trust, and empathy is vital to the successful implementation of any reentry program.
Our tendency to demonize these men requires that we classify them as either sick or evil. To call them sick implies they bear no responsibility for their actions that they are inherently defective, and that experts are needed to provide them with treatment. Seeing them as evil, on the other hand, implies that they bear all of the responsibility for the problem, that they
are even more defective and beyond redemption, and that what they need most is punishment.
There is a third possibility that changes the way we approach them. That we see them as wounded and lost. To do so does not relieve them of their responsibility; we merely recognize all the poverty, loss, violence, and hopelessness that made them see the world as they do. It implies that all of us bear the responsibility for understanding why they got injured, helping them to heal, and empowering them with a new perspective on their role in society. Seeing them as wounded and lost also leads us to the conclusion that the remedy is first healing them on the inside, while giving them a new mental map to interpret and interact with the world around them. Then the delivery of the needed educational and training programs along with appropriate counseling and mentorship will be received in fertile ground.
