Our mission is to shepherd individuals and families with white-collar and nonviolent incarceration issues all the way through the prison process and to a new life of faith, dignity and productivity. A big challenge is the public’s lack of empathy, compassion, understanding and support. The media generally doesn’t help - it is much more interested in promoting schadenfraude through sensationalized headlines about the fall from grace of the wealthiest people who have committed white-collar crimes. If you look around, these stories are everywhere, fact or fiction: two Madoff movies, the television show Billions, the Wolf of Wall Street, Money Master, The Big Short, Blue Jasmine, etc. While we do regularly assist some big names you might see on CNBC or read about in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, most we help are regular people - people who live down the street, who are parents of your children’s friends, people you know from church or synagogue - who just got caught up in things and couldn’t stop before it was too late. We have found that most people who commit white-collar crimes are sick and suffering, and have underlying issues relating to alcoholism, drug dependency, mental health, other addictions and compulsions, etc. that they don’t understand and for which they sought no treatment until the bottom dropped out.
4. What exactly is a white-collar crime?
Generally, white-collar crimes are financial crimes - they are about breach of trust. But for us, white-collar crime is a more fluid concept - it incorporates individuals and families that can't go back to their old way of life because those doors have closed. For example, professionals who are convicted of felonies for DWIs or DUIs might be prevented from going back to their old jobs or professions. Where do they turn for support, especially if they are now living in poverty in affluent communities that have shunned and ostracized them? Our ministry is about helping them to overcome shame, finding a new life of faith and dignity, and helping them to find support and services.
5. What is the biggest challenge that you are faced with today that challenges what it is you’re trying to accomplish with your ministry or services?
Our biggest challenge, as is true with most nonprofits, is to find funding to allow us to provide direct services to those in need, and to operate and grow. We do not charge for our services; our only source of revenue is donations. These donations are usually from religious institutions, foundations and individuals. We are very grateful for the support and generosity of all our contributors.
6. How hard is it to typically get a person to engage in the services?
It’s really a mixed bag. Most of the people suffering from these issues search the internet for any resources they can find - they come across our website prisonist.org and then we hear from them by phone, email, text, or social media. They are often in isolation but are drawn to us because we are faith-based, and they are comforted because as clergy all their communications with us are strictly confidential - this is also a reason that their lawyers will allow them to have a relationship with us. We often hear from them in the middle of the night when they have the most anxiety and can’t sleep. We understand. Others have read about us in magazine articles or by word of mouth. And we know that our newsletters are being forwarded to people in need and that they circulate in the prisons. With some people we wind up having successful multi-year relationships, and there are others who simply do not want what we have to offer and we never hear from them again. These are difficult issues and everyone handles things differently.
7. What is the typical timeline for the services and what do the services entail?
The timeline really depends upon the point of entry. There are people to whom we minister that are waiting over three years just to be sentenced. We are in contact with men and families during the time of incarceration. We have now been operating long enough that some men we worked with before and/or during their incarceration are now returning home and we are helping them reconnect with their families and find new careers. The services we provide are both spiritual and practical - we give individuals and families the benefit of our own experience and the many people we know and have worked with all in the framework of getting through shame, ostracism and despair to a new life of faith, dignity and productivity.
8. How successful are your support and counseling services in getting those served to be successful as they are being reincorporated to normalcy?
The goal is not to be restored to normalcy, but to adopt a new way of life that is more faithful, happier and authentic. Most of the people we minister to were not happy underneath, they were sick and suffering in some way that led them to do things that were the opposite of their core authenticity. Nobody we’ve ever met or worked with thought in fifth grade that they wanted to become a white-collar criminal and go to prison. Something happened along the way that affected their judgment and self-esteem. We help them get back to their core truths, and find ways to live the lives they were meant to live.
9. Why are your services so important for people to know about?
I’d have to say it’s about Matthew 25, The Sheep and the Goats, "whatever you did for one of the least of these...you did for me.” We realize that what we do is not for the timid or the faint of heart. But what calling is? There are tens of thousands of people suffering from white-collar and other nonviolent incarceration issues who need us. It is our hope that there are others who will pick up their cross and join us to help these individuals and families who have nowhere else to turn.