Kevin Wallen says:
hi
charley says:
hi
Kevin Wallen says:
how goes it
charley says:
very well
charley says:
how about you
Kevin Wallen says:
burnt
charley says:
how so
Kevin Wallen says:
but moving right along
charley says:
good
Kevin Wallen says:
had a meeting with fairweather
Kevin Wallen says:
this morning
charley says:
tell me
Kevin Wallen says:
tough meeting
Kevin Wallen says:
dcs has no idea what set is
Kevin Wallen says:
and that is the problem
Kevin Wallen says:
and i am not sure how much interest they have
charley says:
shall i call
Kevin Wallen says:
give me 3mins
Kevin Wallen says:
i really need to talk some stuff true with you
Kevin Wallen says:
through
***
email to kevin
hi kevin, good to talk with you.
i asked jackie harlow to offer suggestions. here's what she came back with. use any bits and pieces you like, but only if you like. if it's not helpful, forget it.
To: Charles Nesson
From: Jacqueline Harlow
Subject: another version of kevin's letter...
Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2006 14:37:47 -0400
this is another version of kevin's letter, a little shorter, and more
sympathetic to DCS - much less accusatory.
-jackie
Students Expressing Truth and the Department of Corrections share the
same mission rehabilitation. We approach this goal from different
perspectives, however, as we are seated in different corners of the
same room. DCS knows better than any other organization the
challenge of governing the prisons, and the importance of public
perception to meeting that challenge. SET, on the other hand, knows
the plight faced by those inside the prisons, their needs and
ambitions, and what it takes to motivate and rehabilitate them. If
we are to succeed in our joint mission of rehabilitation, then we
must hear and acknowledge each other. We must regroup and learn to
use our different perspectives to create, not destroy.
I became involved in the prisons, in SET, to make a difference. SET
is founded on a promise I made to the men and women behind bars a
promise to give them a voice for expressing truth, and to support
them unconditionally. I must live up to my word if SET is to
continue to thrive and rehabilitate its students. I cannot ask SET
members to remain silent about their experiences. Nor can I maintain
their respect if I deny what I know or speak with two tongues,
supporting them privately, and speaking against them publicly. What
I can do is facilitate dialogue. I can use my position to ensure
that that DCS is heard, and that the dialogue about the prisons is a
respectful one.
Mandating silence about the conditions in our prisons is more
damaging than any criticism that could be spoken. Change cannot
occur until we uncover and admit the truth about the present. That
requires openness on both sides - from DCS and from inmates.
Together, we can create that openness. The Department does not lose
face when inmates and ex-inmates share their experiences with the
public. Instead, it gains from encouraging an open dialogue and
responding to the concerns inmates and ex-inmates raise. If
mistruths, half-truths, or misconceptions are conveyed, the
Department has the power to correct them. I have the power to help
the Department correct them. I will only have that power so long as
I am credible in the eyes of SET members. Ultimately, the Department
can best control its public image through responsiveness to, not
oppression of its critics.
Our prisons face numerous challenges. DCS and SET must work together
to address those challenges. It is true that most inmates are
dissatisfied with the system. They are interested in working to
change the system for the better, however. Many want to change, to
rehabilitate themselves, but feel as though they are not given the
opportunity to do so. Right now, they feel that the system does not
acknowledge their predicament. They feel abandoned by officials,
some of whom create the appearance that the inmates are the only
problem. Together, we can bring both sides together and overcome
these perceptions to create a better environment inside our
institutions.
More interaction between high-ranking officials and inmates would
help to alleviate tension. Inmates feel isolated from DCS
officials. They question how officials can speak of rehabilitation
and what it means to them, without visiting rehabilitative programs
in the prisons and seeing how those programs work. I invite the
director of rehabilitation to join me at a SET meeting, to find out
what the group is really about, get to know the men and women who are
a part of the group, and offer them words of encouragement.
I cannot single-handedly reform our prisons. When men and women are
released from prison and speak of their situations and what they
experienced, officials should seize the opportunity to engage these
ex-inmates and learn from them. Rather that view such comments as
criticism, the Department should use the information they glean from
inmates and ex-inmates to make improvements. Such dialogue would
create a spirit of cooperation between the Department and inmates to
improve rehabilitation that would enhance the Department's pubic
image more than any official sound bite.
If we are to make progress and improve rehabilitation in our prisons,
DCS and SET must change course and unite. Today, I reach out to DCS
and offer myself as an ambassador between the administration and
inmates. If the Department will work together with SET, then we will
accomplish great things. As the saying goes, if you keep on doing
what you have been doing, you will keep on getting what you have
always gotten. Nothing will change. That is not what any of us at
DCS or SET signed up for. Let us come together and speak openly,
truthfully, about where the prisons are today, and where we will take
them for tomorrow. Let us acknowledge our struggles and successes
these truths will make us stronger and lead us toward our shared goal.
email with me may show up on my blog
unless privacy requested
***
Destiny says:
i loved jackie's letter
Destiny says:
i think it is perfect
charley says:
nice
Destiny says:
i would ad a thing here and there but thats it
charley says:
feel it with your voice
Destiny says:
i will thats great
Destiny says:
it reads like a presentation that i can somehow give to the department
Destiny says:
maybe that is the approach i should take with it
Destiny says:
maybe i can call a meeting at dcs with its staff as well as some stakeholders and this could be my presentation
Destiny says:
to the group
Destiny says:
when richard comes back
charley says:
yes, the mou and our prior discussions with dcs suggest that you should brief dcs staff from top to bottom
Destiny says:
rigth
charley says:
this is the perfect case study to discuss
Destiny says:
fantastic
Destiny says:
this is a great pllace to start
Destiny says:
and we can do that now
charley says:
yes
Destiny says:
soon come