a reflective journal about social action from JustDane “Mass incarceration has changed the social life of the city. It has filtered into the most intimate relationships and deformed the contours of American democracy, one poor (and most often) Black family at a time.” –Reuben Jonathan Miller, author of Halfway Home
HOLD FAST TO DREAMS BY LINDA KETCHAM, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR In 1999 JustDane held our first “Returning Prisoner Simulation” to offer participants a glimpse into the journey home faced by individuals being released from prison. We have learned so much since that first simulation: Lessons learned through the experiences of our staff who made that journey; lessons learned through stories of the newly released who walk through our doors with a dream for their future after incarceration. In the words of Langston Hughes, "Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly." Reentry holds nearly universal challenges for most returnees. The journey is also a very personal one that requires individualized support. That’s why, over the past 22 years, JustDane has woven together an array of services to support both people released from prison and jail, and their families. We work to keep dreams alive.
JUST THE FACTS
Wisconsin has just shy of 20,000 people incarcerated in state prisons Wisconsin has over 64,000 people on community supervision Almost 95% of people in prison will get out at some point Without supports, 60-65% of formerly incarcerated people go back to prison Formerly incarcerated people are your neighbors JustDane's Reentry Programs have maintained an average reincarceration rate of less than 10%.
Fall 2021
JustDialogue • a reflective journal about social action from JustDane We have 23 staff members who have lived experience with the justice system. They understand the challenges, and the dreams, that someone released from prison has for a new start, a new life. They understand how important it is that dreams don’t die. Restorative Justice requires us to recognize that for many who are caught in our justice system, their dreams seem impossible. My colleague Shanita Lawrence and I met with 12 women in the Restorative Justice Program at the WI Resource Center. The focus of our session was maintaining family connections, especially with their children. Sharing that space with the women, listening to their hopes and dreams for their return home to family and community, is holy ground. We have learned that while our community talks about restorative justice, we have not fully embraced the principles, especially the idea that the community must be held accountable for the conditions we allow to exist.
Systemic racism and disparities in Dane County and Wisconsin mean that many participants in our reentry programs never had access to a good education, a good paying job, or safe, stable housing before their incarceration. After their incarceration, they have even less access. Families are torn apart. Justice-involved individuals become a commodity to be exploited. This is why we continue our advocacy work in the community. We call for an end to the criminalization of poverty, for justice system reform, for truly affordable permanent housing. We call for an end to the seemingly endless punishment that justice-involved people experience because their conviction history is held against them when they seek a job or housing or to reconnect - meaning their sentence is never really served. At JustDane, we commit to helping people hold tight to their dreams, to not lose hope that lives can be rebuilt, and relationships repaired. Each of us has a role to play in building a community where every person is invited in and valued - a community where the dreams of every individual have a chance to come true.
“The prison lives on through the people who've been convicted long after they complete their sentences, and it lives on through the grandmothers, lovers, and children forced to share their burdens because they are never really allowed to pay their so-called debt to society.” –Reuben Jonathan Miller As a chaplain at the Cook County Jail in Chicago and as a sociologist studying mass incarceration, Dr. Reuben Jonathan Miller has spent years alongside prisoners, formerly incarcerated people, their families, and their friends to understand the lifelong burden that even a single arrest can entail. What his work reveals is a simple, if overlooked truth: life after incarceration is its own form of prison.
Miller’s new book, Halfway Home: Race, Punishment and the Afterlife of Mass Incarceration, is a portrait of the many ways mass incarceration reaches into American life, sustaining structural racism and redrawing the boundaries of our democracy.
JustDane is excited to welcome Dr. Miller to Madison on November 9th to share his insight and delve into the topics of his book. Please stay tuned for more information about this event. In the meantime, visit A Room of One's Own or local bookseller of your choice to purchase his book!
JustDane • Changing Lives, Changing the Community
SAVE THE DATE!
YOUR PLANNED GIFTS SUSTAIN JUSTDANE
For nearly 50 years JustDane supporters have shown compassion for families impacted by injustice. Your gifts in many forms have opened pathways so people who are determined to transform their lives for the better can reach their goals and experience success. Our core values of inclusion, compassion, forgiveness and courage define our legacy. We hope you, our supporters, will consider making your personal legacy a part of JustDane’s legacy. Planned or legacy giving is a way to provide vital, long-term support to JustDane. Your estate plan makes an enduring impact on the people you hold dear, and your decision to include a planned gift to JustDane can help sustain our work in the years to come and advance the values that are most meaningful to you. Our mission is to transform individual lives and social systems to create a just and equitable community. Whether your personal assets are modest or exceptional, we have a range of planned giving options so your gift can have the living impact and scope you wish to designate. If you already have included JustDane in your legacy giving plan we would very much like to hear from you. Opportunities for legacy giving are described on our website. Kathy Eckenrod, JustDane's Development Director, will be happy to discuss your wishes regarding your personal legacy. You can contact Kathy at 608.807.9107 or kathy@justdane.org.
FOR MORE INFORMATION HTTPS://JUSTDANE.ORG/PLANNED-GIVING
Thank You to CUNA for their generous support of JUSTCONVERSATIONS During the day, CUNA Mutual Group helps people protect, plan, and invest for their future. They believe in the power of community and graciously show up as supporters of agencies like ours. We are grateful to have them as a Champion Sponsor of our JustConversations series! We envisioned JustConversations to engage our neighbors in discussion around important, timely issues that are affecting our community. Our hope is to highlight the work that JustDane does while also amplifying the voices of partner organizations and individuals making a difference in the community. By coming together in conversation, we can form new collaborations, inform and engage advocates, and create solutions. With CUNA Mutual Group's support, we will be bringing you new and improved JustConversations in 2022, with topics ranging from Fair Hiring Practices and Just Workplaces to Mental Health in the Criminal Justice System and the C.A.R.E.S. team in Madison. Stay tuned for upcoming conversations by visiting our website events page at justdane.org/events/.
Thank you to our generous supporters! You help us transform individual lives and social systems to create a just and equitable community.
Sponsors
Supporters American Family Insurance American Family Insurance Dreams Foundation, Inc. Ascendium Education Solutions, Inc. Bethel Lutheran Church Covenant Presbyterian Church Edgewood College Epic The Kroger Foundation Madison Rotary Foundation Network for Good Oakwood Village Prairie Ridge Spiritual Life Committee
Orchard Ridge United Church of Christ Quartz Health Solutions Saint Dunstan's Episcopal Church The Evjue Foundation, Inc. United Way of Dane County UW Health Culinary Services UW Hospitals & Clinics Westminster Presbyterian Church WI Alumni Research Foundation Wisconsin Council of Churches
www.justdane.org
JustDialogue • a reflective journal about social action from JustDane
R RESIDENCE
E EMPLOYMENT
S SUPPORT
JUSTDANE BRINGS BACK NEW AND IMPROVED REENTRY SIMULATION! JustDane is excited to report that thanks to an amazing team of University of Wisconsin interns we have rolled out an updated, improved version of our Reentry Simulation! The simulation is a very complex, interactive adult education workshop intended to deepen understanding about recidivism. For over 22 years we have conducted it for thousands of participants, including professional groups, students, and community leaders. Rooted in restorative justice, JustDane’s simulation has proven to be a transformative experience, helping participants understand how to support change that can move us toward becoming a community where everyone has a chance to succeed. At JustDane, when faced with the reality that the Covid-19 pandemic had brought in-person group activities to a standstill, we decided it was the perfect time to improve on a good thing. Our Reentry Simulation Intern Team (RSIT) worked remotely to accomplish major revisions to the simulation. This was no small feat, and our agency has benefitted immensely from their collective input.
E EDUCATION
T TREATMENT
T TRANSPORTATION
The Team (l to r): Lara Miller, Lucy Bailey, John Givens, Jackie Austin, Carley Blake, and Kylie Barry
JustDane • Changing Lives, Changing the Community
Carley, Kylie, and Lucy held weekly team meetings and quickly learned about JustDane’s mission and the history of the simulations. They reviewed and organized all the simulation roles, reorganized the materials in digital formats, updated language for cultural sensitivity and outdated terms, and reviewed content from a legal and procedural perspective. They reworked the roles of simulation characters and helped design a new and visually appealing format.
Parolees wait in line to be booked back into jail after failing to complete one of their supervision rules.
Lucy helps a parolee cash a check at the Payday Check-to-Cash station.
A simulation participant reviews their role before the role-play begins
Parolees sit in a treatment circle as part of their community supervision rules
On October 8th, for the first time in two years, JustDane held a Reentry Simulation. Close to 100 Edgewood College students. staff. and faculty had the chance to take a walk in the shoes of someone newly released from prison. Our RSIT interns, along with other JustDane volunteers, filled simulation roles of Community Workers. All participants left with more knowledge about reentry. More importantly, the experience left participants with a gut understanding about why coming home after prison and reintegrating into the community is easier said than done.
A Reentry Panelist shares their story
Participants wait in line to check in with their parole agents
Edgewood students take a moment to help each other navigate the chaos
A Reentry Panelist shares their story
www.justdane.org
JustDialogue • a reflective journal about social action from JustDane
WHAT'S COOKING AT JUST BAKERY! At our most basic level, Just Bakery is a 12-week job training program. But ask any of our participants and they will tell you we’re a lot more than that. Just Bakery works with anyone facing barriers to employment. It could be a struggle with mental health, misusing alcohol or drugs, or living with unstable housing. Frequently, mixed in with all of those things, our students are justice-involved as well, so we have Resource Specialists who meet with participants to design personalized assistance plans for each student based on what they really need.
In the Classroom Testing our skills
In the classroom Just Bakery utilizes the ManageFirst curriculum, through which students learn Management, Supervision, Controlling Foodservice Costs, Nutrition, and ServSafe (food safety). After completing each segment, our students take a final, proctored test. Successful completion qualifies our students to earn a nationally recognized certificate that helps them build their resumes and opens better job opportunities. In addition, through our partnership with Madison College, Just Bakery students can gain up to 12 credits towards a culinary degree, plus automatic acceptance into the culinary program. In the kitchen Besides the bookwork, we are best known for our commercial baking kitchen, where our students get hands-on experience to learn basic baking methods, how to calculate and measure ingredients, and how to convert recipes for large-batch baking. Our kitchen is where students put their book knowledge into practice so they can retain their new skills while making the delicious baked goods that earn Just Bakery our prize-winning reputation!
In the Kitchen Ready to bake!
Just Bakery can customize Logo Cookies for you! JustDane • Changing Lives, Changing the Community
In the community Just Bakery requires students to concentrate on employment skills. They learn about resumes, cover letters, personal statements, and interviewing. We work one-on-one to review each student’s job search materials with them. They must do practice interviews. We have been fortunate to work with American Family Insurance to give our students realistic mock interview experiences, including a focus on those hard questions that are likely to come up during the real-world hiring process. Together we evaluate the best ways to prepare students to find the type of job they want, and to identify potential employers that will be a good match for them.
5000 Ice Cream Sandwiches for Epic
In the Community Taste of Madison, 2021
Overcoming obstacles with community support We know Just Bakery students are making their way through all sorts of barriers, so we work with them to knock down every obstacle to success that we can. Like anyone else, our students must manage everyday personal obligations. They struggle to participate in classes and hands-on work, while also prioritizing personal care. Even with the substantial levels of support Just Bakery provides, low student retention rates are an ongoing challenge, and we welcome back students who return to give it another try. Recently we have been able to pay our students, providing a source of supplemental income to alleviate stresses they face. We are exploring ways to partner with Dane County jails to see if we can direct more folks toward our program. We hope to re-instate participation by students from the Huber Center work release program because we definitely miss their presence.
In the Community
Reducing Hunger during Pandemic, 2021
Order some Just Bakery goodies today! justdane.org/just-bakery/
With community support to match their needs, Just Bakery students can keep their positive momentum going and move toward achieving their personal and professional goals, while also feeling part of a community that cares. www.justdane.org
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STAY CONNECTED WITH US!
JustDialogue is a reflective journal of social action printed by JustDane staff. The positions expressed here are the opinions of the authors and not necessarily the board of directors or funding sources of JustDane. Faith communities and all individual members receive a copy. Individual membership in JustDane is encouraged. Please mail contributions to our address below or visit JustDane’s website at justdane.org.