I Was In Prison And You...Conference Symposium, Sat. Oct. 1, 2016, Grace Methodist Church, NYC

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I Was In Prison and You...

 An All-Day Conference Symposium 
About all Aspects of Prison Ministry 

Sat. Oct. 1, 2016, 9:30 am to 4 pm
at Grace United Methodist Church, 
125 West 104th Street, New York, NY

Sponsored by the United Methodist Church 
New York Annual Conference Board 
of Church and Society 

We will lead a white-collar workshop 
at the "I Was in Prison and You..." 
Conference Symposium.

Please join us! 

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Information: http://www.nyac.com/cbcs

Schedule for the Day:

9:30 — Arrival, registration, coffee etc.
10:00 — Worship
11:00 — Panel: How do we minister with the incarcerated and
families? Moderated by George Chochos
11:45 — Break
12:00 — Workshops (see below)
12:45 — Lunch and exploring information tables
2:00 — Panel: How can we advocate for change in the criminal
justice system? Moderated by Kara Gotsch
3:00 — Workshops (see below)
3:45 — Break
4:00 — Final wrap-up and communion

Morning Workshop Selections 

(Ministry with those incarcerated and their families)

Changin’ Your Game Plan – This workshop will describe a new readiness approach to successful prison reentry. Randy Kearse has developed a workbook that provides a step-by-step system that begins while still in prison, aided by a mentor or partner on the outside. Learn how you can participate in empowering people while still incarcerated to be ready for the future of life after prison and parole. (Leader: Randy Kearse)

Kairos Outside – Kairos Outside is a 2½ day Christian Weekend designed to demonstrate God’s grace and love through Christian support for women who have been impacted by incarceration. Learn more about how you and your church could support or implement this program that fosters community and support for those affected by having loved ones in prison. (Leader: Coralie Joseph)

Fortune Society – In existence since 1967, The Fortune Society is a leading provider of alternatives to incarceration and reentry services in the New York area, providing a holistic, one-stop model of service provision. Learn how your church can get involved! (Leader: Ronald Day)

Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. – This is the first ministry in the U.S. created to provide confidential support and counseling to individuals, families and organizations with white-collar and other nonviolent incarceration issues. Learn how your church can support this much-needed ministry! (Leaders: Rev. Jeff Grant and Lynn Springer)

Never Forsaken Re-entry Ministries, Inc. – A ministry working to create collaborative partnerships with churches to enhance ex-offender (returning citizens) self-sufficiency, especially through providing housing for the first ninety days of re-entry. Learn how your church can take part! (Leader: Pastor Benny Custodio)

Tools to Stop Solitary: Building Lifelines through Letters & Solidarity through Virtual Reality –
Letters are a crucial way to transcend the living tombs of solitary confinement. Learn about Lifelines to Solitary, an on-going prison correspondence program specifically designed to reach out to people in solitary confinement. This project offers religious communities an important opportunity to bring a spark of human contact into the living tombs of solitary confinement through committing to on-going correspondence. In addition, The Guardian's 6x9: A virtual experience of solitary confinement is a powerful new VR experience that places viewers inside a U.S. solitary confinement prison cell. Learn about how you can share this experience with your congregation from one of the visionaries who helped to create this tool from first-hand experience inside. (Leader: NRCAT)

Afternoon Workshop Selections 

(advocacy for criminal justice reform)

Raising the Age of Criminal Responsibility in New York – New York is one of two states to automatically treat youth age 16 and up as adults in the criminal justice system, regardless of the severity of the offense. Members of the Raise the Age – New York Campaign will explain the details of the effort to “raise the age” and how your church can be involved in advocating for sensible solutions to promote children’s well-being and safety. (Leader: Elizabeth Powers, CDF)

Think Outside the Cell – THINK OUTSIDE THE CELL is working to end systemic discrimination against formerly incarcerated people who struggle to reintegrate into communities across this nation. Find out how your congregation can be involved in helping to end the stigma that denies willing and capable men and women the essential building blocks of stable lives. Learn more about their unique combination of research, advocacy, storytelling and coalition-building that can bring about lasting changes in attitudes, laws, policies and practices. (Leader: Sheila Rule)

How Faith Communities Can Support Humane Alternatives to Long Term Solitary Confinement –
The United Nations has defined more than 15 days in solitary confinement as torture. This workshop will explore how the HALT bill in New York state models legislation that is needed everywhere to eliminate torture from our criminal justice system. Members of the Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement (CAIC) and the National Religious Campaign Against Torture will lay out the process for the passage of HALT and provide information for how members of your congregation can become legislative advocates.

Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act – Where do things stand with this federal legislation that is designed to make important changes in our criminal justice system? Learn what strategies are needed next in the campaign to get S. 2123 voted on and turned into law. The workshop will emphasize basic lobbying techniques and ways to get congregations involved. (Leader: Kara Gotsch)

Lobbying 101 – Looking for the basics on how to motivate a church to be more involved in social justice issues? Wondering where to start and how to introduce some realistic goals for our congregations? Some professional strategists will provide a step-by-step approach that will inspire us to begin! (Leader: Janis Rosheuvel)

Click link for additional information :

http://www.nyac.com/cbcs

Courage & Faith Presents: Bryan Stevenson at Christ Church Greenwich, Sat., Sept. 24, 2016, 7pm

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for the Days Ahead
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 Courage & Faith Presents:

Bryan Stevenson

at Christ Church Greenwich

Sat., Sept. 24, 2016, 7 pm

254 E. Putnam Ave.

Greenwich, CT 06830

_____________

Please join us as our friends at Courage & Faith 

and Christ Church Greenwich present one of the 

most influential criminal justice advocates in America.  

  
Tickets are now available online:  

Purchase tickets

 Tickets are now available online:  

Purchase tickets

 

 Tickets are now available online:  

Purchase tickets

 Tickets are now available online: 

Purchase tickets

Tickets are now available online:  

Purchase tickets

White-Collar Woman's Story: Surviving Danbury FCI, by Jacqueline Polverari - Guest Blogger

Prisonist.org: Faith & Dignity 
for the Days Ahead
Blogs, Guest Blogs & News

White-Collar Woman's Story:

Surviving Danbury FCI

by Jacqueline Polverari - Guest Blogger

Jacquie is a member of our White-Collar/Nonviolent 

Online Support Group, the first in the nation. 

It meets online weekly on Tuesday evenings.  

_____________

I don’t think I could ever remember a time in my past life where I was truly satisfied or even happy with myself.  I had a continuing need to prove myself to my father, a constant need to please all of those around me and a desire to take care of everyone that I love.  I’m what the mental health industry calls a perfectionist.  I have a doctrine that the perfection of my moral character constitutes my worth, a disposition to regard anything short of perfection as unacceptable.  With those expectations of myself how could I ever achieve satisfaction?

With that in mind you can imagine that owning my own business employing my Father, Mother, Two Brothers, Husband, Niece and my Best Friend would have fulfilled me.  It did for a short time actually, until the mortgage industry imploded in 2008.  You see, I owned a Title Company and our business was directly affected by the massive hysteria of the Subprime mortgage market crash.  I was always taught in college that when business is down, it is the time to market and grow.   I definitely don’t remember which Professor drilled that one into my head but that is what I did.  I gave 49% of my business to the perfect partner, an attorney whom I admired and worked well with.   I marketed and grew my business, adding all mortgage services for a complete “one stop” shop.  We now had an attorney, we had a mortgage company move into our office adding to the existing Title Search Company and Notary Closing Company it was the perfect mix, or in my case I will say the “Perfect Storm”.   We even had commercials on TV!

But all the growing came with a huge price tag.  Financially we were drowning, and for a perfectionist this was unacceptable.  How could the company be drowning?  We were busy as hell with work, in fact I was working round the clock to keep up with the work we had.   Our office staff had grown, we were doing 100 title searches a day and over 30 closings.   One day our Office Manager came to me and told me that we didn’t have enough in our account to make payroll.  I thought how could that be?  But with all the growing and the constant working I wasn’t paying attention to our expenses and how high the payroll had gotten and our overhead had increased triple and of course those damn commercials!

So I cleaned out my checking account and funded payroll.  I knew at that very moment, on that Friday when I finally sat down and payed attention to our profit and loss statements and balance sheets that the decision to grow at that time was nightmarish.  I panicked, I made this deplorable decision to grow when I should have downsized.  I thought I was invincible and I was finally getting noticed by people and I was respected in the industry.  In my mind, I was making my father proud, giving a living to my entire family and making my husband happy who so wanted to be inside behind a desk.  They were receiving very nice salaries and I was on top of the world.  How could I crash down their world?  I couldn’t bear to think that I would be responsible for all their unemployment. 

Over the next week I applied for every business loan I could think of and got denied.  No bank would give money to a company in the mortgage industry when it was crashing, especially a Title Company.  My partner was no help and he put it all on me telling me I would figure something out, I always did.   I had to make payroll again but I had gone through everything I had.  So I made the worse choice anyone could ever make and I sold my soul to the devil. 

I had just done a closing and the money had been wired into my account.  I figured I could use some of that to make payroll and when I could collect from the clients who owed me money I would pay it back.  It would be fine.  The person’s mortgage would get paid off later than expected but at least it would give me time to fix everything.  Because that is what I did, I fixed everything.  I made it better so no one had to ever worry.  But it only got worse from there because our largest client at the time closed its doors with a huge bill owed to my company.  This was the money I needed to pay back the funds that I used for payroll.

From that point on it was a domino effect, you know the chain reaction produced when one event sets off a chain of similar events.  I had to fix it.   I knew I could come back from this.  But how?  I couldn’t bear the thought of being a failure and being a disappointment to all those who I loved.

So, I took a mortgage out on my house without informing my husband, signed his name on the dotted line and funded the business with it.  One would think that isn’t illegal, quite immoral but not illegal.  Wrong! I failed to disclose to the bank my current mortgage on the house so the check would come directly to me as a wire into my title company.   I tried to actually reason with myself and tell myself that it was okay because I was paying the payment every month.   It fixed everything for a short time.

But time went go by and it wasn’t okay because after a time I couldn’t make the extra mortgage payment, I was slowly getting farther and farther behind.  I decided to tell my husband what I had done, I couldn’t handle the fact that I lied to him the first time in our marriage.  I expected him to walk out on me as I was slowly self-destructing.   He was rightfully angry to say the least, but after a few days he did something I never expected from any person in my life at the time.  He apologized.   He apologized for not seeing any of it, for not realizing the pressure I was under, for not realizing the salary he was drawing for being in the office was draining us.   His sympathy for me made me feel such guilt and shame like I had never felt before.  I didn’t deserve this man.

A week or so went by when I got a phone call from my Office Manager to inform me that the FBI was in my office waiting for me.  They wanted to speak to me and were questioning the staff.   I immediately headed for the office.  Knowing what was coming, I called an attorney I had done business with before that I knew did federal criminal work.  I went into my office and told the FBI they needed to leave and to call my attorney.

It was here, the end or as I would say today, the beginning.  The morning I will never forget the rest of my life.  The morning my bad choices would affect everyone that was a part of my life.  It was in May, 2010 when my kids got up and got on the school bus as normal and I got into the shower to start my day.   As I was in the shower I heard banging at my bedroom door.  I figured one of the kids missed the school bus as usual.  I yelled out that I was in the shower.  That is when my bathroom door was pushed in and there were about 15 FBI agents in my house with their guns drawn as I was standing in my shower naked.   I remember my husband yelling let me get her a towel at least.  I put on a robe and went down into the kitchen where I called my attorney.  The FBI had a warrant to search my house.  Apparently they were looking for files that were part of another ongoing investigation regarding my partner as well as seizing all my computers in the house.

What I later found out was that while this entire horrible thing was happening my neighbor who was my friend also worked for me was videotaping it all on her phone to share it with everyone that she felt needed to see what was going on at my house.   She also felt the need to call the local news station to hurry to film the fiasco.  Why not humiliate me more than I was?  To this day I don’t understand her need for doing that knowing what a small town we live in and especially knowing I have kids it would effect.

I let the FBI do their job, after about 15 minutes most of them left and there were a select few who did their job in searching.  I just sat there in a morphed state.   I couldn’t believe my life had turned out this way.   Me, who never even got a speeding ticket, I volunteered at the CT Food Bank, I ran my own food drives monthly, I was heavily involved in the school system.   

That next week, I went into the FBI’s office with my attorney and confessed it all.  I blurted every single thing I did wrong since the day I sold my soul to the devil.  My thought process was that I was a mother first.  I needed to be strong and honest and forthcoming.  I needed to lead by example and seeing I was not doing that over that prior year now was my redemption as a mother.  I knew I couldn’t redeem myself to my peers and many friends and even family who all walked away but I didn’t care at that moment.  All I cared about was my children, the 3 innocent kids in my life who were going to be affected by their mother’s bad choices.  I needed to be perfect once again and fix this.

People make bad choices, every second of every minute of every day.  People are human.  I believe it is not the bad choices that determine our character but how we choose to handle those choices.  To me it was to teach my children that even as a mother I am human but when we make bad choices we need to look at ourselves and be honest with the decisions we made.   I took responsibility and full accountability for the bad choices I had made.  I plead guilty to 2 counts of Mortgage fraud.

What I didn’t realize, was that the Government does nothing in a timely fashion.  I waited for 4 years to be sentenced.  They claimed they needed to do all their research and investigate.   They investigated my business partner and I needed to wait for that to be done with for some reason.  So for 4 years I was placed on supervised release awaiting sentencing.   I obviously wasn’t a threat to society, I was never handcuffed or put in a FBI car.  I wasn’t even fingerprinted yet.  I had no restrictions.

I downsized my business, got rid of all the liabilities and kept it at just a small title search company.  We were busy, still having my father, 2 brothers, husband all working for me.  I moved the company to the basement of my house.  Got rid of all the employees and only had about 15 title searchers left all as independent contractors.  I retreated into work and for 4 years was embarrassed to go out ridden with guilt for what I had done to my family.   My family who stood by me and still looked to me to take care of everything.  My family who believed I would have a major restitution but would not ever go to prison.  I put myself in my own prison.  I felt like a failure, a disappointment and I lived every one of those days for 4 years terrified of what my fate would be.  I could barely function, I didn’t know how to right this wrong.  My husband and kids stood by me and were proud of me they said.  I didn’t believe them.

Then the day in August 2014 came where I stood in front of a federal judge who was a woman.  She would judge me and determine what my punishment would be.  My attorney thought I would get 6 months in prison he was asking for house arrest.  I have kids and ties to the community.  By this time my Son and Daughter were in college and my little one was about to start her freshman year in college.  They needed their mom.  I was optimistic, it seemed so long ago that I committed this crime.

My Children stood in front of this judge holding hands and they spoke in my behalf.  They spoke to the judge with hope and begging in their voice.  Next my husband spoke and he talked about all the good things I have done.  I had letters from the people that worked for me, begging the judge not to sentence me to prison as they would all be without jobs.

I then stood up and faced this stone faced woman who looked at me and said, “You have a wonderful loving supportive family.  You are a college graduate with a MBA and a MSW and have a prior history that is impeccable.  You have a home and so much going for you.  So shame on you for destroying that.  I sentence you to 1 year and 1 day in Federal Prison”.   Then just like that she got up and left.   I stood there and couldn’t move, my attorney was hugging me and all I could hear was my mother crying and my kids crying and then I heard my husband cry louder than I have ever heard a person cry before.  I couldn’t handle any of it.  I hated myself for what I did to these people who I loved so much.  I was numb, I didn’t understand.   I just couldn’t comprehend what was happening.

Danbury FCI. Jacqueline served her sentence in the satellite camp.

On January 5, 2015 I self-surrendered to Danbury Federal Prison Camp for Women.  My husband drove me after a long tearful goodbye to my kids and parents.  I tried to stay strong for my kids.  I kept telling them that it was a camp and it would be okay.  I told them to think of it that we were all away together.  They were at college and I was also away at a different kind of school where I could learn about myself. 

I got to the prison not knowing exactly what to expect.   I said my goodbyes to my husband who was not taking this departure well at all.  I again, hated myself and was guilt ridden.   I deserved this, but my husband and kids and parents didn’t.  They did nothing wrong.  They were also being punished.  I didn’t and couldn’t understand how I was free for 4 years and then some judge felt that taking me away from my family and putting me at this “camp” for women was justice.

I was brought into this little room and everything I read about the humiliating strip search became a reality for me.  I was giving a number and a uniform and bedding in a bag and then was told the camp was up the hill.  I looked at this officer and said are you going to bring me?  And she said, no what do you want a Valet Miss Shoreline? She again pointed up the hill and said start walking there is a building at the top, go in the side and someone will help you there.

As I started to walk up this hill in the freezing cold morning, it all came gushing out.  The tears and the emotions.  I started shaking and I realized for the first time, I am in prison.  I was scared, I mean really scared.  I walked and walked and finally came to this small building and thought to myself this can’t be a prison.  There is no locks or bars, where the hell am I?  I walked into this side door and inside was complete chaos.  Someone yelled, “Another newbie”.  Where do I put her?  The woman took my bedding bag and brought me to room 10 where I would meet the 5 women I would be spending the next few months with until I went through processing and orientation and then assigned an actual room which consisted of a bunkbed and 2 lockers.   I was later moved to C Dorm and spent the rest of my stay in Danbury there.

I was released from prison July 22, 2015 and sent to the Hartford House a half-way house in Hartford, CT, run by a company contracted by the Bureau of Prisons called Community Solutions, Inc...  The first floor which consisted of 2 rooms, 4 beds were for Federal women.  The 2nd and 3rd Floors were State women.  I thought I was in prison when I was in Danbury.  What I was about to learn was that this half-way house was ten times worse than prison and it would be my home for the next 3 months.

I was finally released to home confinement in October, 2015 just before my birthday.  But I’m not free, I still have 3 years of Supervised Release in which I have a probation officer that determines how I spend my money and where I can travel.  I can’t visit my kid’s colleges without her authorization.   I can’t open up any new lines of credit over $500.00 without permission which means I cannot help my kids and co-sign their student loans.  Any money I spend over $500.00 I have to get approval first.   Plus I have restitution, which my family had to pay while I was in prison and now I have to pay every month.

The system changed me, my experience changed me, and my crime changed me.   I think I am a better person now.  My need for pleasing everyone and being a perfectionist destroyed my life.  I self-destructed.   I hurt the people I loved and I lost some people that I thought loved me.  I will live with that guilt the rest of my life.   The crime I committed of mortgage fraud will end up taking 8 years out of my life and financially ruined my husband and I.  Four years on Supervised release, 1 year in the prison system, and 3 three years on probation.  That is more time than some child molesters and rapists get.  This system is so flawed.

The things I learned in prison and about the Federal Prison System is something that I never wanted to learn about.  But I did and now that I have, I want to spend my life trying to change things.  I want to spend my life educating people on our broken system.  Helping nonviolent white collar offenders and women like me, who are facing a similar fate as mine.  I want to help women prepare for incarceration and work on re-entry, which there is so little resources.  We over incarcerate in this Country.  What good did it do society or anyone incarcerating me and taking me away from my family?  Imagine the good it would have done if I was sentenced to 5 years of heavy community service, helping those in need.

I am now branded with a scarlet “F” on my back as I am a felon.  I can never go back to my old life-style.  In an electronic world of the internet, I can never get away from this crime.  So I have decided to embrace who I am and let the world know that I am here and I will make a difference.

Jacqueline Polverari is a graduate of Southern Connecticut State University and Fordham University.  She is an experienced professional with proven success in marketing, branding and mentoring environments.  She has demonstrated skills in building and leading teams that meet and beat goals and expectations.  She is an expert in investigative research with an extensive background in developing and executing processes and procedures that improve efficiencies.  Jacqueline currently lives in Branford, CT with her loving husband and 3 children.  On her off-time she enjoys playing her flute, playing tennis and taking bike rides by the beach with her husband. She is still in the process of healing from her incarceration and her plans consist of helping women like herself with the re-entry from prison into society.  She can be reached at jpolverari@prisonist.org.

Comments from Social Media:

Stefan Gruner

That is sooo USA: 15 policemen, with fire-arms in hands, crush through the door to confront 1 naked women in the bathroom of her small-town suburb house. No cheap Hollywood movie could be worse than reality --- in every civilized country of the world that would have been an illegal over-use of un-neccessary force. In Germany, for example, a policeman may wield his fire-arm pointed only if there is an evident threat against him --- not if there could perhaps maybe possibly potentially arise some threat without clear evidence from the circumstances.

William Mayor

I did not really notice the 15 gun toting FBI agents. Rather I noted how lenient the system was on this woman. Federal white collar crime in the USA is punished in what are often referred to as "country club" prisons. You have to have enough money to get convicted of this type of crime. You can hurt and destroy as many lives as a drug dealer does, but the punishment is much less harsh.

Robert Bridges

you know a little bit of good therapy could have prevented all this...but as a friend likes to say "pride is often our own worst enemy." Back in the day I worked as a forensic analyst specifically looking for fraud in mortgage loan files. I can't tell you how many thousands of ordinary moms just like Jacqueline, lost their homes, their health, and their families because of the rampant fraud in the mortgage business. Knowing this was happening while bankers and mortgage brokers were raking in money hand over fist makes it harder to have sympathy for this woman.

John C Carr, PhD, Reg Psych (AB #1035)

I'm not hearing any real contrition or empathy for those she harmed in this narrative. Rather, the emphasis seems to be one of pride that she has "overcome." A therapist working with her would have to be pretty confrontive once a therapeutic alliance had been formed. Reading her story sort of reminds me of working with sex offenders. The remorse seems to centre around being caught.

Allen Montgomery

This is an interesting story, from many angles. Her business was in trouble, and she committed a criminal act out of desperation. While I don't condone what she did, I appreciate that it doesn't exactly fit the narrative of the greedy banker who was out to rip people off. I once had a job where I had access to the petty cash box. If I was running a little low on funds, I could grab some money, leave an IOU in it's place, and settle up when payday rolled around. I had permission to do that. Some people do it without permission, intending to put the money back before anyone misses it, and end up going to prison for it. In this case, we have a business owner, rather than an employee, doing essentially the same thing.

  

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Donations

We are grateful for all donations this past year to our Ministries. These donations enable us to grow, reach out and serve this community for which there is far too little understanding, compassion, empathy and accurate information.  Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is a CT Religious Corp. with 501c3 status -

all donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. We hope you will consider making a donation to our appeal this year.  Donations can be made by credit card/PayPal here, at the "Donate" button on on our site, prisonist.org or by sending your check payable to: "Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc." P.O. Box 1232, Weston, Connecticut 06883.  We have enclosed an addressed envelope for your use. Thank you.

__________ 

 

If you, a friend or a family member are experiencing a white-collar or nonviolent incarceration issue, please contact us and we will promptly send you an information package by mail, email or via Dropbox.

The darkest days of a person's life can be a

time of renewal and hope

____________

Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc.

Rev. Jeff Grant, JD, M Div, Minister/Director
jgrant@prisonist.org
(o) 203-769-1096
(m) 203-339-5887
Twitter
Facebook
Linked In
Pinterest
Google+

Tumblr

Lynn Springer, Founding Advocate, Innocent Spouse & Children Project
lspringer@prisonist.org

(203) 536-5508

Jacqueline Polverari, MBA, MSW, Advocate, Women's Incarceration Issues
jpolverari@prisonist.org
(203) 671-5139

George Bresnan, Advocate, Ex-Pats

gbresnan@prisonist.org

(203) 609-5088 

Jim Gabal, Development

jgabal@prisonist.org

(203) 858-2865

The Message is the Medium, By Jeff Grant, JD, M Div: Overcoming the Negative Messages We Tell Ourselves & Receive From Others

Prisonist.org: Faith & Dignity 
for the Days Ahead
Blogs, Guest Blogs & News 

The Message is the Medium:

Overcoming the Negative Messages We Tell 

Ourselves & Receive From Others 

By Jeff Grant, JD, M Div

 Please help us by adding to this list of internal &

external, negative & positive messages. Your online comments, texts and emails are appreciated. 

The results will be included in an upcoming article!

Internal Messages:

From Negative: Shame, Regret, Fear, Remorse, Failure, Hopeless, Helpless, Stuck, Depression, Life is Over, Useless, Doormat, Unworthy, Fear, Projecting, Isolation, Substance Abuse, Mental Illness, Outcast, Criminal, Felon, Anger, Outcomes, Attachment, Lonely, Sadness, Compulsions, False Pride, Mourning, Sloth, Envy, Jealousy, Victim, Disbelief, Expectations...

To Positive: Accomplished, Resilient, Resourceful, Faith, Hope, Talented, Lovable, Acceptance, Surrender, Love, Respect, Forgiveness, Accountability, Passion, Re-purpose, Friend, Husband, Wife, Father, Son, Daughter, Citizen, Voter, Taxpayer, Empathy, Compassion, Kindness, Understanding, Self-worth, Self-esteem, Debt paid, Service, Proud, Process, Free, Health...

External Messages:

From Negative: Stigma, Ostracism, Shunning, Fear, Blaming, Marginalization, Litigation, Divorce, Separation, Estrangement, Schadenfreude, NIMBY, Outcast, Banish, Hurt, Disappointment, Victim, Resentment, Retribution, Revenge, Justice, Restitution, Anger, Damnation...

To Positive: Forgiveness, Empathy, Understanding, Tolerance, Compassion, Caring, Support, Service, Reconciliation, Amnesty, Pardon, Opportunity, Community, Settlement, Compromise...

_____________

Donations

We are grateful for all donations this past year to our Ministries. These donations enable us to grow, reach out and serve this community for which there is far too little understanding, compassion, empathy and accurate information.  Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is a CT Religious Corp. with 501c3 status -

all donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. We hope you will consider making a donation to our appeal this year.  Donations can be made by credit card/PayPal here, at the "Donate" button on on our site, prisonist.org or by sending your check payable to: "Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc." P.O. Box 1232, Weston, Connecticut 06883.  We have enclosed an addressed envelope for your use. Thank you.

__________ 

 

If you, a friend or a family member are experiencing a white-collar or nonviolent incarceration issue, please contact us and we will promptly send you an information package by mail, email or via Dropbox.

The darkest days of a person's life can be a

time of renewal and hope

____________

Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc.

Rev. Jeff Grant, JD, M Div, Minister/Director
jgrant@prisonist.org
(o) 203-769-1096
(m) 203-339-5887
Twitter
Facebook
Linked In
Pinterest
Google+

Tumblr

Lynn Springer, Founding Advocate, Innocent Spouse & Children Project
lspringer@prisonist.org

(203) 536-5508

George Bresnan, Advocate, Ex-Pats
gbresnan@prisonist.org
(203) 609-5088

Jim Gabal, Development
jgabal@prisonist.org
(203) 858-2865

Babz Rawls Ivy, Media Contact
mediababz@gmail.com

Prisonist.org: August 2016 Newsletter. White Collar Ministry, Advocacy, Service

Do You Know an Individual, Family or Organization with White-Collar Incarceration Issues? Help is in this Newsletter!

Please feel free to forward to those in need!

Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc.  Jeff Grant, JD, M Div, Director, Lynn Springer, Founding Advocate White-Collar Ministry I Advocacy I Service Faith & Dignity for the Days Ahead      The first ministry in the United States created to provide confidential   support and counseling to individuals, families and organizations with   white-collar and other nonviolent incarceration issues.       August 2016 Newsletter

Significant Outcomes: Since Jan. 2015, We have Served Over 85 Individuals and 35 Families in 25 States:       Since Jan. 2015, we have served individuals and families in twenty-five states, including:      Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. We typically communicate with these individuals and families before, during and upon reentry from prison in person or by phone, email, Skype, FaceTime, GoToMeeting or, if in a Federal prison, via CorrLinks. Please click image for our information package.          News: We Have Started A White-Collar/Nonviolent  Online Support Group -   the first in the country   If you have been convicted of a white-collar or nonviolent crime and have served your sentence, please consider joining our online white-collar/nonviolent support group. We hold our weekly group meeting on Tuesdays, 8 pm Eastern, 7 pm Central, 6pm Mountain, 5 pm Pacific. For more information please click image.            Article: Our Ministry Featured in Business Insider        Rachael Levy wrote a powerful article about our ministry, "This is what it's like when the 1% go to jail, according to a couple that ministers to their families." Publication date: July 27, 2016. Click image to read article.    Blog: After Trauma: The Time for Spiritual Growth     So many of us are in a place where our first life has come to an end.  A divorce, the death of a child or other loved one, loss of a job or career, alcohol and drug problems that finally crushed us, financial issues that overwhelmed our ability to be present for ourselves and our families, an illness or mental illness, hospitalization, poor judgment that has caused rampant legal problems, incarceration. Click image to read Jeff Grant's article for prisonist.org Guest Blog: Shouldn't Criminal Defense Lawyers Prepare Clients for Prison?      Jay Berger, a former lawyer who served time in a Federal prison, makes a compelling case urging the white-collar defense bar to prepare their clients for prison. Click image to read Lee's article on prisonist.org. Guest Blog: White-Collar Prison Consultants: Let the Buyer Beware     Jack Donson is one of the few prison consultants who we have found to be ethical and trustworthy.  Click image to read his article on the ways in which unscrupulous consultants hurt vulnerable individuals and families.  Video: We Were Interviewed By Jennifer Crumpton for the Huffington Post       Please click image to watch our June 7, 2016 video interview with Jennifer Crumpton, author of the book Femmevangelical, and religion columnist for The Huffington Post and Patheos.      Event: We Will Speak and Host a White-Collar Work Session at the Methodist Reentry Symposium in NYC We will speak and lead a white-collar breakout session on Sat., Oct. 1, 2106 at the United Methodist New York Annual Conference Board of Church and Society presents "I Was in Prison and You..." at the Grace United Methodist Church, 125 West 104th Street, New York, NY. Please join us. Click image for more information. Cover Story: Jeff Featured in Men of Faith Magazine      Click image to read Men of Faith Magazine:  Interview with Rev. Jeff Grant, by Hurley Morgan, Senior Managing Editor (pg.8 - 11). We are so grateful to Elissa Gabrielle, Cheryl Lacey Donovan, Hurley Morgan, Cee Cee H. Caldwell Miller and all at Real Life Real Faith Media for allowing us the opportunity to reach out to individuals and families with white-collar and nonviolent incarceration issues who are suffering in silence. Issue release date May 18, 2016.       Article: Lynn Featured in Women Walking By Faith Magazine      Click image to read the Women Walking By Faith May/June Edition, Women's Ministry/Organization Highlight: "A Chat With Lynn Springer (pg. 24-25). Issue release date May 16, 2016.   Grant: ABCUSA Has Awarded Us A Grant To Help Struggling Families & For College Scholarships. Apply Now! We are so grateful to the American Baptist Churches USA for awarding us a Matthew 25 $2000 grant to provide one-time stipends to individuals or families with white-collar or nonviolent incarceration issues to be used for short-term expenses and for college scholarships. Please feel free to email us if you require assistance. The funds will be administered by Jeff's Supervising Minister, Rev. Hopeton Scott of the First Baptist Church of Bridgeport.  Click image for more information.    Donations: Thank You For Your Support & Generosity! We are grateful for all donations made to our ministries. Donations can be made by Credit Card/PayPal or by sending your check payable to: "Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc." P.O. Box 1232, Weston, Connecticut 06883.  We are a CT Religious Corp. with 501(c)(3) status - all donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.    Contact Information:   If transformation and redemption matter to you, a friend or a family member with a white-collar or nonviolent incarceration issue, please contact us and we will promptly send you an information package by mail, email or via Dropbox. The darkest days of a person's life can be a time of renewal and hope. Blessings, כן, מאוד Jeff & Lynn     Prisonist.org: Progressive Prison Project/Innocent Spouse & Children Project are missions of Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc.      Mailing Address:  P.O. Box 1232  Weston, Connecticut 06883  (o) 203-769-1096 Jeff Grant, JD, M Div, Director  jgrant@prisonist.org (m) 203-339-5887  Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, Pinterest, Google+, Tumblr  Lynn Springer, Founding Advocate, Innocent Spouses & Children lspringer@prisonist.org  (m) 203-536-5508 George Bresnan, Advocate, Ex-Pats  gbresnan@prisonist.org  (m) 203-609-5088 Jim Gabal, Development  jgabal@prisonist.org  (m) 203-858-2865 Babz Rawls Ivy, Media Contact  mediababz@gmail.com  (m) 203-645-9278 Faith & Dignity for the Days Ahead

Copyright Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. © 2016. All Rights Reserved.

Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc., P.O. Box 1232, Weston, CT 06883