Such a sentiment has been popular among many regarding Texas' prison
system, a sentiment that Bill Kleiber and the rest of the folks at
Restorative
Justice Ministries Network of North America, Inc. feel encompasses
everything that is wrong with the system
today.
"The old 'tough, Texas Justice,' it doesn't work," said Kleiber,
administrative
assistant for Restorative Justice Ministries. "We favor smart
justice. What we do here is we help victims of crime, ex-offenders,
offenders
and corrections officers, pretty much anyone who is touched by
incarceration."
Restorative Justice Ministries is "about bringing everybody together
so that
they can heal and so that we can move forward positively," Kleiber said.
He spends a large portion of his day making phone calls and talking to
ex-offenders
at the bus station, giving them a phone number to call when
they reach their destination that will provide them with a
place to sleep
and assistance in finding work.
Kleiber will make as many as 50 phone calls a day counseling former inmates
and
providing information. The network that Restorative Justice Ministries
has established contains more than 1,400 contacts,
many of them providing
shelter and employment opportunities for those just released from prison.
Restorative Justice Ministries was started 12 years ago by its current
director,
Emmett Solomon.
"I've been called to this ministry my whole life," said Solomon, former
head
chaplain for the state's prison system. "We initially were advocating prison
ministry. Now we are not so much about
prison ministry as we are about
after-care ministry."
Emmett feels incarceration is being overused in Texas and it is having
detrimental
results for both families and society.
"Every time that a prisoner gets locked up a family goes into crisis,"
Solomon
said. "As a result, we are unraveling the fabric of our society at
the lowest levels, and we are creating what could be
a permanent underclass.
Our system is aiding in that process."
Kleiber, a former offender himself, feels the ministry he is involved
with
is desperately needed.
"We are mentally damaged when we come out of prison. We are not allowed
to think. We are not allowed to make any kind of decisions. The only decision I got to make was maybe what book I was going
to read. Then they dump us out here with no preparation and say, 'Here's the free world, man! Here's some money,' and I don't
even know how to handle this money," he said. "A lot of people ask us, 'Why are you wasting your time with those guys? They're
only gonna go back in a couple of months.' But given half a chance, over 70
percent of ex-offenders never go back to prison."
Texas Restorative Justice Ministries Network of North America, Inc. is
located
at 1232 Ave. J. For more information, contact the office at (936)
291-2156.
