Violent Offender Program (VOP)
In 1996, three inmates at the Missouri Eastern
Correctional Center created the "Violent Offender Program." This unique
intensive self-help program is run by inmate facilitators themselves,
challenging other inmates to identify their criminal patterns of thinking and
behavior, take full responsibility for their actions, and create a program for
changing these patterns. The men who survive the intense 36 sessions over 14
weeks move into relapse prevention and work on restorative justice, making
amends to their family members, victims, and the community. The story of VOP is
written in a 40-page book entitled
AMAZING GRACE:
THE STORY OF THE VOP. This book presents a history and outline of the
program, with some of the key tools and processes, plus testimonies from VOP
members and several VICs (Volunteers in Corrections) working with VOP. It
concludes with some of the restorative justice projects the men are running and
a copy of the
Prison
Pledge of Nonviolence.
Dr. James McGinnis, IPJ
(Institute for Peace & Justice)
Program Director, has been working as a VIC with VOP since 1998.
Prison Pledge of Nonviolence
One of IPJ’s major contributions
to VOP has been to help the men formulate and implement the
Prison Pledge of Nonviolence which they adapted from IPJ’s
Family Pledge. The men write an essay quarterly on their efforts to put the
Pledge into practice. The best of these essays were
published in the Summer 2001 issue of the PPJN/FAVAN Newsletter.
To
read two of these essays, click on
"Listening
Carefully" and
"Forgive…" The whole issue is available with
AMAZING GRACE
from IPJ. As one VOP facilitator put it, "I was a
murderer who came to prison and became a ‘murderer’ on the basketball court,
causing more victims. But through the blessing of VOP, the Pledge, and
my peers really challenging me to become my best self, I am becoming a new
person."
Mentors Needed for Newly Released Male Ex-Offenders
Introduction.
Beginning June 1, 2007, men released from Missouri correctional centers will be
offered the option of having a mentor for as long as six months, as part of a
full-service re-entry program called Project Re-Connect. As many as 15 mentors
may be needed by mid-summer.
Being a mentor entails
-- A minimum of 2 to 4 hours a month for up to 6 months - visiting with the
ex-offender (here called mentee) twice a month in public locations convenient
for both mentor and mentee, and calling the mentee twice a week, perhaps more
often at the beginning.
-- Being a positive influence in the mentee's
transition back to the community.
-- Completing an application, plus a letter of reference, and meeting with the
mentor coordinator.
-- Participating in a maximum of 6 hours of training, with the first training
being in late May.
Qualifications
-- Be male and at least 25 years of age, preferably over 30.
-- Have reliable transportation, preferably your own car.
-- Successfully complete the pre-match training and orientation.
-- Commit to supporting the mentee for up to six months through his transition.
-- Try to develop relationships of trust and respect by being supportive,
encouraging, and focus on the mentee's needs, not on
one's own agenda (e.g., faith, politics, business
opportunities).
For more information and/or to apply to become a mentor, contact Jim
McGinnis at the Institute
for Peace and Justice (IPJ), 475 E. Lockwood, St. Louis, MO 63119;
jimppjn@aol.com; 314-918-2630 (work);
314-726-5367 (home); 314-922-6994 (cell)
“Come on,
you can do this, Kameika. I know you can. You’ve shown us how sharp you are.
You can do it.” I was amazed at Gary’s positive tone and attitude toward this
rebellious high school student. But he could really identify with her, for he
had been that student 35 years ago. Now, after serving a 20-year prison term as
a violent offender, he was teaching part of the “Violent Offender Program” (VOP)
he helped create in prison to a group of St. Louis public school students.
It was Gary Ingram who invited me seven years ago to be an “outside” facilitator
for VOP at Missouri Eastern Correctional Center, and it was Gary who helped me
find my place in the program. Besides helping to facilitate the VOP sessions
and strengthen the facilitation skills of the inmate facilitators, I began
helping to spread the word of this remarkable program. First, we wrote the
story of the program in
AMAZING GRACE.
Then we adapted the Family Pledge of Nonviolence and made it a
Prison Pledge of Nonviolence and created a special issue of the IPJ
Newsletter around this Pledge. I sent these materials to hundreds of others in
prison or prison ministry across the US and brought some local colleagues in
social services to experience VOP for themselves. All the while I had this
sense that these inmate facilitators had skills and values that could make a
real difference in the lives of other adults and youth whose behavior had gotten
them in trouble. When Gary and another ex-VOP facilitator, Michael Nunn, were
released in 2004, it was time to see if my sense was accurate.
Thanks to small grants from the Safe & Drug-Free Schools Program in the St.
Louis Public Schools and from two Catholic religious communities, we were able
to create and conduct several pilot programs around the nonviolent
problem-solving process in VOP. 17 students with disciplinary problems at
Sumner High School were mandated to be part of our 6-week program on the “SOS
Process” (“Solving Our Situations”). It was the worst possible set-up – 2 hours
after a long school day for youth who clearly didn’t want to be there. Several
of the youth never showed up. Those who did show up clearly wanted to test Gary,
my daughter Theresa, and I. After three weeks I was almost ready to quit, but
not Gary. Amazingly, by the end of the six weeks, five of the students made it
through and were delighted to receive their certificates. The two Sumner
teachers that we trained prior to the student program were equally amazed at the
progress of the five students. They agreed to create an on-going support
process for these students and recommended to the principal that this material
be incorporated into the school’s “Character Education” course.
The second pilot program on the “SOS Process” involved both Gary and Michael.
The Center for Women in Transition in St. Louis works with women coming out of
prison – providing mentors as well as a range of other services. They asked us
to train a CWIT team of two CWIT staff, two mentors (one was Kathy McGinnis) and
two ex-offenders. This pilot was so successful that they asked Gary and Kathy
to train the whole CWIT staff. The original CWIT team is now finishing up its
first program for other CWIT mentors and ex-offenders and a second one will
begin in May. In addition, CWIT is funding a special SOS program for 11 other
ex-offenders moving into a transition home, with Kathy, Theresa, and one of the
ex-offenders forming the training team.
When we hear so many horror stories about what goes on in prison and about how
difficult it often is for ex-offenders to re-integrate into society, Gary and
Michael are truly rays of hope.
The Institute for Peace and Justice
4144 Lindell Blvd, Room 408
St. Louis, MO 63119
314-918-2630
ppjn@aol.com