Onesimus Workbook

A PPENDIX • 43

A PPENDIX 2 Guidelines for Prisoner Correspondence Adapted from Prison Fellowship’s “Visit Prison in an Envelope”

Consider Your Audience: Issues Prisoners Are Thinking About

1. Facing uncertainty: Most prisoners, especially if they have been incarcerated for more than one year, are scared of reentry into society. They are hopeful, frightened, paranoid about doing everything right, and apprehensive about what they will face. Their movements have been absolutely controlled for years. They have not driven vehicles, not made choices, not had to exercise any discipline about when to get up, when to eat or how to spend money. Former prisoners often tell of the panic they feel when confronted with a menu at a restaurant or the bewildering array of choices on the supermarket shelf. Technology has moved on while they were incarcerated. They may not know how to use an ATM machine or a gas pump where you pay by credit card. Very few have had access to computers so word processing, spreadsheets, the Internet, E-mail, web pages and related computer skills can be foreign and so they panic when they think of how necessary those skills are to compete in the job market. They also know they have a multiyear gap on their resume to explain. 2. Family dynamics: When one partner goes to prison, an estimated 85% of marriages fail. Many prisoners have broken family relationships they must now face in person upon release. 3. The importance of friends: A church contact can help prepare the way for a receptive welcome upon release. One returning citizen said, “Every prisoner who gets out that doesn’t have a Christian program to lean on will go back to the same town, the same friends – or so-called friends – and will get into the same old stuff. They need Christian support on the outside.”

Beware of the Common Pitfalls: Even TUMI Students May Have Mixed Motives

1. Scams: some may try to take advantage of your kindness for financial gain.

2. Romantic attachments: some are interested in building a relationship that leads to romance.