why PrisonCare?

This was not something I dreamed of doing when I was a kid (or an adult).

In fact, the events that led me to begin PrisonCare, Inc. were more of a nightmare than anything.

But somehow in the creation of this non-profit organization, I have finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up.

Isn't that remarkable?

In my 50's, after decades of doing lots of things I found challenging and rewarding, I finally feel as if I know what I want to be when I grow up, and it's this. The Executive Director of PrisonCare, Inc.

My life was reinvented by the tragic and utterly unexpected events that led my son, J, into a psychotic delusion, an episode that took an innocent person's life before it was finally broken. The specifics are unique to our story (you can read about it if you like on my personal website, http://sabrinajustison.com) but the core of the story is not. 

      People's lives go off the rails.
     Horrible acts are committed.
     People are sentenced to prison.
     Families grieve,
       and rage,
       and struggle,
       and question,
       and curl up in shame.
     Meanwhile, life goes on as normal for much of the world.

When J's life went off the rails, when he committed a horrible act, when he was sentenced to prison,
       I grieved.
      I raged.
      I struggled.
      I questioned.
      I curled up in shame.

And then I realized that the story wasn't over yet. God has made a habit of reminding me throughout the years that CIRCUMSTANCES do not get the last word in a person's life. My response to all the tragedy was mine alone to decide. So I decided to find some way to build something beautiful out of the ashes of psychosis and death and fear and rage and shame and prison. And here you have it!

You see, the same truth about my life (that CIRCUMSTANCES do not get the last word) is true for other people, too -- including people who are in prison, and the people who work in those same prisons 'round the clock.
 
J has this thing he likes to say:
"Circumstances being what they are, and me being who I want to be..."

The circumstances surrounding people who are serving prison sentences are pretty grim. But each incarcerated person still gets to choose how to RESPOND to those circumstances, moment to moment.

The circumstances surrounding people who work in the corrections industry can be pretty grim, especially considering how little most of us outside their field understand about their jobs. But each corrections professional still gets to choose how to RESPOND to those circumstances, moment to moment.

J is living as the person he wants to be, and he is doing it with a heart that is grateful for the support he gets from people on the outside who love him. I want to see that same kind of support become available to people behind the razor wire, people who don't have it, no matter what kind of uniform they wear.

So does J.

So here we are, co-founding PrisonCare.

​Maybe the work we do here will help others figure out what they want to be when they grow up!

Maybe prison residents will find the strength to refuse to be defined by the worst moment in their lives, and instead lean into their interests, abilities, and relationships.

Maybe prison professionals will find the strength to do a difficult job well, knowing that they are valued and respected.

Maybe both groups will find NEW WAYS to live side by side in their prison neighborhood, building a healthy rapport, fostering an atmosphere of rehabilitation, and exploring possibilities for restitution in the wake of crime. 
​

​Circumstances being what they are,
and me being who I want to be, 
​I'd like to try to support something like that. ​

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