Today I went to Dismas to meet with my counselor to have my moves reinstated and begin volunteering. My counselor informs me that there is no way they will approve the volunteering because working and volunteering from home are not permitted. Further, I am required to work 35 hours total at a physical location that is not my house or another residence. I try to argue my case that this is making no sense when I keep offering to do things that will benefit myself and the community. I am told this is BOP policy and if I want my moves back, they can place me working at Mustard Seed Monday through Friday from 8am to 4pm – recycling discarded mattresses. I’m not afraid of working, but I now make the argument of “how is it reasonable that I cannot work because of my health, HOWEVER I am healthy enough to work for free doing manual labor?” My counselor sends me to the jobs coordinator of the facility to see if he has any other options for me.
I politely introduce myself and explain my frustrations with the coordinator. He opens all of my files, reviews all the documents and information and decides that what is happening to me is unreasonable. He says he has the ability to postpone any volunteer decision on me for 30 days, reinstate all of my medical, gym, and personal needs moves, and he is going to argue on my behalf that the graduate program is far more productive than anything I am being forced to do. I let him know that I want to volunteer with Michael Santos and after reading through the documents he says I should pursue volunteering/working with him – which I intend to do.
