As I enter the final day of 2023, I cannot help but wonder what 2024 will bring.
We all hope and pray it will bring reform that will result in our return back into society, but more importantly, I find myself anticipating changes that will affect the lives of us inmates on a more day-to-day basis, such as a new administration at our facility and the possibility for more programming. Getting home is the ultimate goal, but preparation for that is essential or recidivating is guaranteed.
It is a frustrating battle to try and find space in a facility that was designed to hold half this population so we can run the classes that the guys not only need but are seeking on a daily basis. Each day I get asked when my next classes will be, and the answer is always the same, “we are trying to find some space.”
I encourage the men to continue to work on their own, and we try and meet in common areas, like the law Library or Recreation, but I see it in their eyes, they are losing momentum and enthusiasm with it.
So my New Years resolution is to push harder to try and accumulate the space needed to run the classes; to spread enthusiasm and hope by allowing each man to see it in my own eyes and my own attitude; and to pray harder for administrations who are willing to put much needed programs before their own agendas of staff appreciations.
Each day of incarceration has amounted to another year which has brought new relationships, more opportunities and more growth than the previous year, and for that I am thankful. I am eager to see what 2024 will bring, I pray it brings each of you blessings beyond measure and that you achieve the goals you have set.
