The long way home: Catching up to Davon Acklin.

Some of you may recall Davon Acklin, the Arizona state prisoner who let us use him as a poster child when his mom, Julie, was fighting to get him treatment for Hepatitis C. I corresponded with him for a year while he was in Tucson prison, and had the wonderful experience of greeting him with his family as he was freed this spring. Then my own life fell apart and we lost touch.

Today I saw Davon for the first time since the day he headed home. Sadly, it was to visit him at the 4th Avenue Jail. He's facing at least four felony charges, and - needless to say - violated his probation. He's going away for a long time this time; it may be more than ten years before we see him walk free again...except that he was once a free man in prison. I keep telling myself that, hoping that wherever he lands he can find himself again - what's he's been wearing lately are the worst kind of chains, anyway.

I still don't know just what happened over the course of the past five months, and will leave that story for him to tell when he's ready. I can say, though, that when I saw Davon today he was calm, rational, and appropriately remorseful for hurting those who love and believed in him. He reports that he's getting his psych meds, at least; the place is just a miserable place to be, and he's sick as a dog right now. I suspect he's going through withdrawal. He denied being suicidal, expressed appreciation for those who have tried to help him, and apologized "for being such a fuck-up". I tried to reaffirm that some folks still haven't bailed on him, and that his mom isn't about to give up.

Despite his effort to begin to make amends, I don't think Davon has any idea of how badly he really hurt people this time - I'm figuring out just how to tell him, though. The hurting from this binge has only just begun, too. He didn't just break Julie's heart and devastate his sister, he invited violence into his family's home that may not leave with him when he goes. He compromised the fight to overcome all the barriers to getting Hep C treatment for people with psychiatric disorders and addictions by giving the state a reason to say "I told you so." He may lose his own battle to get interferon now. His mother may well have to recover his body from prison, or see him buried there.

Davon is not responsible for having a mental illness, or even for being an addict any more so than if he had diabetes. He is responsible for his recovery, though, and made decisions when he was well that compromised his ability to make good choices in a very short period of time. Whether or not he was competent at the time he committed the crimes he's accused of is for him and the courts to work out - we didn't discuss any of that. Today he seems to be in his right mind, though - and almost relieved at the prospect of going back to prison. I think he copped out on us all early on, frankly, and I'm mad as hell at him. I'm also angry that I wasn't able to be there for him when he came home myself, though. There were a lot of things I had wanted to share with him, and before I knew it he was gone again. I know it's my egocentricity that makes me think I might have changed this outcome had I been more present for him upon his release; I wish I had been, though.

I never really expected a fairy tale ending to Davon's relationship with the criminal justice system. He grew up in it - he even accidentally referred to returning to prison as going "home". There's absolutely no meaningful treatment or rehab in prison for the vast majority of dually-diagnosed young men like Davon - or for the women, for that matter. He had a lot of good community support - the probation department was awesome, I guess - but few new tools for coping with stress and expectations when he got out. That's not to excuse him from what he needs to own here, but that's the way it is for far too many prisoners I see who have cycled through the system more than once, so I think there's more at work than just Davon's pathology here.

This isn't the end of this young man's story or his struggle to keep from succumbing to either despair or Hep C - nor is his life yet over. In recovery from addictive disorders - especially for those with mental illness as well - relapse is common, and is often so much worse than before because one has to be sicker in order to go back into denial. But Davon doesn't necessarily forget what he learned before - he matured once, and can continue in that direction wherever he lands. Even in prison he can be a positive influence in the lives of others, if he's given the right support so he's able to make informed and capable decisions. Psychiatric disability or not - in prison or at home - Davon can still choose what kind of human being to be. Only when he surrenders that will I believe he's really lost his freedom.

Anyway, I'll let you know when he moves, but will otherwise be giving Davon and his family a break from my blogs while they sort things out. If you've been a correspondent of his, I think it would help him to know that even in back prison he's accountable to his fellow beings for his behavior and commitments. You can trust his mom and I to kick his ass over this, so to speak, but feel free to do so as well if you've been hurt, too. Just try to keep a door open for him if you can; he should be safe, but he really doesn't deserve exile. He needs to make amends and reconcile with not only his family but the community that supported him in order to grow and reduce the chances of this happening again.

Summer Solstice 2011
Firehouse Gallery and Cafe'
Phoenix, AZ

Prisoner Post: Surviving Parole in AZ.

Shannon Clark has been blogging about life in the Arizona state prisons since 2005, and his stuff is worth looking at for an insider's view on crime and punishment: check it out at Persevering Prison Pages.

I've always been impressed at how well-informed this guy is about what's going on in the larger community, and how he thoughtfully ties social policy issues in with his real world observations from prison.

Shannon also offers a lot of tips to parolees and prisoners' families (prisoners can't read blogs) about how to navigate the system safely, both inside and outside prison walls, and maintains an open invitation for dialogue with community members about his observations, experiences, and ideas. I found the following post on the challenges of parole and problems of recidivism when I hit his site recently, and thought it was a good way to introduce him to you. Take what you need and leave the rest.


You can drop Shannon a line at:

Shannon M. Clark #113372
AZ State Prison - Lewis
Eagle Point 2C2
PO Box 3500
Buckeye, Arizona 85326.


Check out his blog and let him know what you think. He's a decent guy.

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Parole

January 17, 2011

For the past year, I've noticed dozens of guys being released on Community Supervision (Parole) after completing 85% of their prison terms, only to return for parole violations. Few of them are reinstated onto Community Supervision at their parole violation hearings.

Having spoken to many of these guys, I've learned the following information. hopefully providing this information will help those of you with loved ones on parole, or soon to be on parole.

With nearly everybody I've spoken to, two things were huge contributing factors in their returning to prison. Drugs and lack of adequate support.

Most guys stepped out of the prison gates with good intentions and the desire to successfully complete parole and get on with their lives. Returning to prison to kill their numbers wasn't even a fleeting thought.

Foreseeably, the job market, economy and costs of living were a huge problem. All of these guys had $50, or less, in their pockets upon their release, their loved ones had no income due to recently being laid off, and had no state government assistance due to legislative budget cuts to DES, AHCCCSetc, so employment was a priority, although a hopeless one.

Most of them immediately began searching for employment with a positive sense of responsibility. Responsibility to loved ones and self. In order to help contribute, lessen burdens and occupy time. In a couple of instances, loved ones may have pushed their family member too insistently to gain employment out of desperate urgency for finances. All of them scoured the community for any legal form of employment. All of them came up empty-handed daily. Within 3 weeks, most of them were highly stressed, feeling hopeless and that they had failed their loved ones. Not only could they not find a job and contribute, but they felt they'd become another financial burden on their family.

Feeling employment wasn't a possibility any time soon, many of these guys went to ask for food stamps, AHCCCS (health insurance) and any other help they could get from local government.Most waited for hours in rooms packed with other people in need of help, only to be told that they don't qualify for help for various reason, although I suspect legislative budget cuts to these agencies and programs were the true reason. A few guys did get referrals to local churches for clothing and food box donations. One guy told me about a church in East Phoenix who gave him clothing, a food box, and a bus pass that was valid for a month to help with his job search.

Now, as many addicts will tell you, we all have our triggers. We all have something that sets off our giving in to our addiction. Combined with high stress, feelings of frustration, fear, hopelessness, defeat, failure, and uncertainty of what to do, many addicts relapse. For parolees, relapsing into using drugs/alcohol is a prelude to recidivism. Random urinalysis is common while on parole. Most parolees with any history of drug use are placed on "colors". The parolee is given a "color" by their PO. Every day the parolee calls a number where random colors are announced. If your color is announced-you go to drop a UA. Everybody's color comes around sometime.

Some POs don't send you back to prison on your first dirty UA. They'll give you a chance to stop, go to counseling, and get back on track. Others will send you back, just to rid you from their huge caseload. Most of the guys recently were sent back for one hot UA, although one had six over a three month period.

Times are tough for most of you in society who don't have a cool million in the bank. Our state government here in Arizona has made a huge mess of our financial system in AZ. And seems to continue to make it worse. Legislators and our governor refuse to stop all of their political bickering and fix our budget properly. So, until that happens, things will remain tough and even worsen. How can you help your loved one on parole survive and get off parole? Here's my suggestions:

Try not to overwhelm him/her with hurrying them to get a job, but continue to encourage them to find work. Jobs are scarce, but it's good to keep looking. Stressing won't help either of you. Also, let your loved one know that it's okay if they can't find a job and encourage them to keep looking. If you can, join them in their job seeking.

Take a little time to talk with your loved one. Let them know that it's great to have them home and that they aren't a burden. In prison, we don't talk much about our feelings. Sometimes we'll feel that we aren't contributing or are in the way. We're not used to hearing kind words and encouragements so it'll go a long way.

Most importantly, if you loved one is an addict, pay attention to signs of them using or getting ready to. And in my opinion: many would argue in opposition, don't turn them in to their PO or the police for using, unless they are a danger to themselves or others. Talk to them. Try to get them to stop and/or into counseling. Telling their PO or the police will only get them locked up again, and could harm the relationship and will likely no help at all. Prison is full of drugs readily available. A sad reality. Due to AZs Dept of Corrections and lawmakers' budget cutting decisions, prisons no longer have effective substance abuse classes, much less anything else to give your loved one help with addiction. You can persuade them to take advantage of innumerable meeting and groups out there. Free.

Communication, trust and patience. You'll all make it through these times. What do you think?

Free Medicine Keeping Colorado Parolees Free

from Oh My Gov via Colorado's Think Outside the Cage blog

By Amelia Hassani Sep 29 2009, 01:39 AM

With states facing the two-headed monster of budget cuts and crowded prisons, many are choosing to release prisoners early, raising concerns over recidivism from both a public safety and a budget perspective. States after all don’t truly realize budget cuts if early-release parolees simply return to prison.

Colorado may have an answer, however. The state’s Department of Corrections (CDOC) has been supplementing early release with free medication for mentally ill offenders to provide the stability they need to stay out of jail. In the two years of its existence, the medication assistance program has drastically lowered recidivism amongst participants.

Good thing, too, because Colorado will be releasing 15% of its prisoners early due to budget woes.

The Parole Pilot Program was approved in 2000 in an effort to bolster aftercare for offenders. Both newly-released inmates and parolees who have broken terms of their parole are provided free medication upon their arrivals to either community corrections facilities or halfway homes. Considering past decades’ declining number of beds in mental health wards, prisons have increasingly housed an exaggerated percentage of the mentally ill.

Colorado’s 2-year-old drug aid program is the result of a decade’s work on alleviating the overrepresentation of the mentally ill amongst the incarcerated. In 1999, Colorado state legislature approved a 19-member task force to research possible solutions; the task force approved the funding and implementation of two programs, one of which was the Parole Pilot Program. The program was finally ready for implementation in 2007.

Over 200 inmates have participated in the CDOC-run program to date. Of the 61 participants receiving psychotropic medications at their community corrections homes, only 2 have recidivated. The original budget for the Parole Pilot Program was $1.3 million; it has since been trimmed to $171,000 due to budget cuts. However, when compared to CDOC’s $760 million budget (and Colorado’s $318 million deficit), programs that minimize recidivism — and hopefully, eventually, criminality — are a real money-saver.