October 2024 Newsletter

Issue #92

There are over 1.9 million inmates in the U.S.

Prison Policy Initiative

The U.S. spends $182 billion on incarceration --

each year.

Prison Policy Initiative

At least 95% (about 700,000 prisoners annually) will eventually be released and returned to society.

Department of Justice

In the US, 27% of former inmates have jobs—3 times the national unemployment rate.

Prison Policy Initiative

Discrimination against job applicants with criminal records reduces callback rates by 50%.

Prison Policy Initiative

71% of released prisoners end up back in prison.

Prison Policy Initiative

Recidivism (inmates reoffending and reentering the prison system) costs over $150,000 each.

Sentencing Policy Advisory Council

The US has the highest number of recidivists. 44% of ex-convicts return to prison after only 1 year of release. Other countries don't reach this number even 5 years after release.

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Since 1970, the U.S. has relied on a "get tough" (more arrests, heavier punishments) policy. This has led to a 5-fold increase in the imprisonment rate in and accounts for a huge prison budget. However it has only reduced U.S. crime by 10%–25%.

University of Minnesota

Prison rehabilitation aims to transform prisoners and reduce recidivism (the likelihood of reoffending). Of the participating prisoners, 43% do not return to prison after 3 years.

U.S. Department of Justice

Rehabilitation programs from education and work skills to group counseling and drug treatment, have been found to be quite effective at reducing a prisoner’s risk of future crime. The effects of educational and vocational programs can reduce recidivism by 10% and drug treatment programs can reduce recidivism 14%.

Knowable Magazine

The Prison University Project has a 17% recidivism rate, far lower than the national average.

National Endowment for the Humanities

 The average cost to incarcerate an inmate is around $30,000-$60,000 per year. Implementing meaningful rehabilitation programs can cost between $2,000-$5,000 per inmate per year.

Prison Inside

Investing in rehabilitation programs saves taxpayers money. Every $1 spent on prison education saves $5 on re-incarceration costs.

Rand Social and Economic Well-Being

The Washington State Institute for Public Policy lists 4 cost-effective rehabilitation programs.

• Residential Drug Treatment with aftercare cost per inmate is $3,100, while the savings benefit is $5,230
• Prison vocational training cost per inmate is $1,960, while the savings benefit is $12,017
• Corrections Industries cost per inmate is $777, while the savings benefit is $4,394
• Adult Basic Education cost per inmate is $1,960, while the Savings Benefit is $9,176

U.S. Department of Justice Archives

85% of Americans prefer rehabilitation

over punishment. 

Justice Action Network

Successful Rehabilitation Programs Worldwide

Norway’s Halden Prison: Known for its focus on human rights and rehabilitation; provides education, job training, and skill development opportunities.

Canada’s Circles of Support and Accountability: This community-based program assists in the reintegration of offenders into society by providing a network of support.

The Delancey Street Foundation, USA: An exemplary residential self-help organization for substance abusers and ex-convicts.

Germany’s Heidering Prison: Emphasizes rehabilitation through work, education, and therapy.

The Netherlands’ KEMET Education Services: Provides intervention services for youth at risk of delinquency.

New Zealand’s Alcohol and Drug Treatment Courts: Provides intensive, judicially supervised, treatment-based alternatives to imprisonment for offenders.

Australia’s Balunu Foundation: Uses cultural healing to address the root causes of behavior in Indigenous youth.

Singapore’s Yellow Ribbon Project: Seeks to engage the community in giving ex-offenders a second chance at life.

Finland’s Criminal Sanctions Agency: Uses a wide range of rehabilitative services from probation to prison programs.

South Africa’s NICRO: Offers social reintegration services to help ex-offenders successfully reintegrate into society.

Justice Forum Foundation

For more on the Criminal Justice System,

click here.

The Fortune Society

An organization that works to support successful reentry from incarceration and promote alternatives to incarceration, thus strengthening the fabric of communities. It does this by:

• Believing in the power of individuals to change
• Building lives through service programs shaped by the needs and experience of their participants
• Changing minds through education and advocacy to promote the creation of a fair, humane, and truly rehabilitative correctional system. 

Learn more.

For more on the Criminal Justice System,

click here.

PrisonEd Foundation

Lists the best and worst states for recently released inmates. Takes into account factors such as the number of re-entry programs, the number of current and ex-inmates, background check restrictions and re-incarceration percentages. Learn more.

For more on the Criminal Justice System,

click here.

Rehabilitation Through the Arts

A program based in the New York prison system that helps prisoners develop critical life skills through the arts, modeling an approach to the justice system based on human dignity rather than punishment. RTA members use their time productively in prison, and when released reconnect with their families and strengthen their communities, breaking a generational cycle. Less than 3% of RTA members return to prison, saving taxpayers millions of dollars each year. Learn more.

For more on the Criminal Justice System,

click here.

Project 2025 in Contrast with Catholic Social Teaching: A Future for Few, A Future for All

A resource from the Network Lobby that

explores the important elements of the contrasting visions of Project 2025 -- a publication by the Heritage Foundation -- and of Catholic Social Justice. Analyzes its key proposals, and the ways it threatens the safety, wellbeing, and rights of ordinary people, across our key freedoms.

Offers an alternative vision of our country’s future — one of compassion, solidarity, joy, mutual aid, inclusivity, hope, and freedom — a vision of our future where everyone thrives, no exceptions. 

To learn more, click here.

For more Catholic Social Teaching resources,

click here.

Equally Sacred Checklist

A resource from the Network Advocates for Justice to help people of faith be multi-issue voters, promoting solidarity and the common good in voting for political candidates. Offers reflection questions and church teaching on issues such as:

• Healthcare
• Living on a healthy planet
• Participating in a vibrant democracy
• Caring for ourselves and our families
• Freedom from harm
• Living in a welcoming country that values dignity and human rights

Learn more

For more on Catholic Social Teaching, click here.

How to Turn the Tables on Food Waste

A TED Talk, featuring food waste expert Dana Gunders, who says that we waste one trillion dollars worth of food each year, significantly contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and the climate crisis. She offers innovative solutions — from solar-powered cold rooms to apps that sell discounted restaurant leftovers — and shares tips on how we can keep good food from going to the trash. Watch now.

For more on Hunger, click here.

To End Extreme Poverty,

Give Cash -- Not Advice

A TED Talk featuring former UK Member of Parliament Rory Stewart, who breaks down why many global development projects waste money on programs that don't work. He advocates for a radical reversal rooted in evidence: giving unconditional cash transfers directly to those in need, a method that could unlock the secret of addressing extreme poverty worldwide. Watch now.

For more on Poverty, click here.

Capitalism Broke the Climate.

Now It Can Fix It

A TED Talk featuring journalist Akshat Rathi, who says that we can use capitalism to create the solutions we need for the mess we're in. He details how “climate capitalism” — the strategic use of market forces and government policies to make polluting the planet cost more than advancing climate solutions — can flip the script and actually make sustainability profitable. Watch now.

For more on the Environment click here.

Confronting Sexism in the Church: How We Got Here and What We Can Do About It

By Heather Matthews. Explores the history and culture of sexism in the contemporary evangelical world and describes the many ways—subtle and not so subtle—that it lives on in the church today. Offers simple, practical steps for how Christians can actively fight sexism in its many forms. Invites churches to help women be all they've been created to be and to live out that reality in all its fullness. Read more.

For more on Gender Equality, click here.

Civitech

A company that provides a technology infrastructure that helps political candidates win, social causes succeed, and local governments better serve their community to create a fairer, more equitable democracy. From tools that identify and register voters to those that ensure candidates and organizations can speak with supporters, Civitech works with candidates, organizations, and individuals to ensure more people can vote, more voters turn out, and everyone can have representation that reflects our country’s diversity. Learn more.

For more Political resources, click here.

How to Live a Meaningful Life

A TED Talk, featuring Brian Lowery, who says that being a part of a story that is not our own is more important than personal accomplishments. He says that we need to look for opportunities to play a supporting role in someone else's life. This pursuit of meaning may not generate happiness and may be uncomfortable, but it can lead to generosity and gratitude. What we achieve pales compared to the effect we have on other people and it is through bringing our light to others, that we brighten the world and find meaning. Watch now.

For more on Volunteering and Service, click here.

Lay Mission-Helpers Association

A nonprofit organization that works to share their gifts and to learn from others, as they walk with those who are marginalized in the world. Their core values include: faith, dignity and service. Currently serving people in Ghana, Uganda and Papua New Guinea. Learn more.

For more on Volunteering and Service, click here.

Peace Coffee

A company that roasts over 16 different types of fair trade, organic coffee, maintaining responsible and sustainable partnerships through each link in the journey. Purchases only organic, fair trade coffee from small-scale grower cooperatives that invest in their farmers to combat unstable markets and shifting climates. Learn more.

For more on Fair Trade, click here.

Global Alliance for Justice Education

A nonprofit organization that aims to promote the exchange of information and experience among persons involved in justice education around the world. GAJE works to advance socially relevant legal education involving practicing lawyers, judges, non-governmental organizations, and the lay public. Since it was formed in 1999, GAJE has sponsored ten worldwide conferences, with delegates at each conference representing every region of the world. Members include law teachers, law students, lawyers, social activists, and others interested in supporting GAJE’s mission and advancing its goals. Learn more.

For more Justice resources, click here.

Chuffed

An organization that helps not-for-profits, charities, social enterprises, community projects or people in need, raise money through crowdfunding. Causes include: health & medical, first nations, social welfare, international development, animals, social enterprise, refugees and asylum seekers, the environment, schools and education, women and girls, sports, LGBTIQ, volunteering, politics, and community. Provides sample case studies from their most successful campaigners as well as a nine-part video series to guide to help get a social cause project up and running. Learn more.

For more Justice resources, click here.

Global Peace Index 2023

The 17th edition of the annual publication from the Institute for Economics & Peace. Key findings include the average level of global peacefulness deteriorated for the ninth consecutive year, with 84 countries recording an improvement and 79 a deterioration. Includes data on:

• 5 largest improvements & deteriorations in peace
• Trends in peace, 25 most and 25 least peaceful countries, 2008–2023 
• The militarization in Eastern Europe, 2008–2023
• The composition of the global economic impact of violence
• Trends in key safety and security indicators

Learn more

For more Peace resources, click here.

Prayer

Give Us Hearts

God of love and compassion, may we always recognize your spirit:

In the refugee family, seeking safety

from violence;

In the migrant workers, bringing food to

our tables;

In the asylum-seekers, justice for their families;

In the unaccompanied child, traveling in a

dangerous world.

Give us hearts that break open whenever our brothers and sisters turn to us.

Give us hearts that no longer turn deaf to their voices in times of need.

Give us eyes to recognize a moment for grace instead of threat.

Give us voices that fail to remain silent, but which decide instead to advocate prophetically.

Give us hands that reach out in welcome, but also in work, for a world of justice until all homelands are safe and secure.

Bless us, O Lord.

Amen

Fr. Dan Hartnett SJ

Fair Trade Month

Domestic Violence Awareness Month

First Monday of October World Habitat Day

Second Monday of October Indigenous Peoples Day

2nd to Last Sunday of October World Mission Sunday

October 1st: International Day of Older Persons

October 2nd: International Day of Nonviolence

October 5th: World Teachers' Day

October 10th: World Day Against the Death Penalty& World Mental Health Day

October 11th: Anniversary of the Opening of the Second Vatican Council

October 13th: International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction

October 15th: World Rural Women's Day

October 16th: World Food Day

October 17th: International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

October 24th: Beginning of Disarmament Week & United Nations Day

October 29th: Anniversary of the Founding of the Red Cross & Red Crescent Movement

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