Day in the Valley

TL;DR--It was my first time meeting inmates in a correctional facility; did not get proposed to.

The last time I went to federal correctional facility, there were not any inmates in custody, as I went on a tour of Alcatraz a few years ago: 

Alcatraz Island

Alcatraz Island

Last week at Valley State Prison in Chowchilla (p. ~4,000 inmates), however, it was bustling with activity. 


Past the gates, security checkpoints, and correctional officers, my co-workers and I crossed the yard, where inmates were working out, playing baseball, and doing other recreational activities. Surely they were enjoying the sunny weather, as it had been raining over the past few weeks.

Santa Cruz Barrios Unidos was invited to the CEC Reentry Fair - where community partners in California can share information about their program and prepare inmates for reentry. After the presentations, the inmates can walk around to the individual partners to find out more specific information. We came prepared with pamphlets, articles, copies of the San Quentin News (which went quickly), greeting cards with prisoner artwork, and our reentry coordinator's thick binders fulls of legal and other resources.

As an organization, Barrios Unidos is highly respected among the inmates and we were treated as such inside the facility. 

The conversations were enlightening - subjects ranging from personal challenges with the correctional system/parole board, the 2016 political election, ex-convicts excluded from the voting process, and police excessive use of force, along with other dialogues. Some of these men have made many poor decisions in the past, but interacting with them on a personal level was a humbling experience. The gentlemen were welcoming and thankful to have us, but we were honored to be invited in the first place.

The most powerful moment of my day was when the inmates recited the Serenity Prayer from Reinhold Niebuhr, before they left the room:

"[Creator/God] grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, 

The courage to change the things I can,

And the wisdom to know the difference."

All and all, it was a very good learning experience, and I am anticipating future visits to other correctional facilities to see how they differ.