Folsom State Prison, services sometimes cancelled.

I hope someone can offer some advise. At Folsom State Prison in California, we are under the auspices of the Catholic Chaplaincy. The priest who is our "sponsor" is very, very difficult to work with. He makes it quite apparent that he does not welcome our program. Our programs are often not listed with the other religious offerings, our men on occasion have complained that they are not let out for our services. Rules that we are given often contradict previous rules given. This especially applies to ducat lists. We need more volunteers but were told we have enough. I avoid dealing with this individual as much as I can, and prefer to go through the Community Outreach Coordinator who has been more reasonable. However, last week when I questioned why one of our men was not allowed out for services (according to this inmate, the CO said that they were only releasing diabetics... whatever that means), the Community Outreach Coordinator said I would have to take it up with the priest. Which means... nothing will happen except I will get a good "talking to." Each time I have an issue to be addressed, the priest sidetracks the issue by bringing up a "rule" I am not following. (see above to contradictory rules!) In addition, he apparently seems to have no use for women in any sort of capacity. But I digress.

As I am reading this post, I see that I am venting and bringing in too many issues. So, bottom line is... since California unfortunately does not have a Buddhist chaplaincy program in any of our prisons, what can I do to make sure our men AND volunteers are treated with the same respect as those that go to Christian services? Do I file a complaint? Do I recruit legal aid? Do the men file a complaint? What happens to them by the system if they do?

This is just one of a myriad of issues that we face in the hopelessly overcrowded, nonfunctional, immoral California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Any help is appreciated. Diane

Tags: Buddhist, California, Folsom, State, chaplaincy, prison, system

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Permalink Reply by Genko Blackman on August 5, 2007 at 8:29pm
We were having a similar problem at one of the units where I volunteer, and what turned it around was making the effort to connect with the chaplain who seemed to be in our way. In talking to her I found that she was overwhelmed by work, responding only to large (ie, Christian) squeaky wheels. I volunteered to help her with a non-Buddhist substance abuse program, covering step 11 (prayer and meditation), and to cover when other non-Buddhist volunteer sponsors did not show up, and she has now gone to bat for us several times, including making special room arrangements for our annual Buddhafest so that it would not have to be canceled at the last minute. Likewise with the COs - I always make small talk with the shift officers and they are generally very helpful to us.

As far as rules are concerned, they are a problem for staff as well as volunteers and inmates. They change all the time, and no one can keep up with them. It is almost as if the rules have a life of their own. My current approach is to thank the person for getting me up to speed on the rules, confess that I have a hard time keeping up with them and therefor appreciate their help, and usually they soften up at that point and are willing to work with me to find a solution to whatever problem the rule seems to create. Oftentimes we can find a work-around that allows us to honor the rule and not have a confrontation about it.

The key for me has been to really appreciate that staff are as much caught by the system as inmates and volunteers, and acknowledging this allows us the chance to find common ground to work on things together. Sometimes it doesn't work, but we do what we can.

With a bow,

Genko
Permalink Reply by Diane Wilde on August 5, 2007 at 10:55pm
Genko, I really appreciate your response. I think what you did in the unit you mentioned was skilfull and compassionate. I wish I had the time to offer the aid that you did, because it obviously turned the situation around in your facility. I run a business full time and my employees count on me. Coordinating the Folsom Buddhist chaplaincy is my "second job." I unfortunately cannot spend any more time at the prison facility or on the phone with our "sponsors" than I am doing now... at the risk of my business going bankrupt. (which seems more and more like a distinct possibility!) We have been told it is out of the question to have a half day retreat, or a festival of any kind.

I have tried to speak to the priest mentioned in my original post at the California chaplaincy conference last year in Sacramento, where I thought being outside of the facility may allow more spaciousness and perhaps some mutual understanding. I approached him in the hallway between sessions and asked if we could talk. He said he had no time to speak with me and to give him a call. This was witnessed by another volunteer. The treatment I have received since being in this position was experienced by the two coordinators who preceded me. The first is a Lama in the Tibetan tradition and the second is a certified Buddhist chaplain.

I don't mean to harp on the negative... so many men have benefitted from the Dharma. All of our Folsom volunteers are so inspired by their commitment. We treat the COs with the same compassion and cordiality as we treat the men. It is part of our practice. And a few of the COs have been wonderful.

I guess I was hoping for the impossible... an answer on how we facilitate the same respect for our men (and volunteers) in our sangha as the other religious traditions. Actually, I know the answer and that is a Buddhist chaplaincy in the CDC system, but I don't know how close that is to reality. Are there recognized Buddhist chaplaincies in other state systems?
Permalink Reply by Annie Breault on August 11, 2007 at 8:01pm
www.chifully.blogspirit.com
please check this out, my friend Judy Tretheway is a chaplain at New Folsom Prison..
Best,
Annie
Permalink Reply by Diane Wilde on August 11, 2007 at 8:31pm
Hi Annie. Judy is a friend of mine. We commiserate often. She is a volunteer Quaker chaplain at both New and Old Folsom. Unfortuantely the priest who oversees us at Old Folsom does not have Judy's understanding of what we are trying to offer the men. I wish she were a paid Chaplain at Folsom and was our sponsor.

Metta. Diaen
Permalink Reply by Annie Breault on August 12, 2007 at 5:52pm
Hi Diane,
You know I was thrown into this work though my son, Benjamin.
I got so tired of watching him get tossed between the county and the state via prisons, mental hospitals, board and cares and rehabs...no one was willing to treat him because he was a "parolee". It changed me-to bear witness to his suffering. I dug my heels in and fought even harder-it appeared to be an uphill battle and it was for a long time. He and I were both battered and bruised by the system and its beauracracy and willful ignorance. But, I did learn, so much! When finally he got thrown back behind bars one more time, I simply refused to watch him cycle through again only to come out sicker. I figured out how to get the state system to pay attention to my son. I had kept excellent files, documents, emails from all the dumping that had gone on within the county and state. And wrote an excellent to the Federal Judge who has control of the system (Henderson) detailing these events with cc's going to my son's doctors in the prison. I demanded that they make him EOP (enhanced outpatient program) for inmates with mental illness who have a GAF below 50. I demanded that they "treat" my son. They re-classified him immediately where he had to wait in Tracy (shithole that it is) for three months waiting for an EOP bed as there are only 4000 of them in the state.
However, he finally got to the Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo and this where he gained the insight he so desperately needed to finally, truly recover.
He is doing beautifully, I consider it a miracle. Even though re-entry was a nightmare and he damn near died-once again. The state offers no transition back into the community for these folks who have had such a high intensive treatment. They just dump them into a motel for 30 days. Even though it costs the taxpayers $110,000/ year to treat one inmate on EOP. My son was lucky as he got to come to my home, but I knew it was the lesser of two evils and it would still be a rough road to transition. He ended up in the emergency room of the local hospital fours days out of prison, but thank god, he was treated in the county and they did not "violate" him and throw him back in jail. Of course, it helped that I am a staunch watchdog and avocate and stayed in the hospital with him until they admitted him into the psych unit--and I'm on the local mental health board-something I chose to do a year ago in order to make a difference AND have some clout.
Diane, I believe I was given this experience for a reason and I have been able to help others like my son because of my knowledge. I want to go back to work soon, as I am no longer disabled, however, I am not sure what that looks like. I got my MFA in my nine years ago and had the privelege of teaching at the university level for several years before my son got sick.
Let's stay in touch,
Annie
Permalink Reply by Diane Wilde on August 12, 2007 at 10:21pm
Annie, I am so thankful that there are people like you in the world. Thank you so much. What you and Benjamin have gone through is inhuman... in the wealthiest state, in the wealthiest country in the world. To treat mentally ill men in this fashion is beyond comprehension ... and here we are in the 21st century. What is wrong with us! The California Prison system so needs people like you who are not allowing the system to function as it is! Thank you for documenting all that you have been going through. At some point, that sort of attention to detail is going to pay off.

Annie - I would love to get together sometime and talk Mom to Mom. I also have a son who has been in and out of the prison complex. He is currently at New Folsom. (I had to get a guarantee that I would not see him in any capacity due to volunteer status.) He is an addicted meth user. I don't want to go into what he, my husband and I have experienced in the past ten years, it would take volumes. However, he is the reason I volunteer the time that I do. I do not want to see mentally ill or addicted people go through this system. It does not help... it harms. It harms addicted and mentally ill people and it harms society. It is so apparent yet the system goes on and on and on.

My best to you and Benjamin. You really are an inspiration.

Diane
Permalink Reply by Annie Breault on August 15, 2007 at 2:45pm
Diane,
Please feel free to call me anytime to set up an appointment to meet!
We have much to share...916-375-0324
Best,
Annie
Permalink Reply by Annie Breault on August 11, 2007 at 7:54pm
Hi Genko,
"The system is meant to be dizzying. Those people and institutions invested in maintaining the prison industrial complex want it to seem complicated and too hard to understand as a way of keeping those of us working for its elimination at a distance from its weak points."
I draw my experience from personally navigating the system for ten years in advocating for my incarcerated son and others like him who suffer from a mental illness.
Annie
Advocate for Offenders with Mental Illness
Permalink Reply by Bodhana on August 11, 2007 at 5:56pm
I experienced many of the same problems you are dealing with when I first started. I just kept showing up every week and teaching my class and kept a low profile. I also taught the meditation class for thier drug program which helped them out. I always tried to talk with the chaplain even if for only a few minutes. I followed all the rules and yes they do change on a daily basis. It took me almost eight years but our Buddhist study group meets twice a week for a total of five and a half hours and we have three retreats a year. It just takes time, patience, and persistance.

Dave
Permalink Reply by Diane Wilde on August 11, 2007 at 8:59pm
Dave, sorry - I didn't notice. Are you in the CA system and if so where? Thanks so much. Diane
Permalink Reply by Bodhana on August 19, 2007 at 10:05am
Hello Diane,

I work in the New Hampshire system as well as the NH county jail system.
Permalink Reply by Diane Wilde on August 22, 2007 at 3:11pm
David, I agree. Ultimately this is where we need to be. Your description "It will take an organized, sustainable, non-adversarial, policy-oriented, long-term effort to make that happen, but it can surely be done, as it is happening elsewhere in the country" is what needs to take place now. There was a conference regarding a Buddhist Chaplaincy last year in the Bay Area - but I don't know if anything came of it. I did not attend, but chaplain friends of mine did. They indicated that the concensus seemed to be that suing the state - as the Native Americans had to do - may be the only answer. I hope there may be other avenues.

FYI - One of our volunteers spoke with an ex-Folsom warden who gave him the regulations on religious rights of the prisoners. Our sangha is not afforded many of these written rights. Broad dictates are being made by our Catholic sponsor which are in direct violation of the documents that this warden brought to our volunteer's attention. We are now considering how to proceed. Ideas? Diane

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