Last night I attended a John Howard Society event in Ottawa where the guest speaker was a lifer who served 10 years for second degree murder and has now been on parole for 20 years. In that time John Rives has published 3 collections of  poetry (highly recommended! "Dead Time: Poems from Prison", "Shackles and Silence" and his latest "The Perfection of Guilt." ) John spoke passionately about his work with Lifeline - a program that has now been cancelled by the Canadian government - where lifers on parole did in-reach work with lifers inside to help them face the realities of their incarceration, and to prepare them for the possibility of parole. The focus of the evening was reintegration: the plethora of obstacles, fears and challenges people face on their release from prison. Although we have some organizations in Canada doing solid work in this area (especially the John Howard Society), the needs remain huge and resources are shrinking in our un-enlightened current political reality. A few members of MOMS (Mothers Offering Mutual Support) spoke too, about their experiences of trying to help their sons through their journeys on the inside, and on parole. This has been too long already, so I will write more another time about the MOMS with whom I also have the privilege to work. Irene