Mykal Tairu VROP State Coordinator FL Wendy Tarr SVdP Community Organizer Columbus Diocese The Two Feet of Love in Action Charitable Works response to immediate needs and specific situations feeding the hungry clothing the naked caring for and healing the sick visiting th ID: 423042
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Slide1
Restorative Justice and the Vincentian Re-Entry Organizing Project
Mykal Tairu- VROP State Coordinator, FLWendy Tarr- SVdP Community Organizer, Columbus Diocese Slide2
The Two Feet of Love in Action
Charitable Works- response to immediate needs and specific situations: feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for and healing the sick, visiting those in prison, etc.
Social Justice
- concerns
the social, political, and economic aspects and, above all, the structural dimension of problems and their respective
solutionsSlide3
Restorative Justice
Restorative justice is a theory of justice that emphasizes repairing the harm caused or revealed by criminal behavior. It is best accomplished through unified processes that include all stakeholdersTraditional justice asks “Who? And What is the punishment?”
Restorative justice
asks “Who, what? And how do we prevent it from happening again? Slide4
A Catholic Perspective
“Our tasks are to restore a sense of civility and responsibility to everyday life, and promote crime prevention and genuine rehabilitation. The common good is undermined by criminal behavior that threatens the lives and dignity of others and by policies that seem to give up on those who have broken the law (offering too little treatment and too few alternatives to either years in prison or the execution of those who have been convicted of terrible crimes
)”
-
A Statement of the Catholic Bishops of the United
States, Nov 2000
"We are still a long way from the time when our conscience can be certain of having done everything possible to prevent crime and to control it effectively so that it no longer does harm and, at the same time, to offer to those who commit crimes a way of redeeming themselves and making a positive return to society. If all those in some way involved in the problem tried to . . . develop this line of thought, perhaps humanity as a whole could take a great step forward in creating a more serene and peaceful society."
-Pope
John Paul II, July 9, 2000Slide5
What is SVdP Voice of the Poor?
The Advocacy Arm of the Society of St Vincent de PaulAwareness of the needs of the poor and vulnerable that goes beyond the surface levelAdvocacy
the influences institutional structures- formal or informal
Catholic Social Teaching
that shows itself in action
Systemic Change
that produces meaningful and sustainable differences in the lives of the poorSlide6
Voice of the Poor in Context
Rule 7.2 of Society of St. Vincent de Paul:“Where injustice, inequality, poverty or exclusion are due to unjust economic, political, or social structures or to inadequate or unjust legislation,
the Society should speak out clearly against the situation, always with charity, with the aim of contributing to and demanding improvements
.
”
"You must not be content with tiding the poor over the poverty crisis;
you must study their condition and the injustices which brought about such poverty, with the aim of long term improvement
.”
Blessed Frederic
OzanamSlide7
America’s Criminal Justice System
Mass Incarceration and Barriers to Re-EntryOn any given day, about 2.3 million people are incarcerated.Each year, 700,000 people are released from prisonBarriers to re-entry include: Many occupations that require licensures forbid felony offenders
Housing restrictions for ex-offenders
Exclusion from many state and federal assistance programs
Some exclusions from federal student aid
Negative stigma Slide8
America’s Criminal Justice System
Addiction and IncarcerationAbout 45% of federal prisoners and 64% of inmates suffer from mental illness.Nearly 76% of inmates who have a mental health problem are dependent on or abuse alcohol or drugs.Addiction is not a cause for incarceration. People need help, not incarceration
Juveniles and Incarceration
7.3 million children have at least one incarcerated parent in our nation today.
Approximately 70% of these children will end up in the criminal justice system in their lifetime.
Children with fathers in prison are 4 times more likely to enter the child welfare systemSlide9
The Vincentian Re-Entry Organizing Project
We are a partnership between the USCCB's Catholic Campaign for Human Development and the National Society of St Vincent de Paul. This partnership brings together one of the country's largest and most significant funders of grassroots organizing and leadership development with one of the country's largest volunteer driven service organizationsThe goal of the project
i
s to promote systemic change and address the barriers to reentry for formally incarcerated individualsSlide10
VROP Around the Country
Florida: Lead by Mykal Tairu, the VROP in Florida has been engaged in meaningful advocacy that includes removing barriers to employment for people with criminal records. Ban the BoxSlide11
Daytona BeachSlide12
Slide13
OrlandoSlide14
Rights Restoration Campaign
There are 1.54 million Floridians who cannot vote due to a past felony conviction In order to restore voting rights, one must apply to have a clemency hearing which could take a decade… literallySomething as minuet as traffic violations can disqualify you from receiving your rights Faith in Florida (PICO Affiliate) is leading a statewide ballot initiative that would atomically restore the voting rights of individuals with felony convictions, excluding those convicted of murder or sexual offenses Slide15
VROP Around the Country
Massachusetts: Louisiana: Ohio: Wisconsin: Slide16
Columbus, Ohio Slide17
Legislative Action
Second Chance
Act S. 1513
:
Funds government agencies and non-profit organizations with federal grants to work on strategies and services to reduce recidivism through re-entry efforts – mental health, jobs, education, drug treatment. Early release for some elderly non-violent offenders.
If
passed into law, the Second Chance Reauthorization Act would allow either the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) or a federal prisoner to request a transfer to home confinement, by submitting a written request to the U.S. Attorney General.
The
program would only apply to people convicted in federal courts, not state courts.
(
S. 1513),
introduced June 2015
by U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), and Patrick Leahy (
D-VT)Slide18
Legislative Action
Corrections Oversight, Recidivism Reduction, and Eliminating Costs for Tax-payers in Our National System Act of 2015
- S. 467
- Calls
for partnerships with faith-based, community and non-profit organizations to provide recidivism reduction and recovery programs on a paid and volunteer basis
;
- Provides
essential recidivism and reentry programs which may include: life skills classes, mentoring, domestic violence deterrence classes, occupational and vocational training, assistance with finding housing and employment and substance abuse treatment and mental health treatment, and;
Provides
a strategy to reinvest budget savings resulting from this act back into recidivism and reduction
programs.
This
bill was assigned to a congressional committee
on the judiciary on
February 11,
2015. It is sponsored by Senator
Cornyn
(R-TX)Slide19
Legislative Action
Smarter Sentencing Act – S.502 / HR 920
Expanding current judicial sentencing options related specifically to non-violent drug offenses; Permitting reductions in mandatory minimum sentences for certain drug crimes.
The bill will permit 8,800 federal prisoners (87% of which are black) who are imprisoned for crack cocaine crimes to return to court to seek fairer punishments in line with the
Fair Sentencing
Act
.
The
Justice Department estimated last year that the Smarter Sentencing Act would
save $24 billion over 20 years
and prevent the building of over a dozen new prisons and the hiring of thousands of new correctional officers.
Introduced
Feb 12, 2015 (114
th
Congress, 2015–2017
)
The Smarter Sentencing Act (S. 502/H.R. 920) is a bipartisan bill sponsored by Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Mike Lee (R-UT) in the U.S. Senate and Representatives Raul Labrador (R-ID) and Bobby Scott (D-VA) in the U.S. House of Representatives. Slide20
What can Vincentians do/Call to Action
Sign up for the Voice of the Poor email list: http://capwiz.com/svdpusa/mlm/signup/In upcoming days, you will receive a sign on letter from
President of the National Society,
Sheila Gilbert to support those three pieces of legislation
Connect with a Vincentian Re-Entry Project organizer in your state or region Slide21
Contact Information
Mykal Tairu State Program CoordinatorVincentian Re-entry Organizing Project (407)-630-0023
Mykal@svdporlando.org
Wendy
Tarr
Community Organizer
Society of St Vincent de Paul, Columbus Diocese
(614)-512-7106
wendytarr6@
gmail.com