Ministries A prison ministry
By PATRICIA LEFEVERE
Special Report Writer
Addiction to drugs and alcohol offered no plan and no escape
route, a former user told Fr. Peter Young. Another confessed he had been
running a finish line from jail to death. A third admitted that his
habit had robbed him of everything -- relationships, home and job.
The three are among the many faces that appear in the recently
released film, Glidepath to Recovery, produced by Family Theater Productions in
Hollywood, Calif. The film documents the work of Young, 67, a priest of the
Albany, N.Y., diocese who has spent 40 of his 41 years as a priest ministering
to prisoners and addicts. Until 10 years ago he was chaplain at Mount McGregor
Prison in Wilton, N.Y., as well as chaplain to the New York State Senate in
Albany.
It didnt take the priest long to see the link between
chemical addiction and incarceration. In fact, about 80 percent of
Americas prisoners are inside due to drugs and/or alcohol, he
said.
The problems dont stop when they get out. When its
time for their parole, most inmates are all dressed up with no place to
go, Young said.
Just like a fighter aircraft trying to land at sea, prisoners need
a glidepath to make a safe transition into their new realm, said
Young, a former Navy man. Without recovery programs, housing and jobs, the
prospects for returning to prison are overwhelming, he told NCR.
So for four decades the priest has been at the helm of an
ambitious three-step program: Peter Youngs Housing, Industries &
Treatment, Inc. Inmates begin with drug and alcohol treatment while still in
jail, and obtain housing and employment when they leave. Some 3,000 to 4,ooo
people a year participate in the program.
The priest claims that 92 percent of those who go through recovery
programs and vocational training find work within three to four months. He also
claims the program has reduced the rate of recidivism to 20 percent from the
national norm of 80 percent. Rehabilitate; dont incarcerate,
is Youngs motto.
Recovering addicts train to work in the hotel and food industry
and learn computer skills. Former inmates have even graduated from the Culinary
Institute of America. One is head chef at the Schuyler Inn in Albany, an 80-bed
motel run by recovering addicts. Many members of the state assembly stay at
Schuyler during the legislative session. Youngs protégés
also staff Le Moyne Manor in Syracuse, N.Y.
In Albany, former addicts run three chicken restaurant franchises,
seven cafeterias, a couple of floral boutiques and a coffee shop as well as a
mini-mart in a housing complex for older adults where they also provide
security. Youngs enterprise has spread to Brooklyn, Queens, Syracuse and
Utica and employs 300 to 400 workers statewide. Three-quarters are former
inmates, 97 percent are in recovery programs.
But you dont have to go jail to benefit from Youngs
scheme, said Mercy Sr. Phyllis Herbert, who coordinates the programs
Honor Court. Herbert and her staff work closely with the district attorney and
other lawyers to divert offenders from prison before they get into the court
system.
We provide places they can go, the nun said. We
vouch for them and monitor them closely once they are released into the
Honor Court. Most of Herberts staff are ex-offenders whove been in
the system and are devoting their lives now to trying to affect the lives of
others. Courts demand strong accountability from the program, which consists of
treatment and training while offenders live in supervised housing. Some judges
mandate monthly written reports on those in the Honor Court.
The safety of the public is serious business; this program
makes us very responsible, said Herbert, a registered nurse, who met
Young 20 years ago when she was medical director of his sobering-up
center.
Herbert said the program has thrived largely due to Youngs
dynamism and his research efforts. He has visited rehabilitation programs
around the country, surfed the Internet and discovered that the hospitality
industry offered the most growth potential, she said. Hes also raised
money and paid rent for several units in Albany Housing and moved recovering
addicts into these apartments.
The nun still recalls the day several years ago when a judge told
her that a woman was not worth working with. Shes just a drug
dealer, Sister, the judge said. But the woman, a former heroine addict,
is now a counselor to other addicts and has participated in all the recovery
and training programs offered by Youngs organization.
Father and I often say that once addicts become sober and
abstinent, they want to give back. You cant find much more beautiful,
caring and talented people, she said.
Over 40 years Youngs fledging recovery campaign has grown
into a $15 million operation with half of its budget coming from Medicaid, a
fifth from social services and much of the rest from entitlement programs and
fundraising.
Young, one of the most recognized faces in the State Assembly
building, continues to lobby New York legislators, who have consistently
allocated funds for building more prisons while severely cutting
rehabilitation, treatment and chaplaincy programs.
We have to convince them that these kinds of programs work
and save money, he said.
National Catholic Reporter, January 21,
2000
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