Thank you! Thank you!! 140 supporters donated 142 times to the Post-Prison Education Program for The Seattle Foundation’s giveBIG 2014 event last Tuesday – by far, more than double the number of donors and gifts the previous year. On behalf of our staff, applicants and students to our non-profit, we are inexpressibly grateful. We thought you might be interested to read the communication with which the Post-Prison Education Program began almost 9 years ago. The stated purpose of the founders was to “save lives,” not to be politically correct, not to turn our non-profit into another grossly ineffective agency, but to save lives. Since, with total focus on “saving lives,” helping former prisoners and their families build lives worth living, we have devoted almost exactly $1.5 million to accomplish our August 2005 goal. Again, thank you for your support!!! We could not have done it without you. Here is the e-mail with which our work began – the e-mail which set forth our Mission, a purpose from which we have not deviated: -----Original Message----- From: F. Lee Hinebaugh Sent: Tuesday, August 23, 2005 3:28 PM To: Michael McCann Cc: George I. Lovell; David J. Olson Subject: Meeting Importance: High Professor McCann, … I wanted to talk with you about several different things…. Despite there being several topics, the primary issue that prompted me to think in terms of contacting you could justifiably be put under the heading of “saving lives.” I don’t know if I can get this into short form and have it be as meaningful a presentation as a personal discussion would have been, but…. Two Saturdays ago … had what they called a “Welcome Back Party” for a woman and four men who had just been released from WA state prisons. The idea was to get things like towels, clothes, toothpaste, dental floss, etc., etc., into their hands, but also to let them know that support was (is) available to them. After a potluck meal and some other happenings these newly released prisoners came to the center of the room, lit a candle and explained why they were there…. One of those guys was a guy named…. Frankly, his story tore me apart…. Last Saturday, I picked him up at the Aloha Inn on Aurora (an amazing facility available to help homeless people get back on track) and took him to breakfast. The first thing about ----- is that if you did not know his background he could walk up to you, introduce himself as an attorney or neurosurgeon and you would not doubt it for a second. He’s a really smart guy, very well spoken, but…. The short version of his story is that he was an addict at the time of his arrest, and is an addict now…. He takes about $500.00 worth of prescription medicine per month to combat several problems with being bi-polar / manic depressive at the head of the list. And, his Brother just went to jail. All at one time, one guy is dealing with probation and parole, obtaining gainful employment, having family members in jail, manic-depressive illness, etc., etc. As I sat with him at Julia’s kitchen on Capitol Hill last Saturday I just kept thinking “this guy is so smart”; “he has so much potential”; “getting him into a community college or UW could not only center his life, change his life, but save his life.” It was at that point that I began to think of who I could talk with at UW not only to get them to open up to admitting him, but to get UW to establish a program through which they admit at least one such person per annum. Because you are “Law, Society, and Justice” I thought of you; because he has to be admitted, I thought of Robin Hennes in Admissions (I went by her office today; she gets back from vacation next Monday)…. All of these things can wait until you conclude your upcoming two weeks of conferences, etc., but I would like to know if you / LSJ will consider helping me promote a program such as described above in regard to…. I’m going to meet with Robin Hennes next week, Monday if at all possible, then Eileen, and probably Nancy Amidei between now and then. What it boils down to, in my book, really centers on is opening doors -- other than jailhouse and prison doors -- for the formerly imprisoned, in essence, jobs not jails, education not incarceration, restoring voting rights for previously imprisoned people (I have mine), creating effective re-entry (new entry) support, removing barriers to re-entry (new entry) success, etc., etc., and on and on, ad infinitum. Please let me know your thoughts…. Very best personal regards, Lee Hinebaugh Be The Change You Want To See In The World - Mahatma Gandhi To Be A Revolutionary, There Must First Be A Revolution.... The Best Form Of Saying Is Doing - Che Guevara
Posted on: Mon, 12 May 2014 16:08:50 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015