Over the centuries the Sisters of Charity have been committed to many different ministries but there is one ministry that remains constant in all our countries – ministry with those in prisons and jails. The United States spends $167 Billion on prisons and we have two and quarter million prisoners – more than any country in the free world. In California alone there are 15,000 young people in prison.
Juvenile Justice Month of Faith and Healing, March 2015, has been an opportunity for us to unite with hundreds of faith communities, schools and universities in prayer, service and action to raise awareness of the needs of incarcerated children, survivors of violence, and their families. As RSC’s we signed on to the pledge to pray and raise awareness to give voice to the voiceless children caught within the web of the criminal justice system and the sweeping effect on the community at large.
For almost 40 years, Sr. Teresa Doherty has served at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall, a prison for children up to 17 years of age. Recently the girlfriend of a boy who shot someone got sentenced to 50 years plus one in prison. She was considered an accomplice merely by her presence. Another boy aged 16, was sentenced for being with his friend who had a gun. Even though no one got hurt, he got 10 years in prison for this association. This young man was sent to an adult prison hours away, then to a prison in Oklahoma too far away for any family to visit him. Then he was sent to Tehachapi Prison where a riot took place in the yard. As a result everyone there in the yard was sent to Pelican Bay. Sr. Teresa knows this young man and said that he is determined to get his education and is not a threat to anyone. He is not old enough to vote or buy beer but he is now in an adult prison.
One of Sr. Teresa’s young women was at a party where someone got shot. She was threatened by others who told her, “If you don’t say that was your gun, we’ll kill your family.” As a result, she is now serving time in prison.
Sr. Margaret Farrell continues to visit some of the youth from Los Padrinos as well as youth from Covenant House who end up in jail or in a state prison. As a novice Margaret worked with Teresa at Juvenile Hall and said that ministry experience confirmed she was indeed called to be an RSC.
In California, over 230,000 juveniles are arrested each year…over 600 youth each day. Fifteen thousand California youth are detained in juvenile correction facilities. Most of these youths are victims of abuse; have suffered neglected childhoods; have not benefited from educational opportunities, and have most likely witnessed violence inflicted on a family member or someone in their community. Every support system has failed them and they are wounded psychologically and emotionally. Many turn to substance abuse and replicate the violence they have experienced and observed in their fragile lives.
Each child entering the juvenile justice system is not an isolated individual, but a member of our community. Their actions and the community’s response has an economic, social, and human cost that Juvenile Justice Month of Faith and Healing attempts to address.
Moral Impact: To allow youth to be incarcerated for decades of their life denies their human dignity. Medical and psychological research affirms youth are not mature adults emotionally. Punitive, long term sentences fail to acknowledge their ability to mature, mold positive character traits, become repentant and ask for forgiveness, and move beyond selfish behavior to see the interconnectedness of working for the common good in society. The ethnic and racially diverse interfaith coalition supporting Juvenile Justice Month of Faith and Healing represents the affirmation of the human dignity of each member of society. (from http://www.healingjusticecoalition.org/juvenile_justice_week.html
Did you know? An estimated one million children are in jail around the world, a violation of child rights principles that say detention should only be a measure of last resort. http://www.restorativejustice.org/RJOB/world-needs-to-find-alternatives-to-putting-children-in-jail
Sr Teresa Doherty at Los Padrinos with her volunteers and RSC Associates
