Jabberwockey
Well-Known Member
Wasn't sure if this was appropriate for this board or not but it is related so wanted to share it with you all.
I walked in to work this morning to see an offender, nicknamed Rock, I've known for years standing at the bottom of the stairs in tears. His box of property was sitting at his feet. He gets out today after doing approximately 27 years in prison. This is his first, and God willing his last, time on parole. I wont go into details about why he spent that long in prison but I will say that in his youth, substance abuse had been a serious issue. Since being incarcerated, he has become an advocate of Alcoholic's and Narcotic's Anonymous and through his efforts has helped many other offenders get clean. There is obviously much more to this story but I will keep this short.
For those of us on this board who have children with substance abuse issues and are facing the possibility that they will end up in prison, we tend to live in fear. Fear that the drugs will completely ruin their lives. Fear that they will end up in prison and come out worse than they went in. Fear that their foolish choices will be the death of them. When this fear starts to become overwhelming, think of Rock. Think of the possibility not that they will die in prison, but will learn and maybe even help others. Instead of fear, have hope that they will meet someone like Rock who has learned from his mistakes and is willing to help them work through theirs.
I've known this man for 23 years and I speak with the utmost of confidence when I say that his community will truly gain a Rock, not just in nickname, but in truth because he will be a solid place for addicts to go to for support. He will also not hesitate to tell them EXACTLY what they NEED to know, no matter how painful the truth may be. He's not known for sugar coating his opinion in prison, I see no reason that he will start doing so on the streets.
Good luck and God bless Rock!
I walked in to work this morning to see an offender, nicknamed Rock, I've known for years standing at the bottom of the stairs in tears. His box of property was sitting at his feet. He gets out today after doing approximately 27 years in prison. This is his first, and God willing his last, time on parole. I wont go into details about why he spent that long in prison but I will say that in his youth, substance abuse had been a serious issue. Since being incarcerated, he has become an advocate of Alcoholic's and Narcotic's Anonymous and through his efforts has helped many other offenders get clean. There is obviously much more to this story but I will keep this short.
For those of us on this board who have children with substance abuse issues and are facing the possibility that they will end up in prison, we tend to live in fear. Fear that the drugs will completely ruin their lives. Fear that they will end up in prison and come out worse than they went in. Fear that their foolish choices will be the death of them. When this fear starts to become overwhelming, think of Rock. Think of the possibility not that they will die in prison, but will learn and maybe even help others. Instead of fear, have hope that they will meet someone like Rock who has learned from his mistakes and is willing to help them work through theirs.
I've known this man for 23 years and I speak with the utmost of confidence when I say that his community will truly gain a Rock, not just in nickname, but in truth because he will be a solid place for addicts to go to for support. He will also not hesitate to tell them EXACTLY what they NEED to know, no matter how painful the truth may be. He's not known for sugar coating his opinion in prison, I see no reason that he will start doing so on the streets.
Good luck and God bless Rock!