At OBK they help me with things I need in my daily life. They understand what i have been going through..
Our Brothers' Keepers of Southern Illinois has been guided in part by a University of Illinois study on recidivism which identified a lack of literacy and an untreated history of severe emotional trauma as the two most influential factors in those released from prison re-offending and returning to prison. A lack of basic reading skills seriously disables Returning Citizens in all the challenges they face upon discharge from prison including obtaining employment sufficient to meet basic needs. OBK offers one on one literacy training to every Returning Citizen. Supported by wonderful volunteers, one of whom spent 40 years providing teaching basic reading skills to inmates in prison, a number of Returning Citizens have learned how to read. The Returning Citizens served by OBK have a 9% recidivism rate compared to the federal rate of 43% and the Illinois State rate of 42%.
Our Brothers' Keepers of Southern Illinois (OBK) embraces the core value of Accompaniment in providing emotional, educational, and spiritual support to men and women (returning citizens) coming out of prison. OBK recognizes and celebrates the human dignity and experience of each person.
The Illinois Prison Project (IPP) contacted OBK and indicated they had secured the release of a man (AB) who at age 75 was paralyzed from the waist down. He had been sentenced at age 36 to sixty years in prison and had been in custody for 39 years. IPP found out that he had been released into St. Clair County, Illinois instead of his homeland in the Chicago area.
IPP asked OBK if they could help with support of (AB) in terms of emotional, educational and spiritual support and of course OBK responded with a resounding YES! This is what OBK does and immediately had a team of men to visit him weekly and help him stay in contact with a small family in Chicago. It was evident from the visits that his spirit was improving and most importantly was his contact with his sister in Chicago which was by phone. OBK helped him make the phone calls and provided the spiritual support through prayer, reading from the Bible and praying with him the rosary at his bedside. During the visits he would sometimes start out sad but as the conversation continued, he would open up to tell his story and how he missed his family. His real connection of love was his only living sister that he would call one or two times a day.
Thanks to the request for help from IPP (www.illinoisprisonproject.org), OBK was able to provide the accompaniment to (AB) by providing the emotional, spiritual and real presence to him at bedside. This interaction would bring back the hope, trust, respect, and human dignity to a man in custody for 39 years and for most of those years paralyzed from the waist down.
Learn more about the work of Our Brothers' Keepers of Southern Illinois by visiting the website (www.obkministry.org) and sending an email (obkministry2).
Blessings and Peace,
As a means of mitigating the effects of prison induced and/or developmental trauma, OBK implemented a program called "Share Your Story" Saturday's where our clients share a hot breakfast while participating in group therapy. The dynamic qualities brought by individuals to the group, the relationships formed, and the support system that has evolved as a result of the trust built among it's members is evidence of the program's success. It's an honor for me, as a volunteer board member, and therapist, to witness the personal and communal growth among Share Your Story participants.