I’m at the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility (MSDF), an institution in the Wisconsin Prison System (WPS), participating in the Earned Release Program (ERP). After reading the autobiography, Ms. Grey, our ERP Group Coordinator had each of us devise an ERP Treatment Plan. It consists of 2 short-term treatment related goals and objectives and 2 long-term practical type goals and objectives. I’ll share mine with you so you can understand what I’m referring to in the future. The first short term treatment goal was to address forgiveness issues. The objectives (how to accomplish this) will be 1. – Read Chapter 5, 7, 13-14 of Houses of Healing by Robin Casarjian. 2. – Write 5 page essay on material. 3. – Write letter forgiving biological father. 4. – Share essay with ERP group. 5. – Share letter with group. The second short-term treatment goal is to address anger issues. The objectives are 1. – Read Anger is a Choice by Tim Layattte and Bob Phillips. 2. – Write 5 page essay on material. 3. – Share essay with group. 4. – Write letter forgiving self. 5. – Do “Thinking Event” (describe an event, your thoughts, feelings, attitudes, believes, and outcome involving it) on post traumatic delayed stress disorder connected event. The first long-term goal relates to Housing and Transportation. The objectives are to “Try to stay with my adopted parents for a few days. They are Rev. Charles Martin and Victoria Martin 2. – Get my own place relatively quickly. 3. – Get place in Green Bay, WI after that. 4. – Get assessment so I can get my drivers license. 5. – Get driver license. 6. – Get car insurance. 7. – Get car. The second long-term goal relates to employment. The objects are 1. – Find 3rd shift job so I can be available for interviews and training. 2. – Try to find Information Technology job. 3. – Look into Real Estate training and license. 4. – Look into car sales. 5. – Get cell phone. From here, I’ll sign this goal sheet, then Ms. Grey followed by Ms. Greys’s supervisor and it will then be considered part of my treatment plan. Some comments about this. The short-term treatment goals seem simple but they are not. But they are worthy of my time and like I said, and though I’ve been addressing these issues on this blog the last year, it will be good for me to do this. I’m also pretty sure this wont’ be the end of it on these issues. The long-term goals are another matter. The Parole Officer has to approve me going to my adoptive parents county and they have to say it’s ok otherwise its going to be going to a homeless shelter. As far as the transportation and employment, so much of it requires money, which I don’t have, and have factors I can’t control, such as will anyone hire an IT Professional who is a felon. That if I focus on such things, you can get yourself pretty worked up. Do you want to hire me? Just kidding of course, but seriously, I wonder how people will view me in the job market. But of course, I’m not the only soon to be released felon confronting these issues. Every day felons start out from prisons with the odds already against them just like I’m going to do. But I have faith. I have faith if I do what I’m suppose to, I’m going to make it. I’m going to have faith in God to see me through, ask others for help when I need it, and be willing to do whatever it takes.
Posts Tagged ‘car’
The ERP Treatment Plan Goals and Objectives
Posted: July 21, 2011 in UncategorizedTags: adopted parents, Anger, Anger is a Choice, approve, assessment, attitudes, autobiography, Beliefs, biological father, Bob Phillips, car, Detention, drivers license, Earned, Earned Release Program, employment, ERP, ERP Coordinator, essay, event, Facility, faith, feelings, felon, forgiveness, forgiving, goals, Green Bay, help, hire, homeless shelter, Houses of Healing, housing, Information Technology, insurance, interview, IT, job, job market, letter, long-term, Material, Milwaukee, Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility, money, Ms. Grey, MSDF, objectives, parole officer, phone, Place, Prison, Program, quickly, real estate, Release, Robin Casarjian, sales, Secure, short-term, System, Thinking, third shift, Tim Layatte, Time, Training, transportation, traumatic stress disorder, Treatment Plan, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Prison System, worthy, WPS
Nikita Was Here
Posted: April 11, 2011 in UncategorizedTags: accommodations, action, Alla Bozarth, Andre Charles, autobiography, avoiding, biological, canteen, car, class clown, contemplation, desperation, Detention, DUI, Earned, Earned Release Program, ERP, ERP Coordinator, Experience, Facility, father, Group, interning, internship, Larry Sands, lied, Life is Goodbye Life is Hello, maintenance, Mar Hogan, Milwaukee, moustache, Ms. Grey, MSDF, nervous, Nikita, nowhere to go, Parole, parole officer, plan, PO, Post Traumatic Delayed Stress Disorder, pre-awareness, preparation, Prison, Program, relapse, Release, Salvation Army, Secure, situation, stepfather, student, System, table, Vietnam, Waukesha, Wisconsin, WPS
I’m at the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility (MSDF), an institution in the Wisconsin Prison System (WPS), participating in the Earned Release Program (ERP). In the course of doing laundry and trying to get a break from cellie Andre Charles, I spent some time in the dayroom talking to a few guys on my unit. First, I got to talk to a guy who is in a similar position to me in that he doesn’t have anywhere to go when he gets out after being paroled to Waukesha County. He’s written to everyone you can think of inquiring about his situation, neatly organizing the info in a picture album you can order off canteen. But he’s reached the same impasse as I have. There appears to be nowhere to go except the shelter in Waukesha, WI, the Salvation Army. His stepfather won’t allow him at their home. But he’s come up with another plan. He’ll get a cheap car and sleep in that since the weather will be warm when he’s released in May. I argued it isn’t safe and the parole officer (PO) likely wouldn’t approve such a thing. His argument back was that the PO could provide different accommodations if they didn’t like it. I suspect the PO won’t take to such tactics. But the desperation we both feel is pretty evident. I even found myself thinking about this possibly that really isn’t. Later I caught up with a guy from my ERP group, Mark Hogan. He’s really become the class clown of our group, coming up with things to say that are really off the wall. But he sat down with me at the table. He’s almost 70, but is as strong as an ox, out lifting many in the exercise room. He has a gray Rollie Fingers type moustache and likes his gin. He claimed to have done 4 years for his 5th offense DUI which is quite harsh so I’m a little doubtful. Perhaps I telegraph that I’m receptive to such things, but he opened about his own experience with Post Traumatic Delayed Stress Disorder, and his time in Vietnam. I shared part of my biological father’s experience in return. I’m’ due to read my autobiography to the ERP group on February 11th (over 2 weeks away) so they all will know this stuff soon. I’m a little nervous as many indicate they were very general with some indicating they flat out lied. I’m just really nervous some will use it against me in some fashion outside the ERP group. It’s not suppose to happen but the reality is it probably will. Today was the first day our ERP group began reading it’s autobiographies. But first a newcomer joined our group, an attractive Asian American woman named Nikita Cho who was a student interning under Ms. Grey, our ERP Coordinator. After the breathing exercises and the introductions we had the first autobiography read, Larry Sands. Sands had made it clear he wasn’t going to write a lot or be specific back in the beginning and it was pretty obvious. So much so Ms. Grey made him sit down and write it over and called on the next guy, John Lloyd. Lloyd had done a good job having lived a pretty normal life. Grief over his father’s death led Ms. Grey to assign him the book Life is Goodbye Life is Hello by Alla Bozarth. John and I sit across from each other at mealtime and during program time and we get along well. In the afternoon session, we went over the stages of change – 1. pre-awareness, 2. Contemplation, 3. Preparation, 4. Taking Action, 5. Avoiding relapse and maintenance. It was probably Ms. Grey’s best day that I’ve seen so far. I’m happy to say I’ve been in 3, 4 and 5 since last January.
Life in Wisconsin Prisons and Beyond 