Advocacy

We must look beyond the individuals we assist in our Outreach Program to the social issues and situations with which they struggle. It is also our responsibility to become agents of change of unjust and inhumane systems and structures we observe or uncover. We want to become public advocates for those who bear the brunt of these injustices.

“Honest, direct confrontation is a true expression of compassion. As Christians, we are in the world without being of it. It is precisely this position that renders confrontation both possible and necessary. The illusion of power must be unmasked, idolatry must be undone, oppression and exploitation must be fought. This is compassion.

“We cannot suffer with the poor when we are unwilling to confront those persons and systems that cause poverty. We cannot set the captives free when we do not want to confront those who carry the keys. We cannot profess solidarity with those who are oppressed when we are unwilling to confront the oppressor. Compassion without confrontation fades quickly into fruitless sentimental commiseration.” (Henry Nouwen, Compassion, p.124)

Advocacy Committee

The Advocacy Committee meets monthly to coordinate and direct parish advocacy efforts and to identify local issues for parish advocacy efforts. We welcome and invite parishioners interested in advocacy and social justice issues to join this committee.

One recent area of effort has been advocating for those released from prison without basic means for reentry into society. A large number of the people we help weekly in the Social Ministry Outreach on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings are men and women recently released and who were released without any documents e.g. State ID, birth certificate or social security card. These documents would enable them to more easily find a job and again become productive members of society. The efforts of Social Ministry to get the attention of the Department of Corrections regarding this need is long standing with seemingly little success. Therefore, with the change of leadership in Jefferson City the Advocacy Committee made a renewed effort to gain the attention of our lawmakers of our State. The following paragraphs describe a letter sent to the new governor of Missouri, Jay Nixon, and signed by our pastor Fr. Richard Buhler and our director of Social Ministry Ms.Vicki Simon on behalf of the parish.

In the letter dated January 2, 2009 to then Governor-Elect Nixon, Fr. Buhler and Ms Simon pointed out that the Missouri Reentry Process adopted by the State [and funded in part by the National Institute of Corrections] has as one of its strategies to “provide offenders with state identification cards, birth certificates, and social security cards upon release from prison”. And yet most of those who come to us need our help because the prison that released them did not supply these documents.

The letter reminds Mr. Nixon of two of his campaign goals, namely jobs and the economy and efficient government. The issue here is facilitating ex-offenders’ re-entry into society so they do not return to prison. The simple low-cost action of providing the essential documents for re-entry, as set out by the Missouri Re-entry Process, is an important step by which the State can address this issue.

The State spends $15,000 yearly [2008] to keep a person in prison and recidivism remains a problem [more than half of those released return to prison in 5 years]. If we provide them with the tools of gainful employment, we help them become productive members of society and reduce the potential for increased costs of welfare. It is money well spent and likely money that the State would have to spend anyway. The upfront expense of a Missouri State ID [$11.00] is minimal compared to the expense of re-incarceration or extensive social services.

The letter indicates the burden to our parish of the large expense of providing such documents to ex-offenders who come to us each week. We believe that our parish has a role in providing services for ex-offenders. However, the cost has become prohibitive for the parish. We ask that the State make good its own stated obligation to provide valid identification at the time of release.

Fr. Buhler and Ms. Simon end the letter by congratulating Mr. Nixon on his appointment of George Lombardi as the new Director of Corrections.

Elizabeth Kolmer for the Social Ministry Advocacy Committee