At the end of April, I traveled to Chicago to encounter a series of organizations, parish groups, and associations, who work in prison ministry, re-entry, and restorative justice.
So much has happened in the past weeks. We have celebrated My Father’s House fifth anniversary with an incredibly successful gala (you can read more about it here); had the surprising chance to show Unguarded in two correctional facilities in South Florida with two groups of 40 inside students; and we continue to see our network expanding across states and communities. In this newsletter, we add our voice to the many who are celebrating Second Chance Month 2023.
The 5th anniversary Gala of My Father’s House on March 15th was a great success!
It was encouraging to see more than 100 people sitting at the tables, interacting with MFH staff, volunteers, and residents, and listening attentively to the program in an evening that was blessed by the presence of the Archbishop of Denver, Samuel Aquila.
During the evening, Jim and the MFH family shared the origin of MFH, the present challenges and joys, and the projects and dreams for the future.
We started involving small groups of volunteers at My Father’s House during the Sunday dinners, a tradition offered since its foundation to current and former residents. To break “barriers and prejudice,” (Denio) we broke bread.
In the Fall, we started a series of workshops with Jim Blum, Founder of My Father’s House (MFH), and Denio Marx, Director of International Relations for APAC. During our November session, we learned about the importance of volunteers. They are the heart and soul of the APACs in Brazil.
We started involving small groups of volunteers at My Father’s House during the Sunday dinners, a tradition offered since its foundation to current and former residents. To break “barriers and prejudice,” (Denio) we broke bread.
Unguarded, the documentary on the APAC, is now available to screen on PBS and more! Find out where you can watch it.
The presentation of a documentary on the method of detention “without guards” established in Brazil in the 1970s. The premiere in a Louisiana prison has opened a tour throughout America. This is how the idea arose and what it is generating.
The first showing of Unguarded will take place on May 27, 2021 at the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office Transitional Work Program in Louisiana. The documentary chronicles APAC’s (Association for the Protection and Assistance of Convicts) revolutionary method for prison system transformation that’s centered on the full recovery and rehabilitation of the person.
Unable to receive family visits due to the COVID-19 restrictions, inmates Alisson Tomas Zanetti, Philipe Augusto Ferreira Leal, and Edemir Cardoso da Silva Júnior were feeling abandoned and even more isolated from their community. Together, they sum up a 74-year sentence which they serve inside three APACs (Association for Protection and Assistance to Convicts), a prison system without guards or weapons located in various Brazilian states. To reconnect and feel useful, they have all joined “Humanize Prison Sentences, Promote Life.” Funded by the European Union and the Italian Bishop’s Conference and implemented by AVSI Brasil and the Fraternity of Assistance to Convicts (FBAC), the project will help 400 inmates in 23 APACs make 350,000 masks to reduce the spread of coronavirus.
In the Latin American country, where the pandemic is dramatic with 1 million cases and 50,000 deaths, 400 “recuperandos” in 23 APACs, Brazilian prisons with no guards, are making 350,000 masks to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The protective equipment will be donated to the most vulnerable population thanks to a project implemented by AVSI and funded by the European Union.
Renato Da Silva Junior harbours ambitions of becoming a lawyer. There is just one obstacle: he is a quarter of the way through serving a 20-year jail sentence for murder.
“My dreams are bigger than my mistakes,” says Da Silva, a slightly built man with a broad smile. “I am doing everything to get out of here as soon as I can.”
Da Silva, 28, an inmate at the men’s prison in Itaúna, a town in Minas Gerais, south-east Brazil, is chipping away at his sentence and has already reduced it by two years through work and study at the Association for Protection and Assistance to Convicts (Apac) prison. Here, inmates wear their own clothes, prepare their own food and are even in charge of security. At an Apac jail, there are no guards or weapons, and inmates literally hold the keys.
