I’d rather work in reentry anywhere in Indiana but Marion County.”
-Anonymous
My wife Nancy was asked to be the moderator for a panel discussion on faith-based reentry for the Marion County Reentry Coalition’s very popular annual conference. In preparation, she met with a number of folks who work in reentry for the state. Since we don’t have private offices at UNITE INDY and work at shared-workspace tables, I overheard one state employee tell her he’d rather work on reentry anywhere in the state but Marion County.
I stopped what I was doing and started to listen. “Why?” She asked. He remarked that reentry organizations in Indianapolis “do not play well with others.” He said, “Unlike other counties, they don’t join with other organizations that work in reentry to tackle the larger problems we have. Take Fort Wayne, for example. There is a monthly luncheon where all the secular and faith-based groups get together. They share their successes and problems and tackle the problems together with no concern about who gets credit. They only want to help justice-involved individuals get back into a normal life.”
Interestingly, UNITE INDY is in the process of developing a first-ever Marion County web portal just for those returning from incarceration who need work. They will have access to a site that will list the jobs available to reentrants, the pay rates, job requirements and other important information.
We were pretty surprised to have found closed doors when asking another reentry organization for critical contact information for the site which would have assisted those reentrants in connecting with relevant personnel. I guess we’ll find it elsewhere. But, it reminds me of the cancer researchers who worked for decades, refusing to share access to their findings, while people were dying. Today, granting organizations require research findings to be shared, moving us much faster to the cures we need.
A futurist once said, “The solutions of the future rely totally on the collective effort of people working together.” It is time we unselfishly join our talents to better serve the 4,500 reentrants into our county every year. Let’s make Marion County the model. Let’s do it for the future of our state, our county, and the future of each family that needs restoration. Let’s (must I say it?) unite Indy.
Blessings,
Jim
“…With God, all things are possible” – Matthew 19:26
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