Gaining Access to the Prison System
I first heard about prison meetings from a member who started prison contact through the Gideon Society in Georgia. He told me that I would have to take a course in order to qualify to enter prisons. I then heard from a prison chaplain who was running a number of recovery programs that he would be interested in running an SA program too. At the time I was corresponding with a fellow in that same prison and he encouraged me to go ahead and take the course. When the chaplain invited me, I went ahead and enrolled. The course oriented us onto the rules of the prison and how to handle prisoners’ requests. I sent some White Books to the chaplain and he allowed members to meet, discreetly, in a conference room in his office. I was never able to make any of their meetings because they were at 12 noon which clashed with my work, and then COVID started.
An SA member in South Carolina wrote to me that his brother was in prison and wanted to start a meeting. I contacted the chaplain there and she was very interested. She said I would have to take an orientation course there in South Carolina if I wanted to attend but unfortunately I was unable to do this. Instead, I did try to find an SA group nearby who could send a member. The chaplain was very accommodating and even did a taped interview which was posted on the CFC website. She continued to run SA meetings until 2020 when COVID hit.
In the US, we can obtain information about specific prisons from the internet. There, it gives the address and name of the warden (person in charge). We are currently sending out letters to chaplains and wardens in the federal government system explaining our program. We usually have greater success with chaplains and prison psychologists. Some wardens, however, are not interested in our services but the information stays in their library and when a new chaplain arrives, he may well contact us.
In several prisons in the US, friends in prison have started running clandestine meetings in the prison yard. They get together and read passages from the White book and share concerns and feelings with each other. These groups are carefully guarded so that members are not terrorized by other inmates. One friend in prison told me about a meeting which he knew was taking place. He tried to join but was refused for several months until finally he succeeded in being allowed in.
Other groups have had success by working through the Roman Catholic church, especially in Europe. Contact with local parish priests and even bishops have produced positive results. In several cases, SA members have been able to send White Books into the prison system.
When working with friends in prison it is always important that we guard their safety. We do not want to compromise their safety or put their lives in danger.
