Families of SOs Community Group
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As you know the guy whom I am guardian of is in prison and is a sex offender.
For over a year now mental health and I have been working with him to learn the importance of taking responsibility for his behaviors. In this, we have been trying to help him grasp the basic concepts of what is important verses what is not, and in using his personal hygiene as a focus, we have been trying to teach him to apply what he is learning to this area. For example, he is instructed to ask for a hygiene checklist if he is not given one because it is his responsibility to keep his personal hygiene up.
Now, for the ordinary person this might seem like an extremely simple commonsense matter, but for someone who has severe depression - memory retention deficits - and the inability to understand the difference between what is important and what is not - this is not a trivial matter at all and it is, effectively a backdoor to use to help him gain a great deal of growth in personal relationships, i.e. understanding what is and is not appropriate.
His previous counselor quit his job and on comes a new counselor (the supervisor of all the counselors) who is very familiar with my wards case and what we have been doing with him in his therapeutic objectives.
The counselor sent me an email yesterday telling me that he reprimanded my ward for asking to see the counselor because he needed a new hygiene checklist. In reprimanding him, the counselor also belittled my ward's effort to do exactly what he is told to do in asking for a checklist, and he humiliated my ward to the point he had my ward apologizing to him for asking for a checklist.
These prison mental health idiots are employed by the same corporation that runs the sex offender program to supposedly help guys learn the errors of their ways that led them to prison on a sex offense. But I ask, how in the hell can they teach them anything when the clearly show they don't give a damn?????
I sent the counselor a reply email pointing out all the things he did wrong here and telling him that I expect him to apologize to my ward for his conduct and what he said to my ward. Of course, I already know that he is not going to do so, because in his mind he is far too great and important of a man to lower himself to such levels as to actually apologize to an inmate.
These people are major pains in the butt and undoubtedly the source of some if not a lot of reasons why guys come out of prison and re-offend again. And it kills me how they rationalize and justify setting folks like my ward up to fail and then blame them when they fail because they simply lack all integrity to own up to the fact that they are the ones failing here.
For over a year now mental health and I have been working with him to learn the importance of taking responsibility for his behaviors. In this, we have been trying to help him grasp the basic concepts of what is important verses what is not, and in using his personal hygiene as a focus, we have been trying to teach him to apply what he is learning to this area. For example, he is instructed to ask for a hygiene checklist if he is not given one because it is his responsibility to keep his personal hygiene up.
Now, for the ordinary person this might seem like an extremely simple commonsense matter, but for someone who has severe depression - memory retention deficits - and the inability to understand the difference between what is important and what is not - this is not a trivial matter at all and it is, effectively a backdoor to use to help him gain a great deal of growth in personal relationships, i.e. understanding what is and is not appropriate.
His previous counselor quit his job and on comes a new counselor (the supervisor of all the counselors) who is very familiar with my wards case and what we have been doing with him in his therapeutic objectives.
The counselor sent me an email yesterday telling me that he reprimanded my ward for asking to see the counselor because he needed a new hygiene checklist. In reprimanding him, the counselor also belittled my ward's effort to do exactly what he is told to do in asking for a checklist, and he humiliated my ward to the point he had my ward apologizing to him for asking for a checklist.
These prison mental health idiots are employed by the same corporation that runs the sex offender program to supposedly help guys learn the errors of their ways that led them to prison on a sex offense. But I ask, how in the hell can they teach them anything when the clearly show they don't give a damn?????
I sent the counselor a reply email pointing out all the things he did wrong here and telling him that I expect him to apologize to my ward for his conduct and what he said to my ward. Of course, I already know that he is not going to do so, because in his mind he is far too great and important of a man to lower himself to such levels as to actually apologize to an inmate.
These people are major pains in the butt and undoubtedly the source of some if not a lot of reasons why guys come out of prison and re-offend again. And it kills me how they rationalize and justify setting folks like my ward up to fail and then blame them when they fail because they simply lack all integrity to own up to the fact that they are the ones failing here.
750,000 plus sex offenders x $35,000 a year to incarcerate. America can't afford to lock everyone up! Many people just don't see ex sex offenders as human beings. We are a very long way off from having just basic human rights.
I hope your ward makes it but statistically he will really not get much support. He is very lucky to have you in his corner. I only made it because I had a kind probation officer that was like you and wanted me to succeed .
Sex offenders without family or a support system really have little chance at success. I can't imagine being a sex offender in today's environment alone. Imagine being alone with the world attacking you and hoping you fail with no support system.
I've been off paper since 2002 and it's not easy maintaining a family, home or job. Law enforcement and legislature really seem to want sex offenders to fail. What a losing proposition for society and the sex offenders family.
The restrictions now a days you can violate not even trying. No criminal intent.
I agree, that sex offenders in prison are routinely set up to fail - in fact I am currently litigating a federal lawsuit to prove such and so far (knock on wood) I am successfully doing so - because they are deemed the lowest of all the inmates, even among those who work in the prison system.
The simplest answer is if they want me to shut up then do their jobs right. Their arrogance is astounding as they have no qualms in telling me what they do that violates the law because they actually believe or are taught to believe that they are entitled to do as they damn well please.
Of course he as so busy letting me know what he wants for Christmas this year like a 2 yr old sitting on the lab of Santa talking a million miles an hour about his Christmas wish list. You know, this guy has never had a Christmas in his life. It kills me in how we demonize people with disabilities and those who also have sex offenses.
I totally agree with you! My son has mental issues as well. He is a kid!!! And its really a shame because he is so innocent and the jail and this world will ruin it for him. Its bad enough we have to live in this Monster mess, but for our loved ones its even worse. This all started when my son was 21. We always knew he was ADHD but did not know his other mental issues. We always knew he was immature but I guess being our first didn't realize that he was like a 12 year old. He got his probation revoked and when he decided to do the hearing to fight it, they SLAMMED HIM!!! It was not a hearing to provoke his probation by far! Shedevil wanted him in jail and that was what she was going to get! As my son's father told the DA when he came out the courtroom, "YOU SET HIM UP TO FAIL!!!". And its true! My son would bike his bicycle to work and go to therapist twice a week and then had to attend SO class twice a month. That was $500 a month just for that. I could go on and on with what happened. Once he was incarcerated, I called to speak with his therapist and she said that she did not know how my son could go through what he did. She said that he is much younger than me and I would have been pulling my hair out. She knew my son would bike about 26 miles a day if not more to go to work and come see her, etc. Her letter to the Shedevil did not make a difference. My son is not a Monster but they painted him as one for the MONEY!!!
HB
The way this country treats people in the legal system whom and known to be mentally ill is wrong. It seems like that are preyed upon and viewed as easy targets to meet the quota for their 90% compacity deals they have promised to the private prisons.
Regardless if a person is in prison - to be appointed a guardian the individual must have a substantial functional limitation in one or more of the six major life activities so as lack the ability to provide for himself or herself.
Unfortunately, in the good ole U.S. of A - we use prisons as mental institutions to warehouse people with severe mental health and other such disabilities.
Some have had their licenses revoked or had so many negligence law suits that the prison system is the only place where they can find a job. Why would any reputable doctor work for the DOC when their pay is so low compared to doctors who work on the street?
On the mental health issue, many mental health facilities have lost the majority of their funding. As a result, they put a large number of individuals with mental health problems in prison. At mediums especially, they are abused and the inmates run games on them. The imates also rob and steal from the mentally ill in prison.
They also persuade the mentally ill inmate to engage in sex games. I knew one guy who lived a couple of doors down from me on the top floor, who they really used. A black guy persuaded him to have sex with him in his cell for a pak of cigarettes. When they got started, the black guy waved four other black guys in. They gang banged the poor guy. No, it was not rape, as he initially agreed to it, but they did take advantage of him.
He caught out and was shipped shortly after the incident.
rewdiazepam
Yes, those with mental illness and developmental disabilities are taken advantage of not only by inmates but also by those who work in the prison system. Moreover, studies show they end up serving upwards of 15 months longer in prison because of their disabilities than do inmates with no disabilities.
I look at the kind of so-called mental health treatment my ward gets and it is a seriously pathetic joke as mental health staff simply want to leach off public tax revenue in the course of doing as little as humanly possible and gripe if they have to actually do their jobs according to the terms and conditions of the state contract for which they operate under.
I wish he had some how qualified to have some sort of legal guardian appointed to him, similar to what it sounds like you do. He lives on his own (which is a miracle in of its self) but is a walking target for anyone wanting to take advantage of his mental disability. First example that comes to mind is a situation he recently had where he was told he absolutely must find employment immediately or risk having his probation violated. He got a job at a gas station, the owner was aware he was an SO and had to be employed and used that to schedule my brother to work between 50 & 60 hour work weeks. Not only was he paying him $1.50, less then what our state has as the legal minimum wage but all his over time was paid to him in the means of expired food from the gas station. He was told to clock in under other employees number so the overtime was not documented., had it not been for the fact that my brother was having to ask me for money every month just to pay rent , he never would have told me about this situation because he just assumed this was legal how his boss was exploiting him and breaking numerous labor laws.
My brother lacks any common sense when it comes to dealing with simple everyday issues. I worry about him constantly, almost like he is my child