Mennonite documentary shows jail stigma difficult to combat - Thursday, September 17, 2009

HARRISONBURG, Va. (Third Way Media) — A prison door clangs shut. The reverberation echoes with immense meaning both for the person locked up and those left on the outside.

In reality, once the offender has served his or her term and leaves prison, doors still slam shut.

“I’ve had a million doors slammed in my face, I’ve had a million,” says Anthony, one of the ex-offenders sharing parts of his story in a new documentary from Third Way Media, Long Road Back: Ex-Offenders’ Struggle for Acceptance. “They say forget the past, but they walk around with picks and shovels and dig it up,” he says of his experience trying to find work.

The hour long program begins airing Oct. 4, 2009 on NBC-TV and will continue through Nov. 29 at the discretion of local stations (check local listings).

“I’m still doing time, just in a different way,” says Jamie* who spent about 11 years incarcerated.

“They let you out with what you came in with which is practically nothing, “says Jodi who was imprisoned related to drug use.

“It’s unrealistic to think that you’re going to send somebody out on the street and that day one they’re going to find a place to live, be able to care for their children, and are going to be able to find employment,” explained Elizabeth Nichols, a deputy warden of a system in Dauphin County, Pa.

Why a documentary on ex-offenders and the stigmas they face?

“As Third Way Media worked on earlier documentaries on chemical addictions and mental illness, we realized that many people dealing with addiction have also spent time incarcerated,” said Burton Buller, producer. “Plus, nearly 25 percent of prison inmates have mental health problems so people and systems are dealing with multiple issues at once,” he noted.

Buller also serves as the film’s narrator.

The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world. U.S. prisons are overflowing with nearly 2.3 million prisoners, one out of every 100 adults, according to the International Center for Prison Studies (New York Times, April 23, 2008).

The documentary follows two main stories, “Klaus,” and Jamie as they experience the frustrations of looking for work, relationships, reconnecting with family or loved ones, and moving on with their lives. 

The program seeks to de-stigmatize those caught in the incarceration dragnet. Employers are often reluctant to hire ex-offenders. Many leave prison with no place to call home so they end up homeless on the streets. With no medical insurance, medical care is almost non-existent. Women often have only 15 months to find housing, kick any drug habits they may have and secure a stable job or they lose custody rights to their children.

One of the hopeful success stories shown is Atlanta Enterprise Center in Atlanta, Georgia, a ministry of the Episcopal Church, which is a comprehensive employment program serving inmates (among others) seeking to build job skills for when they get out.

The documentary also includes interviews with the director of Gemeinschaft Home in Harrisonburg, a program begun by Mennonites. Gemeinschaft provides community-oriented programs and supervision for persons in transition from prison to society. However, this program lost state funding in recent years and is struggling to keep its doors open. 

The program was produced by Third Way Media in conjunction with Buller Films and Odyssey Networks and is airing on NBC-TV in the “Horizons of the Spirit” series through the Interfaith Broadcasting Commission.

Third Way Media (formerly Mennonite Media) is a division of Mennonite Mission Network.

Long Road Back is available on DVD for $24.95 with a study guide.

* Last names not included to protect anonymity.

Melodie Davis
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