Did you know that in 1973 there were 300,000 Americans in prison, while today there are 3.4 million? That is just one of many startling statistics Geoffrey Canada shared to a packed house at the Basilica of St. Mary on January 15th. He noted that it costs on average $37-40,000 a year to lock someone up in prison. And then when they come out after 10 years they often haven't gained one thing in order to successfully contribute to society. Yet, if we spend $18,000 on education people are screaming. This doesn't seem to make economic sense does it?
Mr. Canada is founder of the Harlem Children's Zone, which is serving as a model for the Northside Achievement Zone. Kinship of Greater Minneapolis has joined with Bolder Options and Big Brothers/Sisters of the Twin Cities to bring mentors for kids to a high need area of North Minneapolis. Kinship is also working to find mentors for children of prisoners, who without intervention are seven times more likely than their peers to enter the correctional system. Currently we have about 50 kids on our waiting list who have a parent in prison and who would love to have a Kinship friend.
We simply can't afford to the current cradle to prison pipeline that exits. You can learn more about this national crisis from a report provided by the Children's Defense Fund. Thanks to all who are helping to break this tragic cycle of incarceration.
No comments:
Post a Comment