Ex-offenders need help in making transition back into society

Life affords many opportunities for multiple choices. Unfortunately, living life is an arduous task if the choices that you make lead to a life of incarceration.

What comes next?

The majority of offenders experience difficulty in terms of transitioning back into society. I recently attended a ceremony where an organization that's focused on offender re-entry received a monetary award.

Before the presentation, I met a gentleman who was in his late 40s, and I could tell from his eyes and his demeanor that he had experienced a hard life. His transition from prison life to community plight was intriguing.

He appeared to have discovered the secret of freedom, which is a state of mind. I remember him telling the audience his wonderful ODETTA
JOHNSON
guest columnist story of redemption -- although he had previously lived a life of crime, he was prepared to re-enter society as a participator and not a spectator.

While serving time, he realized that the world did not owe him anything. If anything, it was the exact opposite. He needed to identify his talents, secure resources and roll up his sleeves to give back to his community. His story was inspiring.

However, reality set in when another speaker reminded the audience of the prison-ready state of our nation.

Presently, there are more prisons being built as opposed to schools being improved. Surely, we can use the same effort to proactively address some of the educational, social and health issues of the children known to be susceptible to a life of crime.

I was forced to think about a phrase often repeated during tough times: "You reap what you sow." As a nation, we must look at our crops and determine whether we're planting the right seeds. It appears the only thing that has stopped the rapid growth of prisons has been our failing economy.

Recidivism is a sad reality among offenders. Despite numerous prison ministries, nonprofit organizations' efforts and growing positive relationships with law enforcement, a large number of our forgotten citizens experience the revolving doors of prison.

There are large numbers of offenders being released into the community without access to the proper tools for compliance. The challenge has been to provide the proper balance of reality as opposed to perception.

For the offenders who desire to re-enter society, we should encourage and support the opportunity.

I say a community is a group of people with similar concerns and interests, and with a dedication to public safety. In the spirit of enhancing public safety, it would be beneficial if, as a community, we would proactively address the issue of crime, offender re-entry and youth engagement before the dilemma of a falling society silently creeps up on us.

Our focus should be to identify the forgotten with a redirected approach of forgiveness. It has been a long mental journey for me over the past few decades. My road of forgiveness began when I realized I was only one circumstance away from having an inmate number, as opposed to being a decorated combat veteran and law-enforcement official.

I'm doing my part by volunteering my talents to offender re-entry programs. As a parent, I am ensuring the proper seeds of growth are being planted in my household.

I present the challenge to you as an individual and to my community: Are you prepared to reap what you have sown?

Cmdr. Odetta Johnson is the disciplinary review officer for the Richmond Police Department. She can be contacted at .