Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Prison Job--a side-step in a direction.

I now work in a state's highest maximum security setting among people who have been incarcerated for socially unacceptable acts. It's very different from the mental health and recovery centers where I've worked before. But, the clients are still just people.

Like always, I just help the people get what they need, in this case, to live out their lives in a secure, safe setting, for the public and themselves. I've faced people, ideas, and situations that I needed to face.

Eye to eye with another person who committed some of the most inhumane acts, we're still people. They might need to be loud, use horrible language, threats and react in other ways rarely seen on the street. But, so far, I haven't found it necessary to do so.

Neither their judgment nor punishment are part of my job description.

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