By Erin Fuchs
The Chattanooga Times Free Press
CHATSWORTH, Ga. — Former inmates out on parole desperately need guidance from religious volunteers to integrate them back into communities, said Milton Nix, a member of the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles.
“As Christians, if we really care about people, it requires rolling up our sleeves and doing some difficult work,” Mr. Nix said at a meeting here with clergy, residents and parole officers.
Board of Pardons and Paroles members came to Chatsworth on Tuesday night as part of an effort to recruit religious groups from Murray and Whitfield counties for the board’s Faith Based Initiative, which encourages parishioners to volunteer with parolees.
“This is a tough, tough ministry to take on,” Mr. Nix said after the meeting.
“We’re dealing with individuals that have made a lifetime of bad choices,” he said.
The Rev. Juan Blanco leads the Hispanic Ministry of Murray County and said helping parolees is an important part of his job.
“My priority as a pastor, as a minister is to serve the community,” he said. “This is a good opportunity to help these people make rehabilitation, (so) other people will accept them into the community.”
There are 22,000 parolees and 300 parole officers in Georgia, according to the parole board.
Parole officer Chip Atchley, who works in Rome, Ga., said his job extends beyond monitoring parolees.
“We’re here to help them,” he said.
The Faith Based Initiative began in Macon, Ga., in 2005 to supplement parole officers’ limited resources, providing one-on-one volunteer mentors for parolees trying to re-establish themselves.
“We just need people in the community helping them,” board Chairman Garland Hunt said. “It keeps them from going back to prison.”
Every place of worship, from Baptist churches to Islamic mosques to Jewish synagogues, receives invitations to participate in the program, said Scheree Lipscomb, spokeswoman for the parole board.
“Everyone gets an invitation,” she said.
So far, only Christian churches have signed on, Ms. Lipscomb said.
The Dalton Islamic Center didn’t attend Tuesday’s event. It never received an invitation, said the mosque’s president, Hammad El-Ameen. Ms. Lipscomb said an invitation went out in the mail.
Still, Mr. El-Ameen said, the mosque informally provides assistance to parolees.
Muslims who come out of prison often come to the mosque on their own, he said.
“Then they will ... be assigned a mentor,” Mr. El-Ameen said, “someone to assist them to be productive again.”
One of the biggest struggles for parolees is finding a job, officials said.
Cohutta, Ga., resident Ricky Blackwell has been out of jail for 11 years, but he said he hasn’t had any luck finding a stable job with benefits.
“If you’ve got a felony on your record, it’s hard out there,” he said.
Mr. Blackwell works for a property management company in a temporary position that doesn’t provide health insurance, he told the audience at Tuesday’s meeting. He almost landed a permanent position recently, he said.
But the felonies on his record ruined his chances, Mr. Blackwell said.
“The Lord, he forgives you,” he said, after the meeting. “I mean, why can’t man forgive you?”
Copyright 2007 Chattanooga Times Free Press