Gabriel City » Family http://gabrielcity.com Gabriel City is a community for the tens of millions of Americans directly affected by our criminal justice system. We come together to share our stories and help to shape new ones. Inmates and the formerly incarcerated, family members of those serving time, men and women under community supervision, professionals in criminal justice and corrections, and the victims of crime; we support and respect each other as we work to break the endless cycle of crime and incarceration that afflicts our nation. Wed, 06 Jul 2011 19:18:24 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 The Forgotten Victim http://gabrielcity.com/poetry-and-spoken-word/the-forgotten-victim.html http://gabrielcity.com/poetry-and-spoken-word/the-forgotten-victim.html#comments Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:48:47 +0000 hcdmedia http://gabrielcity.com/?p=1952 The Forgotten Victim
©  Alison Henderson

‘That’s her there! her hubby’s inside!’
‘How can she stand by him?’ a neighbor cried!
‘I’d throw away the lock and key!’
‘That husband of hers should never be free!’

‘That woman can do so much better than him!’
‘I’d throw all his letters away in the bin!’
‘Just what can he offer now he’s locked away?’
‘A complete waste of space!’ she shouted that day.

‘That’s the one there! her boyfriend’s inside!
‘He’s scum of the earth!’ a neighbors implied!
‘If I was her, well I’d meet someone else!
‘Not wasting my life to be left on the shelf!

‘That woman’s been left to cope with the shame’
‘It was all over the papers! and gave out his name’
‘He’s useless! A criminal! Bring back the rope!’
‘He’ll do it again! for him there’s no hope!’

My comment:

That man you condemn has a child and a wife
A Mum and a Dad who has given him life!
What would you do if this happened to yours?
Deny all your love and close all the doors?

Do you honestly think I’d sink to a level
And just turn my back and deem him a devil?
Yes! He’s done wrong and is serving his time
And No! I do not agree with his crime.

‘That woman’ you point at, yes it is me
I was born with a name, as I’m human you see!
I’m innocent! just incase you’ve forgot
And love him whether you like it or not!

I’ve had the abuse, the comments and more
It’s nothing I haven’t heard all before
I mean no offense when I say this to you
I’m a victim as well- A forgotten one too.

Read more prison poetry here.

]]> http://gabrielcity.com/poetry-and-spoken-word/the-forgotten-victim.html/feed 0 Effects of Incarceration on Families Trailer 12/08 http://gabrielcity.com/video/effects-of-incarceration-on-families-trailer-1208.html http://gabrielcity.com/video/effects-of-incarceration-on-families-trailer-1208.html#comments Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:26:37 +0000 hcdmedia http://gabrielcity.com/?p=1970 Click here to view the embedded video.

This is a trailer for an upcoming documentary film that explores the effects of having incarcerated parents on their children.

]]> http://gabrielcity.com/video/effects-of-incarceration-on-families-trailer-1208.html/feed 0 How to Do Good After Prison: A Handbook for Successful Reentry written by Michael B. Jackson http://gabrielcity.com/poetry-and-spoken-word/how-to-do-good-after-prison-a-handbook-for-successful-reentry-written-by-michael-b-jackson.html http://gabrielcity.com/poetry-and-spoken-word/how-to-do-good-after-prison-a-handbook-for-successful-reentry-written-by-michael-b-jackson.html#comments Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:18:22 +0000 hcdmedia http://gabrielcity.com/?p=2268 There are two types of barriers that can hinder an ex-con’s successful reentry into society. There are those created by public policy and public attitude, and society’s lack of options for a reentering individual. However, in many cases, there are also those barriers that the person reentering creates for himself by lacking a plan, the right attitude, or the personal commitment to see it through. “How to Do Good After Prison” is a practical advice manual that provides insight and guidance to help ex-prisoners face the challenges and succeed after prison.

If you would like more information on this how-to book, please click here.

]]> http://gabrielcity.com/poetry-and-spoken-word/how-to-do-good-after-prison-a-handbook-for-successful-reentry-written-by-michael-b-jackson.html/feed 0 Doing Time Together: Love and Family in the Shadow of the Prison http://gabrielcity.com/poetry-and-spoken-word/doing-time-together-love-and-family-in-the-shadow-of-the-prison.html http://gabrielcity.com/poetry-and-spoken-word/doing-time-together-love-and-family-in-the-shadow-of-the-prison.html#comments Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:47:19 +0000 hcdmedia http://gabrielcity.com/?p=2255 9780226114637 This book by Megan Comfort profiles the lives of women who have husbands, fiancees, and boyfriends behind bars.  The author spent time with women who were visiting men at San Quentin State Prison.

“Tangling with the prison’s intrusive scrutiny and rigid rules turns these women into ‘quasi-inmates,’ eroding the boundary between home and prison and altering their sense of intimacy, love, and justice.  Yet Comfort also finds that with social welfare weakened, prisons are the most powerful public institutions available to women struggling to overcome untreated social ills and sustain relationships with marginalized men. As a result, they express great ambivalence about the prison and the control it exerts over their daily lives.” (The University of Chicago Press)

Check out the book here

]]> http://gabrielcity.com/poetry-and-spoken-word/doing-time-together-love-and-family-in-the-shadow-of-the-prison.html/feed 0 Rapper DMX Interview in Prison http://gabrielcity.com/video/rapper-dmx-interview-in-prison.html http://gabrielcity.com/video/rapper-dmx-interview-in-prison.html#comments Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:05:41 +0000 hcdmedia http://gabrielcity.com/?p=1964 Rapper DMX is interviewed from prison.  He discusses how much he misses his family (especially his children), and the struggle he goes through in being a prisoner.  He says the hardest part about prison is being away from his baby.

Part 1:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Part 2:

Click here to view the embedded video.

]]> http://gabrielcity.com/video/rapper-dmx-interview-in-prison.html/feed 0 Blog Talk Radio – Loss and Reintegration http://gabrielcity.com/blog/blog-talk-radio-loss-and-reintegration.html http://gabrielcity.com/blog/blog-talk-radio-loss-and-reintegration.html#comments Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:19:23 +0000 hcdmedia http://gabrielcity.com/?p=1275 The latest episode of Family Life Behind Bars on Blog Talk Radio deals with the difficulties of reintegrating into family life after coming out of a prison sentence.  This is a complicated issue and Dr. Harland Kessaris approaches it with thoughtfulness and care. It is worth listening this podcast.

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]]> http://gabrielcity.com/blog/blog-talk-radio-loss-and-reintegration.html/feed 0 Blog Talk Radio – Financial Advise for Families http://gabrielcity.com/blog/blog-talk-radio-financial-advice-for-families.html http://gabrielcity.com/blog/blog-talk-radio-financial-advice-for-families.html#comments Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:06:30 +0000 hcdmedia http://gabrielcity.com/?p=871 Here is another episode from Blog Talk Radio’s Family Life Behind Bars show. This episode provides important financial advice.
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]]> http://gabrielcity.com/blog/blog-talk-radio-financial-advice-for-families.html/feed 0 Blog Talk Radio – Children’s Center in Prison http://gabrielcity.com/blog/blog-talk-radio-childrens-center-in-prison.html http://gabrielcity.com/blog/blog-talk-radio-childrens-center-in-prison.html#comments Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:42:42 +0000 hcdmedia http://gabrielcity.com/?p=809 Bedford Hills Correctional Facility has a children’s center, set up so women prisoners can interact with their children. This episode of Blog Talk Radio’s Family Life Behind Bars station interviews Bobby Blanchard, the Director of The Children’s Center at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility.

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]]> http://gabrielcity.com/blog/blog-talk-radio-childrens-center-in-prison.html/feed 0 Feeling Different http://gabrielcity.com/blog/feeling-different.html http://gabrielcity.com/blog/feeling-different.html#comments Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:12:51 +0000 Bwashena http://gabrielcity.com/?p=635 Growing up, was always as if I was the only one with family in jail. I always felt like I was the only one with a parent in jail, then one day my cousin’s father went to jail, but our experiences were totally different.

I know I am different having to grow up with a father behind bars. If he could have been there (home), the push and drive that he would give me over the phone and through mail, I know would have been enforced much harder. The hard head that I had, would have been easily softened up. I could have opened doors for others. Not like it is too late, I am just saying…….

]]> http://gabrielcity.com/blog/feeling-different.html/feed 0 Blog Talk Radio – In Arms Reach http://gabrielcity.com/blog/blog-talk-radio-in-arms-reach.html http://gabrielcity.com/blog/blog-talk-radio-in-arms-reach.html#comments Tue, 26 May 2009 18:52:46 +0000 hcdmedia http://gabrielcity.com/?p=834 Listen to the another compelling radio show hosted by blog talk radio’s Family Life Behind Bars station. This show interviews Terrance Stevens, director of In Arms Reach, Inc. a non profit community based art, music, counseling and academic mentoring program for children of prisoners.

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