In the opinion section of the Cap Times print publication for May 14, I have a column about a restorative justice program at the Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage. This program is part of the Prison Ministry Project run by Rev. Jerry Hancock through First Congregational United Church of Christ.

While this project is doing amazing things inside the walls of prisons, I want to at least take note of another local effort that is engaged in the very hard and very important work of helping prisoners re-enter society once they have completed their sentence to prison. The Madison-area Urban Ministry has developed an extensive network of programs that are gaining more and more recognition.

Let me tell you a brief story about why this work is so tough -- and so important. I met a young man at the end of March who had been released from the state prison in Oshkosh last December. While there, he completed their drug and alcohol treatment program. Back in Madison, he reunited with his wife, 13-year old son and 6-year old daughter. They temporarily were living in a motel known for being a center for drug deals. He had lined up an apartment and just started a job, but was short on money for the motel costs to make the bridge until payday. He was at risk of winding up on the street, losing his job, losing his future. That thin thread to a new life for returning prisoners is not uncommon. And when the thread snaps, it is not only the prisoner and family who pay the price. It is the community as a whole.
So what Madison-area Urban Ministry is doing outside the walls of prison is an important parallel to the badly needed programs inside the walls.