Book Review: "The Second Chance Club" By Jason Hardy

The only way to learn the life of hard knocks is either to be a part of one or to learn from one and this is why we must understand it before trying to change it!

Poverty is a death sentence for many. It's a feeling of being locked in without a way out. There's little to hope for and even less to strive for.

Yet, there must always be a glimmer of light to attain if you wish to offer peace and prosperity for all and not just the top one percent of the pile.

It's a dog eat dog world with prison being seen as a more worthy option for those who can't even find living wages.
Once in the system the killed or be killed mentality sticks and it's hard to fight once reformation is attempted.
In my day of obtaining a masters in criminal justice we learned of community policing and police being proactive not reactive.

Sometimes going back to basics is best!

In the second chance club the questions remain- Is it best to focus on giving them the tools they need to be successful after prison. After all who wants to hire a convicted felon? A mass murderer? Anyone with a criminal record is shot down.

While I don't have a criminal record the hardships are never the less real after leaving an abusive spouse having giving up my career as homemaker of three kids.

The system is designed so that if there's a gap in time you must account yet even with volunteering you're at a loss as your earning potential decreases and employers beyond six months of unemployment aren't even seeing you on the radar.

If you attempt to improve your situation such as get a license and another car -you're penalized as the car is seen as an asset if it's beyond a certain dollar amount.
If you attempt to get a job - another whammy because while a job is great - if the pay is too low - you lose your benefits such as EBT needed to survive. In layman terms you're now entering the 'working poor.'

If you try to go to college or are educated from within the prison walls you will be seen as in my case 'overqualified' or 'lacking prior work experience' and either way you lose. Or in my son's case in which he went to college and was taken off food stamps because he couldn't work in the welfare to work program as a full time night student who studies during the day.

In addition, those who are poor have a harder life being poor. Nothing comes easy. The costs just to live daily are higher than those with wealth.

Three things need to change:
1. Shorten community supervision period
2. Use savings from shorter sentences to increase treatment court process.
3. Use restorative circles and create more jobs.

If you follow the U6 numbers on unemployment you know the situation is bleak. There's simply more people than jobs but you won't hear about it since most media focus on U3 stats. The doubling of the numbers is what you'll find if you include those who are working poor&those with temp or seasonal yet working.

The author may have joined at the wrong time in policing but safe to say he has a story like we all have a story.

He may have left some of this madness behind but the high case loads, the broken system of justice, the racking of the poor across the coals in all forms from bail money to fines continues.

We need to end these injustices and fix what's broken.