Should We Hide Inmates On Work Release Programs?

I occasionally go to The Jacksonville Landing for lunch at the food court since it is a couple of blocks from my office. Upon leaving the food court this past Thursday, I noticed several women wearing bright orange outfits with “Jail” emblazoned on the back performing work around The Landing (which sits on city property).

Since crime is more common in Florida’s 3^rd Congressional District (CD-3) than the other surrounding congressional districts due in part to high unemployment and poverty, I picked up a conversation with one of the inmates in an attempt to learn what led her to commit a crime. In the process of talking to the inmate, I learned that she coincidentally lives with her mother in the district. However, I did not have the opportunity to learn more because a fellow patron and fellow resident of CD-3 took offense of me having a conversation with the inmate thinking that I would place her in further trouble. The gentleman also shared with me that he thought the Sheriff Department's decision to place her and her fellow inmates on display via a work detail was bad because it could negatively impact the inmates’ morale.

While I respect his concern that I may have placed the inmate in further trouble, I see nothing wrong in a properly supervised work detail comprised of low risk inmates for several reasons, which are:
1. The inmates committed a crime and owe a debt to society. More specifically, taxpayer dollars are used to house criminals; therefore, why not use inmate labor to maintain city property?
2. Should not the visible display of a work detail made up of inmates serve as symbol to others that crime does not pay?

I rhetorically asked the gentleman should not our interest lie more in helping to prevent a crime from ever taking place than worrying about an inmate’s psyche?

Crime prevention requires a two-prong attack, the stick and the carrot (in other words, fear and desire). A work detail just happens to be the stick; it should induce fear that crime leads to unpleasant things for the perpetrator. The perpetrator may then have desire to find work, which arguably would lead to a more satisfying and enjoyable life. If the person cannot find work then we need to find out why. Typically, the reason is lack of a proper education. However, in this case, I never did find out the real reason because the work detail moved on.

Education More Important Than Transportation

I walked through the Highlands section of Jacksonville, FL off Broward Road near the Trout River in Duval County within Precinct 08X. Similar to other communities that have water front properties, the further removed from the water, the less affluent the neighborhood becomes. As such, the interest and concerns of the people change as well.

I found most of the people with whom I spoke very helpful, some even referring others to me. Most all liked my message that education/lifelong learning was more important than transportation related issues, such as high speed rail, to solving the ills of the district.

Working Class Just Getting By

I visited the Ortega Hills area near the Jacksonville Naval Air Station off Highway 17 in Jacksonville, FL/Duval Co. within Precinct 14K this past Saturday. The people that make up this older neighborhood work as technicians, truck drivers, etc… Consequently, these folks are feeling the pain of the prolonged recession; one even indicated that his house is in the process of being foreclosed.

I met another man who is now retired. He lives in the community’s model home that he purchased 50+ years ago. He claims to still have some of the furniture that came with the house. The day I talked to him, he was doing work in his shed. He explained that he was no longer registered to vote because he was getting called in too often for jury duty and did not like reporting to due to health issues associated with old age. I can empathize with him after observing him struggle to move about the shed.

I have met others who are also not registered to vote for one reason or another, but I think the prevailing reason is that people do not believe their vote makes a difference. While statistically true, the process of voting (vetting candidates, etc…) is what protects our freedoms. I try to impart this when I visit with people that chose not to register, but my points seem to fall on death ears sometimes, which may indicate that some people have given up hope.

Education Is A Higher Priority Than Transportation

I walked through the community near A. Philip Randolph High School off Golfair Boulevard in Jacksonville/Duval County within Precinct 08M. This area has a mixture of older homes and new homes, some built by HabiJax, a Habitat for Humanity Project. Based on my conversations, I believe there is a sense of community pride and cohesiveness among the inhabitants.

I was mainly interested in the people’s thoughts towards education. It seems that most believe education is a top priority for the community for the simple reason that with an education, youth are better able to find a job/career and avoid a life of crime. All with whom I spoke indicated that they support elected leaders that place education as a top priority over other issues, such as railroads.

No Silver Bullet

In my first post entitled, Sadness and Hope in Durkeeville, my observation pertaining to the tennis courts and lack of a skill center was not accurate. I learned the tennis courts are an integral part of a skill center operated by the MaliVai Washington Kids Foundation (MWKF) after meeting, by chance, a board member of the foundation. Based this chance meeting, I realized I needed to conduct more research. I had the subsequent opportunity to meet with the foundation’s Executive Director, Terri Florio.

After my extensive conversation with Ms. Florio and tour of the facility, I have a new found appreciation for MWKF and the tennis courts. However, my research led to an interesting self-discovery period, which took me over a month to come to my conclusions that reinforced my prior convictions. Namely, helping the inner city solve its problems will not be easy and will require lots of fortitude over multiple generations. I hope that as a nation we have it in us because the results will pay dividends such as saving tax dollars and helping a group of people enjoy more freedoms and opportunities.

Florida’s 3^rd Congressional District (CD-3) is unique in that it encompasses the inner city cores of central and northeast Florida, with the majority of the voters living in Jacksonville, FL. The common characteristics of these inner city cores are high poverty rates, greater incidents of crime and lack of job opportunities. There are many causes that lead to these less-than-desirable effects, but one form of intervention is programs like MWKF that work with the inner city youth to help them make better decisions so they can avoid a life of crime and conversely, have a greater chance of a more fulfilling and rewarding life than their parents and prior generations.

However, spreading the use of programs similar to MWKF is not feasible due to cost alone. Based on MWKF’s cost structure, I calculate it would require over $200,000,000 annually to help just the “at risk youth” in CD-3. There are other issues as well that prevent wide spread adoption of similar programs such as, lack of community support, not all youth will want to or suited to participate, etc.

There is no silver bullet or magic solution. So where do we start? Support programs like MWKF when we can. The following is also needed:
1. A desire in the community to affect change, which means acknowledging the issues and accepting responsibility when warranted;
2. A greater awareness, understanding and desire to help/mentor by those outside the community;
3. An ongoing constructive dialog between those in the community and outside the community; and
4. Effective leadership on local, state and federal levels.

Boys2Men Symposium, A Community Sponsored Program

I attended the Boys2Men Symposium sponsored by Northside Church of Christ in Jacksonville, Florida. I visited the conference to see first hand the programs designed by the community to help young men in the community achieve success.

Based on what I saw, I would say the symposium was a success; however, this is an isolated program that primarily helps young men that live in the surrounding neighborhoods. There are many other neighborhoods that could benefit from such a program. The challenge is finding the resources, the commitment of a strong leader over an extended period of time, and support from the community to make it a success.

Taking Control Of Washington

I visited with folks in the eastern most precinct of Florida Congressional District 3 (CD-3), 04H in Duval County. This is an older neighborhood that was probably built during the 1950s and 1960s as Jacksonville spread East to the Atlantic Ocean. Some homes and yards are nice whereas others have seen better days.

I had a very engaging conversation with a family. We talked for approximately two hours about:
1. Their disappointment with their current representation in Washington,
2. Their thoughts about the direction of our country, and
3. How to run a political campaign.

It was nice to see citizens so engaged in the political process. If more people were, then citizens of the United States would begin to take back control of Washington by electing people that represented them and not special interests.

Breaking the Cycle in New Town

I recently visited a New Town Success Zone (NTSZ) monthly meeting in Jacksonville, Florida. New Town is an area within Florida Congressional District 3 (CD-3) and is representative of many of the inner city areas of CD-3. It is high in crime, poverty, etc...

NTSZ is modeled after the Harlem Children’s Zone and per NTSZ’s website, it is “a community collaboration with the Jacksonville Children's Commission providing intensive resources to families living within the New Town area - supporting children from cradle to college and beyond.” ‘Intensive resources’ is an understatement.

Based on my onetime observation, I was amazed at the amount of resources being applied to this small area. In addition to tax dollars supplied through the city, the police department, a local hospital, and several community/regional charities also contribute resources of one form or another to this area. More importantly, there are many individuals, including outsiders, investing their time and efforts to help others improve their lives.

It is in our nation’s best interest to help people in communities such as New Town learn problem solving skills, etc... so they can become self-reliant. Once self-reliant, these individuals can become productive members of society and possibly help others do the same.

However, I am just not so sure how sustainable and scalable the NTSZ model is in solving the challenges of poverty, crime, etc… throughout CD-3 and elsewhere, yet we need to start somewhere.

Redemption, Caring, Challenging & Resourcefulness

I truly enjoyed my walk through the St. Nicholas area within Precinct 04S of Duval County. What made it so enjoyable were my observations from other areas of Florida Congressional District 3 (CD-3) are starting to meld together. The four separate discussions and the associated takeaways that stirred me the most are titled Redemption, Caring, Challenging, and Resourcefulness and are shown below.

Redemption
I met a convicted felon who was on his way to work as seen here to the right. He was nice young man who had made a bad decision early in his life. He sold drugs (aka recreational pharmaceuticals) resulting in him spending three years of his life in the Madison, FL prison.

I have met multiple felons in my travels through the district; it seems a conviction (regardless of the time spent in prison) is a life sentence. I have not completed a formal study, but for most felons, one time in prison is more than enough to drive them from crime. However, making a living by being on the straight and narrow is hard.

Arguably, felons did not learn good life skills prior to entering prison (or they would have mostly likely not committed a crime) and did not receive any life skills while in prison that would help them make a decent income so they can avoid a life of crime. As a result, it is very hard to find work on which they can live without subsistence from others. When they do find work, it is typically mind numbing and minimum wage. I can see how some fall back into the trap to become repeat offenders. A mind (and a life) is indeed a terrible thing to waste.

I believe the gentleman I met on my walk is sincere about staying free of crime and I hope he can. Something told me he had a lot of people praying for him, me included.

Caring
I had a very long conversation with a man who had his own business. As I walked away from his house to cross a small field, he followed me. As he followed me, he explained that he was going to pick up a piece of trash he saw at the far end of the field. I told him that I would pick up the piece of trash since it laid in my way. What made this occurrence so satisfying is that this man cared about the appearance of his neighborhood and he was doing something about it.

Since I have started my walks, one thing that has been quite common is the abundance of trash in the common areas in the less affluent neighborhoods, as seen in these photos.I just do not understand why people litter. The only thing I can think of is that they have no respect for other people and other people’s property, which leads them to indiscriminately debase our planet we share together. I believe there are people in these neighborhoods who care and would like to see a clean neighborhood, but they may hate picking up after others, may be too tired after a long day to go down to the corner to clean up someone else's mess, etc. I do not blame them; cleaning up after someone else is not solving the problem. Solving the problem begins with early childhood development and teaching right from wrong, etc., but if the parents are not there or do not know right from wrong themselves, where do we start as a society? Not an easy question to answer, to what seems to be so minor at first blush.

Challenging
Another man I met had very good thoughts and challenging questions. He worked in the precinct, but lived in the ‘Northside’ section of Jacksonville, which essentially comprises the majority of the CD-3 in Duval County. I suspect he may live in Precinct 07P where I previously visited or somewhere nearby.

His views were both conservative and liberal. He felt we needed stiffer prison sentences, which I find interesting/amusing/sad/frustrating after my discussion with the felon just described above, yet he was for a nationalized healthcare. He believed parents needed to take more responsibility in raising their children, yet he felt we could do more as society to help out the impoverished.

I agree with him about parents taking a greater role in their children’s lives, but what happens when the parents are not there due to a broken family, parents working two jobs, etc.? Who takes care of raising these children? While he might be from the community, I felt he was out of touch with the more challenging areas of the district.

I recently learned from attending a monthly meeting of the Jacksonville Alliance of Black School Educators, an affiliate of the National Alliance of Black, that 40% of all children in Jacksonville are born to single mothers. This statistic is alarming because of the secondary and tertiary effects that it portends. By lowering that number, I am sure there would be a less of a need for more prisons 15 plus years from now.

Resourcefulness
I met a retired gentleman who was in the process of repairing his tire which had a screw embedded in the tread. I mentioned I normally pay $20 to have it fixed at the tire store. He informed that he was retired and could not afford a $20 fee. However, he did have enough to purchase a repair kit for one-fourth that amount, which would allow him multiple repairs. After watching him repair the tire (as seen in this photo) I was embolden that I could do the same, which I figure would save me time in addition to the money. If I had not interrupted him with our conversation, I am sure he could have done the repair in under five minutes, which is far less than it would take me to drive to the tire store a mile or two from home. I suspect he is not alone in the district in being resourceful since the district has some of the highest poverty rates in the state of Florida and the nation.

Segregated Middle America at the Tip

I visited the northern most precinct in Florida Congressional District-3 (CD-3), 07P in Duval County. The neighborhoods/communities were probably built within the last twenty years. The streets are wide with a sidewalk to one side and most homes sit on spacious manicured lawns. The homes are similar to the ones in Precinct 01H in Duval County. However, unlike the communities in precinct 01H, which are integrated, the neighborhoods I visited in 07P are essentially not.

I point it out because most other neighborhoods segregated by race in the district are less affluent. It is nice to see a whole community of African-Americans in the district who live in neighborhoods free of crime and poverty and have achieved, which I think most would consider being, the American Dream.

I welcome integration and think it is highly beneficial, but realize segregation still occurs today either by choice or design. I think most Americans want to look past the color of one’s skin, but there are cultural differences between the races that tends to separate us. However, through education, understanding and respect, we can overcome these differences to be a more integrated society. It is happening in communities such as those in Precinct 01H.

Retreat Indoors

This past weekend I visited several communities within Precinct 01H at the north end of University Boulevard in Jacksonville, Duval County. Historic Sanford aside, these communities are some of the nicest I have visited in Florida Congressional District 3 (CD-3) and are inhibited from a socioeconomic standpoint, by both black and white middle income individuals/families. The homes are relatively new, fairly large and nicer than the one my family and I live in.

Interestingly, I had hard time finding people willing to talk with me compared to other neighborhoods previously visited. A beautiful Saturday could be a contributing factor; however, I think it has more to do with the availability of A/C, lack of porches and that these people arguably have longer commutes to work and shopping than others. After a hard work day/week and a long commute, people retreat indoors where it is cool to unwind.

Of the people with whom I spoke, I observed a similar pattern of concerns to those observed in historic Sanford; once basic human needs are satisfied, concerns are more varied.

The Ripples From Foreclosure

I walked through a town home complex in the Lexington Square area within Precinct 14 of Jacksonville/Duval County. I talked to all types of people. I communicated with those that could be classified as working class, professional class, retirees, young families, singles, blacks, Hispanics, whites, liberals, moderates, conservatives. Most seemed content with a few mentions about trash and foreclosed homes with neglected yards (as seen here).

While this community arguably has a higher per capita income than other areas in the district, it is not immune to the effects from the recent economic downturn. If anything, it has been hit just as hard as the more impoverished areas.

Based on my conversations with people in this community, observations in other parts of the district, my experience as a stock analyst, and my understanding of the banking system, I believe we will continue to see more foreclosures. In general, I think foreclosures are highly disruptive to the stability of the family fabric as some families become homeless, move back in with parents or move in with friends. All situations surely lead to stress, which could result in violence, dissolution of a marriage or any other number of negative outcomes. I expect the ripples from these stresses to:
1. Continue to affect policies being made in Washington, D.C for the foreseeable future and
2. More importantly, leave an indelible mark on future generations, which is both good and bad.

Sadness And Hope In Durkeeville

I am truly baffled by the placement of multiple, infrequently used, very well maintained tennis courts in a community rife with poverty, crime and abandoned property; please see photos below.

I recently talked to citizens of precinct 09K within the historic community of Durkeeville in Jacksonville/Duval County, FL. I visited this community after the recent murder of Mary McAllister less than a week ago.

One concerned citizen questioned the wisdom and display of good judgment, building approximately 10 tennis courts in her neighborhood. I could not agree with her more since those courts could not be used due to locks holding the gates firmly closed.

I further agree with the lady that skill centers, not tennis courts are needed by the community. These skill centers would help children and young adults build skills that would be useful in finding a job/career that would provide a living wage, not a minimum wage.

While I talked to quite a few people in the community, I briefly talked to an elderly woman who by all intents and purposes appeared to be taking care of her grandson, arguably not an uncommon occurrence given the high crime rates in the area. The young boy struck me as being misplaced; he seemed so innocent. Maybe it was that his demeanor and politeness contrasted so much with the rough neighborhood just outside the front door of his grandmother’s dilapidated old house (similar to the one shown here).

I still wondered a day later when I wrote this; how will this boy will fare because I can see his potential. I am concerned that drugs and crime will be in his future since they are literally around the corner. However, I hold out hope that:

1. His grandmother will still be around because it appeared she truly wanted a better future for him given the old National Geographics strewn about on the bookshelf by the front door, and

2. That there will be some in government more in tune with community needs prior to providing future community services.

Feel free to write me, with how you feel at: votegilman@gmail.com