The first time I went to visit a young girl in the Indiana Juvenile Correctional Facility, I wondered, what would I say to her? How would I go about becoming her Catholic mentor? I wanted this young girl to know that I cared about her and what she was going through. Most of all, I wanted her to know that our Lord Jesus loves her and forgives her. The Catholic Church is universal. We are one body. And I wanted her to know that she was still part of us, even if she had made some mistakes.
One of the Catholic mentors invited me to come with her to the girls' Bible study group, where she introduced me to "Teresa." Teresa told us that she had been asking for a mentor for several months and no one had come. Would I be her mentor? I liked her right away. She seemed cheerful, intelligent, and genuinely interested in our Catholic faith.
Still, I was nervous the first time I went to see Teresa alone. The security measures, rules, and guards were a little intimidating. I sat down at a table in the recreational room with her and it was easier to break the ice than I imagined. She had been eagerly waiting for my visit. We talked about the scriptures from the Sunday Mass, said a prayer together, and then she told me a little about herself. Her story was heartbreaking. After Teresa was baptized and received her first communion, her parents divorced. Her mother became addicted to drugs and her father made her have an abortion against her will. Her boyfriend beat her up so badly that she was hospitalized with several broken bones. I could understand why she had acted out. What could I do? I listened. I prayed for her at Mass and asked the Holy Spirit to help her heal.
This prison ministry was started by a priest in our parish who was transferred six years ago. Since then, the volunteers had been unable to find a priest who could come regularly for the sacraments. However, they persuaded a priest to come one day and hear confessions. Teresa felt so much better after his visit. It was like a load off her chest to hear that God really did forgive her and to receive Communion again, for the first time in a long time.
Our ministry has catechism classes every Tuesday evening and we take turns teaching once a month. The girls learn a lot and it helps to create a Catholic community for them, even in a prison environment. They are very interested in the saints. They especially like Saint Maria Goretti and Saint Faustina. We give each of the girls their own Catholic Bible and they not only read the scriptures in our Bible study group, but also in their rooms at night.
In our group of about 15-20 girls, there are only 2 or 3 who have a Catholic mentor. Until recently there wasn't a Catholic man to visit the boys. A Catholic college student recently decided to join our ministry and become a mentor for one of the boys. He volunteers an hour a week in a flexible way, around his school schedule. On Thanksgiving Day, he made fudge with his girlfriend to bring to the boy he was mentoring.
I visit Teresa once a week, on Sunday evenings, for an hour. I decided since I was already there, I could find room in my life to see one more girl. "Jennifer" had not received a letter or a visit from anyone, not even her mother. She was eight months pregnant with twins before her incarceration. Her boyfriend beat her up so badly that the babies died before they were born. It was no wonder that she had difficulty coping. My heart just went out to her and I visited as often as I could. "Jennifer" had a more positive outlook on life after the priest heard her confession and she received Communion. She wrote a song for me the night before she left, about how much it meant that someone had cared enough to come visit her. She decided to go back to Mass with her grandmother when she went home.
In Jennifer's cottage there was a Catholic girl who had been incarcerated for 20 months without any visitors, phone calls, or letters. For several months, another young woman in our Bible study group asked us to pray that her mother would finally come to see her. Even the day before she was to be released, she still did not know if her mother was coming to pick her up.
The Chaplin recently assigned a new Catholic girl from the class for me to mentor. I told her that I would see her on Thanksgiving night. She kept questioning me: did I really mean it? Would I really come to see her? She acted like she couldn't trust me to actually do what I said I would. During our visit, I found out that her mother was a heroin addict who used to give her $5, let her out in front of McDonalds and then drive off and leave her. I am going to be especially careful to keep my word to her and be there when I say I will.
During orientation the speaker told us that it takes 7 interested adults in a child's life to help prevent them from coming back or going on to prison one day. The children who are fortunate enough to have loving, supportive families and communities have the best chance at changing their lives for the better. A counselor told me that half of the children are incarcerated because they rebelled against their parents and the other half had been abused.
The Indiana Juvenile Correctional Facility has about 150 children who are incarcerated. It is our only state-run residential facility and both girls and boys live there. The boys attend school half of the day and the girls attend the other half. They do not have meals or visitors together. There are several other centers that keep children temporarily, until a long term spot becomes available at the state facility. A private, Christian-based center for troubled youth in our state also encourages volunteers.
As Catholics, we do a good job of feeding the hungry, giving clothing to the poor, and visiting the sick. But, the Lord Jesus also asked us to visit those who are in prison.
Pope Benedict XVI made a special trip to visit the children in a juvenile correctional facility one time in order to give these young people hope for the future. I am sure that they will never forget his visit and that he cared enough to come.
Are you interested in becoming a Catholic Mentor? It's simple to get started:
1. Look in the phone book or on the internet for Juvenile Correctional Facilities in your state to see if there is one nearby. The phone number will be on their website.
2. Call the Chaplin at the center and ask if there is a Catholic group that already visits there. If so, they will teach you what you need to know. Our Lord and the Holy Spirit will do the rest.
3. If Catholics are not already visiting there, the Chaplin can tell you how to become a mentor. There is usually an orientation at the facility. They keep records of each child's religion, so it is easy to find a Catholic girl or boy to mentor. You don't need any special training to be a mentor, just an open heart, a willingness to listen and an hour a week to spend with a child. The time you volunteer is flexible, according to your schedule. Sunday afternoons or evenings are popular times to visit. Everyone is a little more rested and we are naturally thinking more about the Lord.
4. If you are interested in becoming a catechist, it wouldn't hurt to become a mentor first, in order to get to know the children and the facility better. It would be extra helpful if you've ever taught CCD classes, Vacation Bible School, volunteered in youth ministry, confirmation classes, or in your parish RCIA programs.
5. We use the visitation room for catechism classes in our facility and visit the children in their individual cottages for Bible study. The basic tools we use to teach are the Bible and the Baltimore Catechism. Several of our volunteers are retired and have almost adopted the girls as their own. They plan some classes with guest speakers, special foods, crafts and dance classes.
Why not join us in giving hope and encouragement to some troubled Catholic boys and girls where you live? Your gift of a little guidance, along with a whole lot of love, can make all the difference in their lives.
