a reflective journal about social action from JustDane
BY LINDA KETCHAM, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR “To show compassion for an individual without showing concern for the structures of society that make them an object of compassion is to be sentimental rather than loving.” Rev. William Sloane Coffin Dear Friends: JustDane held the first Reentry Simulation ™ in January, 1999. The activity allows the participants a glimpse into the challenges and barriers faced by individuals who are returning home after incarceration. Our goal for the Simulation was and remains straightforward: to help the participants understand the challenges, barriers and frustrations faced by people returning home and to move participants to use that understanding to further engage and help address and alleviate those barriers and challenges. As William Sloane Coffin says, true compassion is not only feeling another person’s pain, it is allowing ourselves to be moved to help relieve their pain and prevent future pain to others.
It is a recognition that true compassion and justice are inextricably linked. At JustDane, we work to address the individual pain experienced by the people who walk through our doors, and we work to address the societal and systemic conditions that are causing the pain. For many individuals who attend a Reentry Simulation, they do so out of curiosity. Maybe they attend because they have heard the call to visit the imprisoned; maybe it’s a class requirement. When they entered the room for the Simulation, the opened themselves to the possibility of expanding the boundaries of their compassion. It’s a common talking point in volunteer recruitment training that “like attracts like.” We are most comfortable with people who look like us, think like us, worship like us, and have made the same mistakes as us. In the nearly 25 years since we started conducting Simulations (I attended the first one in 1999),
I have yet to meet someone who was not moved, who hadn’t had the boundaries of their compassion expanded just a little bit. Many of our volunteers at JustDane started volunteering after attending a Simulation, they were moved to do more to alleviate someone’s suffering, by serving on a Circle of Support, mentoring a child who has an incarcerated parent, or helping conduct Simulations. Still others began engaging in advocacy for reform. As Bryan Stevenson said, we can’t change the world if we aren’t willing to get close to people who are suffering. We need to be in proximity with one another. When we are, that proximity will change us and when we are changed, we can change the world. Our State Legislature is currently working to make it more difficult for people who are struggling to access benefits like medical insurance, food assistance, Continued on page 2
Spring 2023