Connecting Beyond the Surface: Steps Towards Empathy
From a young age, my parents shared with me the importance of giving back to my community and the communities around me. Service quickly became an integral part of my life and showed me how I can truly make a difference in others’ lives, while they can also leave a lasting impact on mine. Towards the beginning of my involvement in service work, I took on roles that prevented me from directly engaging with individuals, preventing me from cultivating genuine relationships. As I began to get out of my comfort zone and encounter individuals while conversing with them I began to see the importance of direct service work. Through my involvement at The Francisco Homes, engaging with narratives of individual journeys revolving around freedom and reintegration, my perspective has broadened allowing me to view the criminal justice system holistically while understanding systemic complexities. Moreover, effective community engagement includes fostering genuine connections. Cultivating connections leads to the ability to provide better resources and develop empathy for the community we are working alongside.
Community engagement serves as a crucial component of gaining empathy. The world is full of opportunities to establish meaningful relationships and connections. However, to understand the true gifts of community engagement we must fully immerse ourselves in the work we are doing, and directly collaborate with individuals. In the Human Rights Watch article “How Probation and Parole Feed Mass Incarceration in the United States” issues are explored such as the fact that, “people must comply with an array of wide-ranging, sometimes vague, and hard-to-follow rules, including rules requiring them to pay steep fines and fees, attend frequent meetings, abstain from drugs and alcohol, and report any time they change housing or employment.” (Frankel). The system makes it so those who were formerly incarcerated are put at a significant disadvantage. Through these obstacles, it is more important than ever that we are empathetic. Empathy is something that evolves through experience and life circumstances. Service learning can assist our development of empathy by viewing the world through a new lens. Before my work with Francisco Homes, I unintentionally and subconsciously categorized formerly incarcerated people under a single story. That story in my head revolved around the idea that those who became incarcerated were disadvantaged, to begin with, and had troubling life circumstances before incarceration. While I began volunteering with the Francisco Homes, I was talking to a resident who shared with me his life before incarceration, and his love for waterskiing and traveling. Authentically engaging with the resident helped me put aside my prior beliefs and realize that many of the men lived very typical lives before conviction. Through my similar passions and connections established with the man I was talking to, I was able to understand how our lives are not necessarily that different.
A vital step towards advocating and addressing social issues is to educate oneself on the historical context of the community. Unfortunately, even in our world today, our criminal justice system has many flaws. In her article, “What is Parole? How Does Parole Work?” author Monica Steiner writes, “Thousands of people have been wrongly convicted across the country in a system defined by official indifference to innocence and error” (Steiner). Wrongful conviction remains a prevalent issue throughout the world when it comes to sentencing. During a planning workshop at the Francisco Homes, one man shared how important it is to not define formerly incarcerated individuals by their crime, especially when they are doing everything in their power to better themselves. By recognizing the flaws in our justice system, we can view individuals in a different light. We can take our attention away from the individual and turn to the system and realize that those we are working with are still locked in the system, and have a long way to go to contribute to this sense of normalcy.
The development of empathy towards a community allows us to relate to those we are working with and recognize the complexities the community is experiencing. Through direct involvement and conversations we can recognize how we differ from those we are working with but more importantly what we have in common. It is apparent in our world today that most people engaging in service may not have a foundational understanding of the importance of connections and the development of empathy. Gaining empathy through our connections allows us to observe and analyze how we can contribute to and uplift the well-being of those around us. Additionally in “Revoked”, Allison Frankel exclaims, “Further, people under correctional control are disproportionately likely to have mental health conditions, which can create added barriers to navigating supervision. Meanwhile, many communities lack accessible, voluntary mental health services and treatment options” (Frankel). By bringing attention to circumstances such as mental health conditions, we can better provide resources for individuals and improve their quality of life while enhancing our own through the process.
In effort of promoting egalitarianism in service, I began to delve deeper into the complexities that have inherently created disparities within the criminal justice system. Individuals at the Francisco homes express the importance of not wanting to be defined by their previous actions. It is important to recognize our own mistakes in this process and realize that we all make mistakes in life but seek forgiveness and acceptance to move on. Through research conducted on “Jail Imates’ Perceived and Anticipated Stigma: Implications for Postrelease Functioning”, societal factors are explored. For example, “Inmates face many hardships once they are released into the community, and being stigmatized as an ex-offender is often implicated as a major barrier to successful community reintegration. Offenders are one of the most stigmatized groups in society, yet the large body of research on stigma rarely considers offenders.” (Moore, Stuewig, and Tagney). Stigmas surrounding ex-offenders create an unhealthy environment for those who are looking to reintegrate back into society. By understanding the complexities and harsh realities of reintegration we can further develop our sense of community and empathy which will help us create a sustainable, positive environment for ourselves and those around us.
To ensure good service we must become aware and explore the hierarchies that often present themselves in service. In “The Challenges of Prisoner Reentry Into Society” the blog states that, “When prisoners in the United States are released, they face an environment that is challenging and actively deters them from becoming productive members of society.” (Simmons University). When I first got involved with service work, I established myself as a provider — providing for those who may be less fortunate or lacking the resources that I have. After countless hours spent with individuals and partaking in various forms of service, it was soon established that I was the learner rather than the provider. We can not think of service in a hierarchical sense. Some of the most valuable life lessons are lessons I have gained through service. We must position ourselves in a way that allows us to explore what everyone has to offer.
Service has had a profound impact on my life. New opportunities in and outside of my community have allowed me to gain newfound perspectives on life. Good service begins with understanding, cultivating genuine connections, gaining empathy, and then further advocating for social change. Shifting my approach to service has enabled genuine passion and empathy for those I work alongside. I can appreciate the richness of the community I am working with and use my knowledge to leverage and aid resources effectively, while continually growing from each service opportunity. If we can establish connections and bridge the gap between communities we will be able to create equal opportunities in society and uplift the people around us through impactful, engaging service.
Work Cited
Human Rights Watch. “Revoked: How Probation and Parole Feed Mass Incarceration in the United States.” Human Rights Watch, 31 July 2020, www.hrw.org/report/2020/07/31/revoked/how-probation-and-parole-feed-mass-incarceration-united-states.
Nolo. “How Does Parole Work?” Nolo, www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/how-does-parole-work.html.
Binswanger, Ingrid A., et al. “Release from Prison — A High Risk of Death for Former Inmates.” PMC, National Institutes of Health, 9 July 2013, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4103667/.
Simmons University Online. “Prisoner Reentry: What Happens After Incarceration?” Simmons University, online.simmons.edu/blog/prisoner-reentry/.
