Corrections_Today_Summer_2025_Vol.87_No.2

News&Views

Photos courtesy Angela James Photography

The AAP program annually invites local faith and community leaders to an All-Soul’s Day commemoration service for the close to one hundred women and children in this prison cemetery.

win it provides for both the prison and those incarcerated, and for the surrounding community and its involved members. It also ben efits society in general by lowering recidivism rates and reducing incar ceration cost. As a wise friend put it: “While it takes a community to save a prison, it takes a prison to save a community.” This sentiment was clear in a recent town hall meeting featuring the NYS DOCCS Com missioner as keynote speaker, and where the Bedford Town Supervisor, Ellen Calves proudly announced: “the Town of Bedford is now an Adopt-A-Prison Town.” Global impact Since imprisonment is a global phenomenon and innovative ideas today travel fast, it is not surpris ing the AAP idea has already been embraced abroad. Today there are different iterations of AAP pilot programs in six Afri can countries, Ethiopia, Kenya,

Rwanda, DR Congo, Malawi and Zimbabwe, as well as two programs in Pakistan. More information about the program can be found at this Facebook link for Adopt A-Prison International (AAPI): https://www.facebook.com/profile. php?id=61571148943318 including published articles about the AAP programs in overseas locations. Robert McCrie, PhD, professor at New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice, who has consider able international prison experience, says this about the AAP concept, “Prisons anywhere are among so ciety’s bleakest institutions. Many incarcerated people never receive visitors and experience severely diminished contacts from their past associations. It is no wonder that recidivism is so high. Adopt-A-Pris on is a bold humane initiative that signals to those behind the wall they have not been forgotten, and their future has hope.” While much improvement has been accomplished through the

implementation of the AAP at Taconic and Bedford Hills Cor rectional Facilities, this is only the beginning. The goal should be that love-based community out reach programs of this nature be introduced wherever people are imprisoned in this country and abroad, and while the command to “love your neighbor as yourself” is often seen as a moral or religious principle, modern science confirms that practicing kindness, empathy and social connection has tangible health benefits. CT

Hans Hallundbaek, M-Div., D-Min., New York Theological Seminary, MA, Maryknoll School of Theology has served as adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and 25 years

as volunteer teacher and service chaplain at NY state prisons including Sing Sing. He is a UN consultant to the International Prison Chaplains Association (IPCA) and CURE International. Email: hanshall@optonline.net

Corrections Today | Summer 2025

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