NFNC Success Story
A New Foundations Nonviolence Center client was in the Denver County Jail. When our volunteer first met with him, he was anxious. Thoughts about his crime and possible sentence constantly circulated in his head, and he could think of nothing else. The volunteer began by guiding him through letting go of his painful feelings. After a while he said, “I have gotten used to feeling so calm that now when I get an uncomfortable feeling, I want to do something about it soon.” His thinking became clearer and he and his volunteer began to make plans for re-entry to the community.
When he was released, he went to live with friends until he could find his own place. His friends drank alcohol. Our client drank as well and was soon intoxicated in public. After hearing nothing from this client for a week or so, our volunteer had a hunch that he was back in jail. The volunteer called the jail, found that he was in fact there, and went to visit him.
The client was deeply touched that the volunteer had come back to visit him. They worked together on a new plan for his release, which included efforts to reinstate his nursing license. At the volunteer’s suggestion, the client called Arapahoe House and was placed on a waiting list for one of their treatment programs.
Upon his second release, the client stayed sober long enough to get into the program. He knew that getting his nursing license reinstated would be hard work, but he was committed to doing whatever it would take. First, he did construction and warehouse jobs while doing what the nursing board required for reinstatement. It took about a year, but he earned back his nursing license, supported his son in his re-entry from jail, is currently working as a nurse and, in spite of new challenges, has been doing well for four years.