the end of the week, the beginning of a journey

Today was the day we finally got to go to our assigned buildings and talk to the women. We couldn’t go right away because the 8:30 count was going on. There are several times throughout the day and night that Metro shuts down and the women have to go to their buildings to be counted and make sure everyone is there. If they have an activity such as a group meeting or work detail scheduled during one of the counts, they can remain in that place and be counted there UNLESS there is a problem with the count. When that’s the case, then every inmate must go to her bed to be counted. There are three day counts when we’re at the prison: 8:30am, 12noon and 4pm. During this morning’s count, our small group spent time asking our supervisor as many last-minute questions as we could think of regarding going out to our buildings and speaking with the women. I don’t know about the rest of the group, but I was feeling a little anxious about the whole thing.

The count time went by quickly, and pretty soon there was nothing left to do but get up and go out there. I knew that I would be okay once I started, but it’s that starting part that’s hard. I was being pushed out of my comfort zone, and I had to just live with it. And you know what? It turned out to be just fine, just like I knew it would.

I walked into F Building and introduced myself to the officer working there. We’ve been told it’s in our best interest to build a good relationship with the officers in the buildings, because if they like us, they’ll be more likely to help us out if we need it. After this, I headed for B range, opened the door and walked down the stairs. As I mentioned in an earlier post, each building has four ranges or floors, A through D. Ranges A and B are downstairs from the main entrance, and C and D are upstairs.

I decided to just peek into the commons room and each of the bedrooms and introduce myself. Since the women have to call us by our last names, I told them I was Chaplain Mattson and that I would be the F Building chaplain for the summer. I told them if anyone needed or wanted to talk to someone, that I was a person they could go to, and that I was looking forward to getting to know them. All the women I talked to were really friendly and seemed happy to see me. Some wanted to talk right away, and others promised they’d be asking for me soon. It was really cool, and it made me feel more confident for the next range.

After I finished with B range, I headed out and up to D range. I had a similar experience as with the first range, and I even spent some extra time talking to one woman in particular who was ready to talk right then and there. We had to end it though, because we got the word that the morning inspection team was on their way to F Building. My supervisor had warned our group that it might be best to just leave the buildings during inspection so we wouldn’t get in anyone’s way. Or be asked to help out. And while I did find it a learning experience when we went on inspection the other day, I don’t want the women to see me in the role of someone invading their privacy and looking for ways to get them in trouble. So I went back to Programs to take a breather – Programs is the name of the building where the chaplains’ offices are, if I hadn’t mentioned that already. Also in Programs are the library, the chapel, the computer classroom, the cosmetology classroom and probably a million other things. It’s named very appropriately.

On my way over there, I ran into Ms Duffey, the DW of security. She asked if I had been assigned to F Building, and she told me her opinion of it. She said F Building is very busy. Since the building is filled with general population inmates, the women there know their way around the system. A lot of them are involved in food services for their work detail, and Ms Duffey said there is a lot of stealing food that goes on. She once again referred to F Building as a busy place. I felt that was a nice way of saying sneaky or conniving. At least she tried.

After about twenty minutes taking a break in Programs, I decided to head back over to F Building in hopes that inspection would be done. It was! I went downstairs to A range, and the first thing I noticed was an incredibly strong smell of cigarette smoke. The women are allowed to purchase cigarettes from their store if they have money on record, but they aren’t allowed matches or lighters. There’s a wall on the walk that is designated for smoking, and attached to the wall are a couple of locked boxes with attached lighters inside. They can be unlocked by the officers when the women are allowed smoke breaks, which I’m sure aren’t very often. The women aren’t allowed to smoke in their buildings, but apparently they find creative ways to get their cigarettes lit.

Anyway, the women down in the smoky range were all very friendly, just like with the first two ranges. I made my rounds to them, then headed up to the fourth and final floor, C range. On my way up, I ran into one of the women who was coming out. I told her who I was, and she immediately decided to go back up into the range with me and announce my presence. When we opened the door to the range, she called out loudly, “Hey everyone! The new chaplain’s here! So ya’ll better come out if you want to meet her!” And then a bunch of women came out and introduced themselves to me. They seemed especially eager to meet me, and they all seemed to want me to feel welcome. I think that range just might end up being my favorite one, though I suppose it might be a bit early to tell.

After chatting with the ladies on C range for a bit, I said my goodbyes and headed over to the lobby right outside of B Building (B Building is where all the administration and higher staff work. It’s the building you have to go through to get out onto the walk. Our group had to meet in the lobby at 11am to get our fingerprints taken. We actually had to go back through the walk all the way to the building by the back gate to get the actual fingerprinting. Once the prints go through, we’ll be locked into the system and will be able to get real badges with our names and pictures on them instead of the temporary visitor ones we currently use.

Our group went back to Programs to eat lunch together and talk about what it was like to finally get to go into our buildings and meet the women. Then our supervisor arranged five for five of the women to meet with us and talk about prison life from an inmate’s perspective. We had met most of them since they all are in Programs a lot and know the permanent chaplains well. It was really interesting to listen to what these women had to say. They talked about the crappy clothes they have to wear and the low-quality soap and shampoo they’re issued. They talked about the inconsistencies of the institute, and how the dynamics change when all the administrative staff goes home for the day and just the officers are in charge. They also mentioned how more attention is given to those women who are troublemakers verses those who follow the rules and do their time. It was really interesting to hear them talk truthfully and openly, and I was sad when it was time to wrap things up.

Since we have to come back on Sunday night for a church service, most of us decided to leave a little early. It was a really exhausting day, and one falling at the end of a long, hard week. Not that it’s been bad by any means. So far I have really enjoyed getting to know my way around Metro, and I very much look forward to speaking more with the women and using (and bettering) my pastoral care skills. But it’s the beginning, and we’ve been given a TON of new information, so I think it’s understandable that I feel really tired. One thing is for sure: I’m very excited to not set my alarm for 6am tomorrow. But I’m also excited to go back. I’m at the beginning of a wonderful journey, and I don’t know what all lies ahead of me, but I’ll certainly try to make the best of it.