Anatomy of a Wonderful Life
REMEMBER, GEORGE: NO MAN IS A FAILURE WHO HAS FRIENDS
George Bailey is losing it! He is at the end of his rope and contemplating suicide. He is tired of his miserable life. His big dreams of a life of travel, education, and adventure have all been thwarted by circumstance and his self-sacrificial habit of putting others’ needs before his own desires. He is now facing prison and social ruin because his business partner—also his absentminded uncle—has lost $8,000. (That’s like a hundred grand to us today!) The bank examiner wants to know what happened to the money, and the cops have a warrant out for George’s arrest. All looks bleak at this point in the iconic film, It’s a Wonderful Life.
So, George does what any reasonable character in a 1940’s holiday movie would do. He storms out of his humble home where children are noisily wrapping presents and plunking out Christmas carols on the piano. He gets drunk and decides to jump off a bridge.
As he surveys the swirling, freezing water below him, an angel named Clarence, beats him to the proverbial JUMP, and screams for help as if he is the one drowning! George’s usual reflex to help others kicks in, and he pulls Clarence to shore instead of ending his own life. Once again, George’s plans are thwarted by someone else’s needs.
Clarence returns the favor by taking him on a “magical mystery tour” through a world without George Bailey—as if he had never been born. Of course, it all ends well, when he gleefully runs back home, and when his friends show up to shower him with all the money he needs to cover the lost cash. The wealth of George’s relationships saves the day. And, once again, I blot the tears running down my face, at the power of human friendships, and how it is those relationships—not money—that make a person truly rich.
OH, LITTLE TOWN OF…
As the credits roll, I reflect on the parallels between Bedford Falls and my little town; on the connections and relationships that make us truly rich who live in this lovely slice of Oregon and I ponder, “What would this place be like if Remnant Initiatives didn’t exist?” We were founded only two years ago, but have touched many lives, and the families of those many lives and the friends of those many lives and the friends of the friends and, well… let me explain.
In the summer of 2017, a close friend suggested we get more intentional about the help we were giving to people releasing to Yamhill County that we had met through our prison ministry work. We didn’t have grand dreams, just hope for putting a tiny dent in the abysmal state of reentry for people coming back to Yamhill County after incarceration.
In January of 2018, we began sending letters into EVERY PERSON who was set to return to here after release. Our message was simple—we see you; we want you to be successful, and we are here to help.
In April of 2018, Remnant Initiatives helped its first neighbor returning from prison. We helped him find a job, an apartment, safe and sober friends and prosocial community. We modeled law-abiding citizenry and healthy problem-solving skills—things he hadn’t seen much of in his life. We provided hours of encouragement as he faced the myriad of barriers that come with having a criminal record.
Since then, we have helped 60 people—13 of which are still in prison and will release in 2020. We have grown from a couple of idealistic dreamers to a powerful band of volunteers—consistently providing over 500 hours a month of our personal time to ensure our most vulnerable citizens have the most basic support we can provide.
The reality is that a person cannot be a healthy, working, parenting, successful part of society without a phone, an email address, an ID, decent clothes, food, healthy relationships, healthcare, and a warm, safe place to sleep each night. So, we coordinate with all the nonprofits and government agencies in the area that provide these basics.
Before Remnant Initiatives, there was no one organization that focused on the unique needs of returning citizens.
BE THE CHANGE. CHANGE THE SYSTEM.
But, helping neighbors returning to our community is only one side of developing transformative human relationships. The OTHER important part of our mission is educating the public on WHY helping these folks matters to the whole community.
When returning citizens are supported by a circle of accountability and support, we all benefit. Property crime, committed to fund drug addiction, decreases. The number of children in the child welfare system decreases. Domestic violence and generational cycles of trauma decrease.
Removing people from the rolls of expensive, social services and adding them to the ranks of law-abiding, taxpaying citizens positively impacts our state and local budgets while simultaneously making our neighborhoods safer and our communities are stronger.
But the past 50 years of tough-on-crime and war-on-drugs legislation has left us with archaic, punitive, and expensive laws that have failed to address the needs of crime victims or the root causes of crime. Most Americans want reforms that include ending harsh mandatory minimum sentencing, providing treatment instead of prison for those whose criminal behaviors are rooted in addiction or mental unhealth. So, we also partner with advocacy groups to seek reforms to this broken system.
BUT, WHAT HAVE WE REALLY ACCOMPLISHED?
Chad got his own place and is now reunited with his kids. Ben just got promoted at work. Cecilia moved out of transitional housing and has safe and sober roommates. Robert just got his driver’s license back after months of saving enough money to pay back traffic fines. Now he is ready to purchase a used car and seek a better job than the one that was accessible by bus. And Jacob has made amends with his father—who once proclaimed he was DONE with his wayward son… FOREVER.
Other programs might focus on recidivism as a measure of success, but it’s more important to us to track how our returning neighbors are integrating back into mainstream community. At this point in Remnant Initiative’s existence, 40% of our returning neighbors have achieved the marks of sustainable self-sufficiency—stable income, housing, transportation, healthcare, family reunification and more.
A LITTLE GOES A LONG WAY!
And, as we have tracked spending in our short organizational life, we have learned that on average, it takes just under $300 to set someone onto the road toward success. And, even though we don’t focus on recidivism, we do know that only 4% of those we have helped have been arrested for a new crime, while the county rate for arrest within two years after release is 44%. Turns out, it takes only a few hundred dollars to change a life, a family, a community.
So, in the spirit of the season of giving and in the spirit of George Bailey’s friends—who show up for him when he needed them most—we would like to ask you to consider showing up with a few dollars to invest in human potential and healthy communities this season.
Please don’t divert a donation to Remnant Initiatives that you would usually give to one of the many nonprofits with whom we collaborate. Our success is deeply connected to their success. But, if you haven’t yet decided where you will make your end-of-year contributions, we would be honored to put those dollars to work helping our returning citizens to change their lives and the very character of our towns and neighborhoods.
In the wise words of Clarence, the Angel…