Out with the Crew

Taft Prison Camp has whats called a Work Release Program, or “Outcrew”. At long last, since it seems we’ve all been waiting for this opportunity for Corey for years (!), Corey has earned a spot on the crew. Very few inmates at the Taft Camp are eligible to participate in the work furlough program, of the 600 inmates at the Camp, only around 25 or so inmates work in the program. He finally became eligible a few months back and put in a request to be considered…I’m still not sure what all the criteria are that must be met, but no doubt includes one’s Custody Level, time remaining on sentence, no recent infractions, etc. Several months passed before he received notification he had been accepted into the program. It then took several more weeks before he was actually on the posted “Call Out”, this was two weeks ago.

His first “outing” was to do landscaping tasks in the local community of Taft, at one of the many school parks. I cannot recall which Park the crew went to on that particular day, but suffice it to say Corey said it was very large and had 3 baseball fields, large grassy areas and LOTS of trees! The day he was out, the weather was a wonderful sunny, southern California day, mid 80’s with clear, sunny skies. Because he was the tallest in the group his assigned task was to trim the large trees. Unfortunately a week prior Corey had torn a muscle in his upper back while doing pullups as he and a few friends were working out, and this particular task was all the more challenging for him. But he was determined to not let the stiffness and considerable pain hinder him, or be visible to his supervisor, he had looked forward to this opportunity a long time and wasn’t about to slack on the job and not be called upon again!

When I asked for all details (“tell me everything!“ I’d exclaimed the next time I saw him) he told me it felt incredible to be outside the prison grounds, working within a community, where “civies” were mulling about, where “life as normal” was carrying on. To not be surrounded only by other inmates all wearing the same clothing, to know you were a part of the “real world” if only for a few brief hours.

One of the big “perks” of being out with the Crew is the fact you will eat “real food” for lunch! On this day the guys were all treated to Dominos pizza and cokes. This alone is prized pay for the work done!

Corey also relayed to me that though wonderful the outing was, the fun they’d had in addition to the feeling of doing a good days work (something they never have a chance to do in the Camp, real “work” is scarce, all are assigned 7 hr jobs, but most generally only take about 10 - 20 minutes to complete each day), he still felt somehat “odd” and overwhelmed by being out in the wide open spaces, that a small part of him felt he “didn’t belong” there, and he was anxious, towards the end of the day, to return to the Camp…he stated he felt a sense of “relief“ once they were all deposited back on Camp property. He understands of course, the source of his uncomfortable feelings.

Iinstitutionalization comes with serving lengthy sentences. The result of having someone else restrict and control your every move, the result of having had all decision making taken from you, having had all your freedoms, freedoms we all take for granted all our lives, stripped for such a long time. Corey is in his 8th year of imprisonment for a first time, non-violent, marijuana offense and although my husband and I relocated to Taft when he was designated to serve his time here, in the hopes of limiting that “institutionalization” by remaining an integral part of his life, we all knew a certain amount of institutionalization would be inevitable with a 12 ½ year sentence. Over the years he’s relayed stories to us of friends he’d made on the inside and stayed in touch with, who upon release would go through feelings of intense claustrophobia when among a crowd, such as in a mall, or at a movie…they would find themselves walking the perimeter next to building walls to avoid being jostled about in the midst of the crowd. In prison one gets used to always “looking out,” always knowing when someone is right behind you, of being highly sensitive to the “feel” of the space you and the people in it with you occupy at all times. Certain primal “senses” of survival, become more fine-tuned. Senses we all have but have lost touch with in the civilized “real world”.

Despite the feelings of being out of place, out of his element, Corey had an opportunity he would not have missed, and today I got an email from him happily stating today he would once again be going out with the crew! I look forward to hearing all about his day when we visit this Sunday.

Oh, my friend, it's not what they take away from you that counts. It's what you do with what you have left. ~Hubert Humphrey