Dear Friend,
Jeremiah 29:7 instructs us to “Work for the good of the cities where I have made you go as prisoners. Pray to me on their behalf, because as they prosper, so shall you” Is there a more appropriate way for us to follow these instructions than to assist other prisoners in every manner possible?
As former inmates we have witnessed and experienced the difficulties encountered by many people upon release from jail or prison. All too often people are released from jails and prisons with limited or no means to get home. They are unable to connect with a support system to obtain basic necessities such as phone service, food, proper clothing, and shelter.
Let me tell you the story of “Pops”. Pops, a Latvian immigrant who lived in Milwaukee, was arrested for a DUI one July. At the time his wife was in their native Latvia, and Pops was alone in this country. Incarcerated for six months, Pop was given continuance after continuance, after continuance. One afternoon Pops was unexpectedly called to court. The judge then sentenced him to time served and 18-months probation. Pops was released from the jail after 10:00 p.m., and given a check for a few dollars he had on his account. Even if Pops had a ride home, he couldn’t go home to Milwaukee as he was on probation and couldn’t leave the state of Illinois, without his probation officer’s permission…and where could he cash his check from the county? Add to that, Pops was released in the shorts and tee shirt he had been arrested in, in July…truly inappropriate clothing for a cold January night. I don’t know how Pops spent the night. Somehow he survived the cold January night, and was spotted at 9:00 am checking into probation.
We at F.I.S.T. make no judgments about a person’s guilt or innocence. We only seek to assist the newly released inmate with a ride home, a hot meal, a phone call or emergency shelter if needed. We seek to minister to their physical, emotional and spiritual needs, both upon release, and as they seek to regain their place in society.
As ex-offenders many of us face obstacles that could be easier to overcome with the support and guidance of our peers. F.I.S.T. seeks to band together to provide strength in numbers…two strands intertwined forms a string that is stronger than the two strands alone; three strings form a line…and several lines form a rope capable of pulling many from the depths of despair. With God’s guidance and blessings F.I.S.T. can form that rope…
As Christians it is our God given duty and our responsibility to assist those who face the same obstacles we once faced. We have formed F.I.S.T. to fulfill that responsibility. Not to judge, not to litigate cases, not to enable… but to empower.
If one person turns away from a life of addiction and or crime as a result of our intervention, we have done God’s work…if we bring one person to the Lord because of the Christian act of giving…we have served the Lord…if we make one person’s life a little more bearable…we have followed the commandment Jesus gave us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
Please join us as members, partners, or supporters as your ministry allows.
Yours in Christ,
Joe Schmitt, President