MIDDLESEX
COUNTY PRISON COORDINATING COMMITTEE NEWSLETTER
(Next Meeting:
10/10/0'7)
MCPCC met on Sept. 12, 2007 in West Newton. Present were David Berkely, Tom Crowther, Mary Ann Donaldson, Toby Frost, Marjorie Moerschner, Lynne Sullivan, Dorothy Weitzman, Carol Winton and Elizabeth Woodbridge.
Mary Ann brought the meeting to order and gave an opening
prayer.
Carol gave the coordinator's annual report. Here are the highlights from her excellent report.
Our activities for the year included the show of art_ work_
done by prisoners which was held at the Lowell Community Counseling Center in
Oct. '06, and two successful fund raisers, the Shaw Brothers concert in May '07
at the New Coffeehouse in Bedford and the Vox One concert opened by the Boston
Jazz Voices, in June at Eliot Church in Newton.
The
United Methodist Church of Newton and The First Church of Christ,
Congregational, in Bedford responded generously to the request for men's
clothing for inmates who were going out for job interviews. This need had been
mentioned to us by Susan Rourke, Billerica's Director of Reintegration.
Our annual Christmas card drive brought in over 3000 cards
donated by many individuals and churches; the cards were given to Chaplain
Milton Thomas for distribution to prisoners who will send them to family
members.
Our speakers for the year were Susan
Rourke; Sean McAdams, Deputy Superintendent and Human Services Director at
Billerica; Attorney Lee Gartenberg, provider of legal services to inmates at
Billerica and the Cambridge Jail; and Linda Burrell, supervisor, and Joe
Martinez, counselor, of Step,lnc., which provides rehabilitation programming at
Billerica.
Tom gave the
treasurer's report. He also reported that he and Toby had heard Bo Lozoff
speak at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Acton. Bo is a spiritual
teacher and writer who corresponds with and speaks to prisoners, emphasizing
the development of concern for others.
Dorothy reported that there will be a hearing on CORI reform at the State House
on Oct. 23 at 1 PM.
She also alerted us to an all-day
conference on sex offenders at Boston College on Nov. 17. Robin Wilson will be
the keynote speaker. Contact naswma.org
for more information.
The Criminal Justice Policy Coalition has a new full time director, Sarah Compton.
We discussed a number of things that we'd like to be
better informed about, both at the
House of Correction and in the larger criminal justice area. We suggested
possible speakers for the year. And as always, we are eager to have new faces
and new ideas joining us around the table.
Please
note that MCPCC's e-mail address is mcpccl@verizon.net and website is www.mcpcc.info
Our next meeting on
Oct. 10 will have two excellent speakers, Susan Rourke, Director of
Reintegration at Billerica, and Mark Hemenway, President of New England Prison
Ministries, Inc. www.nepm.org, who has started a mentoring program for Billerica
inmates. Everyone is welcome to come to hear- and ask questions of- our
speakers and to get an idea of what we're about.
Last but most definitely not least here
is a list of donors to MCPCC from 7/1/06 through 9/19/07.
Anna H. Caskey
Thomas Crowther
Mary Ann Donaldson
Albert and Mary Fullerton
Myron and Ruth Gural
Henry H. Hammond
Louise L. Kittredge
Thomas J. Larkin Barbara Mackay Marjorie
Moerschner
Richard D. Nethercut
Suzanne Rudalevige
Michael Sperbe, M.D.
Lynne Sullivan
Doris S. Webber
Dorothy E. Weitzman
Beverly Wilkins
Elizabeth Woodbridge
Edwards Church, UCC, Framingham
Eliot Church of Newton
The First Church of Christ, Congregational, UCC, in
Bedford
The Presbyterian Church in Sudbury
The Second Church in Newton
The United Methodist Church of Newton
MCPCC expresses its sincere
gratitude to all.
NEXT MEETING: OCT.
10 at 7 PM, SECOND CHURCH IN NEWTON
60 HIGHLAND
STREET, WEST NEWTON