It was a cool wet day in Nova Scotia as we made our way to a small place outside of Truro Nova Scotia. Every since I heard about it I wanted to see it, the building of the Schooner Lena Blanche. My wife Linda and I had returned to Nova Scotia to attend a visitation […]
Building, growing, changing Read More »
Connecting The call came in at 8:00 in the morning. His first words, after I said hello, “Hank, is it ever good to hear your voice.” Phil (name changed) was calling from the minimum at Stony Mountain. It was the first time we had spoken since the Institution had been closed to volunteers and visitors.
It is not the kind of statement you would expect from someone who just finished visiting a person in prison. John has been a volunteer with Open Circle for two years and was moving on so he could dedicate more time to other things. He voiced his comment as I spent some time debriefing with
“Everyone should experience it.” Read More »
We settled into our seats at the local coffee shop to catch up on the latest news. James had seen his fair share of rough spots in life. Prison, mental health issues, struggling to hold a full time job. As we talked we were interrupted by someone sitting next to us, “Do you know how
It is the hidden side of prison. The side that gets little mention in the press. The side that serves a different kind of time. I met her just as she was entering Stony Mountain Institution for the first time. She stood in the entrance to the prison, fear etched on her face. English was not her first language,
The “Other Side” of the Fence Read More »
