My name is Robert Poppen and I’m serving a life term at South Dakota Mike Durfee State Penitentiary in Springfield. I am writing in response to the recent Mark Milk issue you have probably heard about. I am not defending him in any way, shape or form.
I know that the news brought up that he was in the Alternatives to Violence Program (AVP). I can confirm that he, along with many others, was and have been in this program. AVP has helped so many young men and women throughout the world and not just in prison. I am a member and facilitator in the AVP community and have been for over 10 years. It has taught me a whole new way of looking at life along with teaching me the value of people, and that every person, no matter who they are, is both important and has their own story. It has shown me a way of coming together with other people to appropriately handle conflicts.
When I first came to prison I was an angry young man, and I was quick to be disrespectful of staff, which typically resulted in me spending time in isolation. I was not going to be told anything by anyone, as I saw that I had no hope in life, so why make it easy for them. AVP has given me and so many others hope for a better future and life, as it has given us the tools to deal with violence as well as creating a safer inmate community.
In addition to the Alternatives to Violence Program, we now have more programs such as Leaders of Tomorrow (LOT), which help people realize what success in and out of prison can be for them. It gives a person the tools to be a leader of both themselves and their peers. As we all have our own personal vision of success, this program has helped us realize that success is a personal playbook for which we have responsibility.
Back to Mr. Milk. I believe the issue we are currently facing is the lack of programming for when we leave prison. What happens when someone leaves prison and is “dropped” into a community without a support system similar to what they relied on when they were inside? They are left with a high amount of stress and very little resources. This especially holds true for the inmates who have been in the prison system for a significant amount of time. The fact of the matter is: The longer someone is incarcerated the harder it is for them to appropriately integrate back into society.
The failure of the system is the lack of resources for re-integration. As it stands, we are currently accepting the “sink or swim” mentality without properly teaching these men and women why so many sink! How do we prepare them and how do we give them support once they are out? I hope that this question that will be addressed by the Rehabilitation Task Force and by the people holding office.
Robert Poppen,
Springfield
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