This morning I reported to my work assignment…
at the E-North's "Intermediate Care Program" cell block. My heart has been heavy over yesterday's news. So I went to work not knowing what frame of mind that the men who witnessed this suicide attempt would be in.
I wasn't there yesterday afternoon to hear the sickening thud of soft flesh slamming into concrete, but these men were. And they saw the pool of blood. Thus, I went into the cell block hoping to encourage the men and give some words of comfort.
I felt the tension as soon as I walked through the steel doors which separate the cell block from the main corridor. A spirit of depression was in the air. I also sensed the despair, as there have been several suicide attempts in this part of the prison in recent months. I wrote about two recent attempts in my journal entries for June 16 & 17.
I know that doing "time" can often bring out the worst in people. There is the despair and pain which remain hidden in hearts, only to be revealed by the daily pressures of prison life. The crushing loneliness and the lack of letters from family, or the loss of loved ones who either die off or decide to move on with their lives, takes a toll. In addition, the feelings of guilt and failure can also become overwhelming.
D. B.
I wasn't there yesterday afternoon to hear the sickening thud of soft flesh slamming into concrete, but these men were. And they saw the pool of blood. Thus, I went into the cell block hoping to encourage the men and give some words of comfort.
I felt the tension as soon as I walked through the steel doors which separate the cell block from the main corridor. A spirit of depression was in the air. I also sensed the despair, as there have been several suicide attempts in this part of the prison in recent months. I wrote about two recent attempts in my journal entries for June 16 & 17.
I know that doing "time" can often bring out the worst in people. There is the despair and pain which remain hidden in hearts, only to be revealed by the daily pressures of prison life. The crushing loneliness and the lack of letters from family, or the loss of loved ones who either die off or decide to move on with their lives, takes a toll. In addition, the feelings of guilt and failure can also become overwhelming.
D. B.
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