Earlier this month, Juarez was released from prison...
But I am not sure whether or not he's going to make it on the outside due to his schizophrenia and other underlying psychiatric issues.
Juarez is thirty-five years old with a clean-shaven appearance and a medium build. He's approximately 5'6" tall with light brown skin. He just completed a ten-year sentence.
According to his release papers, Juarez has to report to a preassigned parole officer at 350 Livingston Street in downtown Brooklyn. Then he must immediately head for the South Beach Psychiatric Center, which is located in New York City's borough of Staten Island. More than likely his parole officer is going to drive him there, as it's a long ways from the Office of Parole to the Psychiatric Center. Then, once he's at South Beach, Juarez will have to spend a minimum of thirty days there. And, if all goes well, and he cooperates with the mental health staff, he will be cleared for release.
For Juarez, according to the paperwork he asked me to read to him, his final destination will be the "30th Street Men's Shelter" which is located on East 30th Street in Manhattan. This will be his permanent residence, if one would dare to call a City run shelter as a "residence." At least it will be a place for him to sleep at night, and get a daily shower too. Plus, his parole officer will always know where to find him when necessary. For Juarez, there will be occasional random drug tests, and even trips to the local police precinct to participate in a line-up whenever a crime is committed and Juarez just happens to fit the description of the perpetrator.
For the foreseeable future, Juarez will be a marked man. Both the Division of Parole and the local police station will, as a matter of procedure, keep tabs on Juarez to make sure he's staying clear of narcotics and crime, and that he is taking his mental health medications.
I first met Juarez while working at the prison's Intermediate Care Program (ICP). Working in the ICP Unit has been my job for almost twenty years, on and off. It's a ministry given to me by the Lord, I believe. And, shortly after Mr. Juarez arrived in ICP he signed up for church services and Bible studies, both of which he attended fairly regularly, and until his release.
Juarez was a shy man. He had a nervous tic, too. His mouth would twitch back and forth very quickly whenever he'd get stuck trying to pronounce a word. This may have been caused by the medication, though. As the long-term use of psychotherapeutic drugs can make one's nerve cells go haywire.
In addition, Juarez talked very slow. I usually had to bend my head forward as far as possible to hear him. Yet I was always cognizant that, because of his paranoid schizophrenia, Juarez could become violent in an instant. He had done "Box" time before because he got into a few wild fights while at different correctional facilities. I never wanted to lean too close so as to trigger a paranoid reaction on his part. Juarez, I know, liked his space. And if, without realizing it, you happened to take one step too many towards him, Juarez would abruptly jump back a few steps so as to let you know you've gotten too close for his comfort. He needed to have a safe distance. Clearly, his paranoia would reveal itself.
Juarez, however, was a decent person. He was usually lucid and alert, and he liked to talk about his family. Like many prisoners, he never discussed his crime and what he was in for. I knew it was robbery and assault, though, because he once asked me to read and then explain to him some of the papers he received from the Office of Parole. As it turned out, he committed a routine street crime. He shoved his victim during a robbery, and the victim was not seriously injured. Nothing more than this. But with a record of previous arrests for this or that, the judge handed Juarez ten years.
I think the sentence may have saved Juarez's life. For as he tells it, Juarez lived on the streets where, according to him, there were gangs and drugs "everywhere." Even before his latest arrest, he said, Juarez thought someone was going to kill him. It could've been his paranoia making him think this. But he was living in an environment that had the potential for violence, and lots of it.
Yet while here at New York State's Sullivan Correctional Facility, Juarez was learning to cope with his mental health issues. As stated earlier, he began to attend church. Then, before his release, I gave him the addresses of the Times Square Church at Broadway and West 51st Street in Manhattan, and the Brooklyn Tabernacle Church in downtown Brooklyn. The latter church is right across the East River from the shelter he's eventually going to be staying at, while the first one is about a one-mile walk uptown.
I do of course hope he makes the effort to find a good Christian fellowship to join. Juarez needs to find people of faith who will accept him just as he is. That way they would be sensitive to his spiritual and psychiatric needs, and would encourage him to continue to take his medications.
Juarez no doubt has a long journey ahead, with many obstacles to surmount. His biggest challenge will be to keep his illness under control. I know, as well, how easily someone like Juarez could "fall through the cracks," so to speak. The streets of the City could quickly swallow him up and draw Juarez back to a life of crime, drugs and homelessness. So I have to make it my business to keep Juarez in my prayers.
Also, I did see one red flag. Juarez had been talking to me a lot about going to Florida to try to locate his dad, whom he hasn't seen in more than twenty years. This could spell trouble, not for his father, but for Juarez himself. He could be impulsive at times. If, one day, he suddenly decides to board a bus and head south, his parole officer would be forced to issue a warrant for his arrest. Juarez, due to his parole restrictions, cannot leave New York without permission. He doesn't have the freedom to go anywhere he so chooses. I hope he understands this.
I pray that he makes it on the outside. Ten years is enough. It's time for Juarez to start a new life.
D.B.
*Juarez is not his real name. I changed it so as to protect his identity. However, all other names and places are true.
Juarez is thirty-five years old with a clean-shaven appearance and a medium build. He's approximately 5'6" tall with light brown skin. He just completed a ten-year sentence.
According to his release papers, Juarez has to report to a preassigned parole officer at 350 Livingston Street in downtown Brooklyn. Then he must immediately head for the South Beach Psychiatric Center, which is located in New York City's borough of Staten Island. More than likely his parole officer is going to drive him there, as it's a long ways from the Office of Parole to the Psychiatric Center. Then, once he's at South Beach, Juarez will have to spend a minimum of thirty days there. And, if all goes well, and he cooperates with the mental health staff, he will be cleared for release.
For Juarez, according to the paperwork he asked me to read to him, his final destination will be the "30th Street Men's Shelter" which is located on East 30th Street in Manhattan. This will be his permanent residence, if one would dare to call a City run shelter as a "residence." At least it will be a place for him to sleep at night, and get a daily shower too. Plus, his parole officer will always know where to find him when necessary. For Juarez, there will be occasional random drug tests, and even trips to the local police precinct to participate in a line-up whenever a crime is committed and Juarez just happens to fit the description of the perpetrator.
For the foreseeable future, Juarez will be a marked man. Both the Division of Parole and the local police station will, as a matter of procedure, keep tabs on Juarez to make sure he's staying clear of narcotics and crime, and that he is taking his mental health medications.
I first met Juarez while working at the prison's Intermediate Care Program (ICP). Working in the ICP Unit has been my job for almost twenty years, on and off. It's a ministry given to me by the Lord, I believe. And, shortly after Mr. Juarez arrived in ICP he signed up for church services and Bible studies, both of which he attended fairly regularly, and until his release.
Juarez was a shy man. He had a nervous tic, too. His mouth would twitch back and forth very quickly whenever he'd get stuck trying to pronounce a word. This may have been caused by the medication, though. As the long-term use of psychotherapeutic drugs can make one's nerve cells go haywire.
In addition, Juarez talked very slow. I usually had to bend my head forward as far as possible to hear him. Yet I was always cognizant that, because of his paranoid schizophrenia, Juarez could become violent in an instant. He had done "Box" time before because he got into a few wild fights while at different correctional facilities. I never wanted to lean too close so as to trigger a paranoid reaction on his part. Juarez, I know, liked his space. And if, without realizing it, you happened to take one step too many towards him, Juarez would abruptly jump back a few steps so as to let you know you've gotten too close for his comfort. He needed to have a safe distance. Clearly, his paranoia would reveal itself.
Juarez, however, was a decent person. He was usually lucid and alert, and he liked to talk about his family. Like many prisoners, he never discussed his crime and what he was in for. I knew it was robbery and assault, though, because he once asked me to read and then explain to him some of the papers he received from the Office of Parole. As it turned out, he committed a routine street crime. He shoved his victim during a robbery, and the victim was not seriously injured. Nothing more than this. But with a record of previous arrests for this or that, the judge handed Juarez ten years.
I think the sentence may have saved Juarez's life. For as he tells it, Juarez lived on the streets where, according to him, there were gangs and drugs "everywhere." Even before his latest arrest, he said, Juarez thought someone was going to kill him. It could've been his paranoia making him think this. But he was living in an environment that had the potential for violence, and lots of it.
Yet while here at New York State's Sullivan Correctional Facility, Juarez was learning to cope with his mental health issues. As stated earlier, he began to attend church. Then, before his release, I gave him the addresses of the Times Square Church at Broadway and West 51st Street in Manhattan, and the Brooklyn Tabernacle Church in downtown Brooklyn. The latter church is right across the East River from the shelter he's eventually going to be staying at, while the first one is about a one-mile walk uptown.
I do of course hope he makes the effort to find a good Christian fellowship to join. Juarez needs to find people of faith who will accept him just as he is. That way they would be sensitive to his spiritual and psychiatric needs, and would encourage him to continue to take his medications.
Juarez no doubt has a long journey ahead, with many obstacles to surmount. His biggest challenge will be to keep his illness under control. I know, as well, how easily someone like Juarez could "fall through the cracks," so to speak. The streets of the City could quickly swallow him up and draw Juarez back to a life of crime, drugs and homelessness. So I have to make it my business to keep Juarez in my prayers.
Also, I did see one red flag. Juarez had been talking to me a lot about going to Florida to try to locate his dad, whom he hasn't seen in more than twenty years. This could spell trouble, not for his father, but for Juarez himself. He could be impulsive at times. If, one day, he suddenly decides to board a bus and head south, his parole officer would be forced to issue a warrant for his arrest. Juarez, due to his parole restrictions, cannot leave New York without permission. He doesn't have the freedom to go anywhere he so chooses. I hope he understands this.
I pray that he makes it on the outside. Ten years is enough. It's time for Juarez to start a new life.
D.B.
*Juarez is not his real name. I changed it so as to protect his identity. However, all other names and places are true.
