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Devine Impact Corporation - Book on Prison Ministry Authored by Capella University Doctoral Student

Jul 23, '07 10:35 AM
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Book on Prison Ministry Authored by Capella University Doctoral Student

Minneapolis (PRWEB) June 6, 2007 -- As the prison population in the United States continues to swell, it is more important than ever for prison rehabilitation programs to have a working blueprint for dealing with the shame, humiliation, and loneliness of incarceration.

Dennis Pierce, a teacher/counselor with Jefferson County Juvenile Detention in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and a doctoral student at Capella University, has written a book that offers a new approach to rehabilitation that is based on his 30+ years of experience working within prisons, in the criminal justice field and working with youth/young adults. Pierce is pursuing a PhD in human services at Capella University, which is an accredited, online university with more than 19,000 students.

Published by The Haworth Pastoral Press, Prison Ministry: Hope Behind the Wall presents a practical approach to reconciliation to help inmates develop self-esteem and an overall feeling of self-worth. It provides a resource for corrections professionals, chaplains, pastors, priests, and students working or interested in criminal justice, ethics, or counseling.

Some of the topics included in the book are:
• meeting the incarcerated
• defining prisons' emotional ethos
• dealing with human breakdowns
• oppression in maximum-security prisons
• components of empowerment needed for prison ministry

The book also includes case studies of four inmates and a glossary of prison terms. According to Pierce, it is particularly targeted to those working with incarcerated youth and young adults.

A former chaplain at the Joliet Correctional Center in Illinois (where the television series "Prison Break" series is filmed), Pierce says the book offers approaches to rehabilitation that he personally has seen work.

"The juvenile justice system is failing our young adults. People don't understand what needs to happen to change this. If you leave them locked in their cells … warehousing them, nothing will happen. But if you engage them, things will happen," Pierce explains. "What this book shows is what can happen if someone takes an interest in these young men. Things can change."

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