As is probably true for most incarcerated individuals, I had a lot of ideas about what prison would be before my arrest. Some of these ideas were accurate, and some of my preconceived notions were exaggerations of the way that prison used to be long before my arrival. My time spent incarcerated is short compared to many, but as those others can tell you, it doesn’t take long to realize that prison isn’t somewhere they’d ever like to return to.
Prior to my arrest, I hadn’t heard of Normalcy of the Norway Model at all. I had heard of some countries outside of the United States operating their prison systems very differently. But I had no idea what a Normalcy Unit might look like or what opportunities it might provide. Since arriving at Grafton Correctional Institution, I’ve seen the growth of Normalcy and how it’s rewritten the way for many incarcerated individuals.
In the last year of my Normalcy experience here in Grafton, I’ve seen men completely chance their behavior. I’ve seen them grow and I’ve also grown myself emotionally, mentally, as adults and as men. Normalcy has helped erase some of the deeply-held beliefs, opinions, and misconceptions that a vast majority of incarcerated men have held about what prison is and what it should be. It’s shown us what prison could be. The Normalcy Program Unit here at Grafton has allowed me to stay true to myself and who I am as a person without feeling the pressure of a non-normalcy institution.
I plan of doing my part of rewriting the way by continuing to do my best to spread information about Normalcy, as well as carrying myself in a way that shows what normalcy stands for. I plan on sharing with others what I believe normalcy has to offer to individuals who are newly incarcerated, those who have been incarcerated for decades, and all those in between. Those serving their first, and those serving their last sentences. Normalcy has the potential to change what prison means.
While prison will never be home, and the separation from our families will always be punishment enough, normalcy can make it a place of healing and true rehabilitation. If the word of what normalcy has to offer because the ears of every incarcerated individual, I believe that it can change the face of the prison system in America for the better.
No Comments