Most people know that it’s good to help others. When we carry each other’s burdens, it benefits individuals and the wider community. It makes people stronger, more resilient, more connected.
Despite the obvious good it creates, helping isn’t necessarily easy. People aren’t quick to share their struggles. Needs aren’t always easy to see.
At M2W2, our goal is to help people, specifically, those who have spent time in prison. We know that incarceration can be an isolating and traumatic experience. We also know that helping others isn’t about squeezing them through a one-size-fits-all problem-solving system. Helping starts with listening.
When we meet with someone about our No One Leaves Alone community reintegration program, the first question we ask is “How can we help?”
It’s a proactive approach, and it tells people we are on their side, that we want to see them succeed. For someone coming out of the prison system, hearing this question can inspire a lot of hope.
At our recent gala, one speaker described what it’s like to leave prison. She said, “We’re paroled into your communities and, for a lot of us, this isn’t where we are from. Our friends aren’t here. Our families aren’t here. All we have is the money left in our account and our clothes. We don’t have much and inside we can have even less.”
She described how it felt when we asked what we could do to help. She said hearing that question was “the first glimmer that I might actually be okay.”
This November, join us as we listen and carry each other’s burdens. How can you help? You can download our prayer calendar here, and pray for our staff, volunteers, and program participants.
Or partner with us as a volunteer or donor as we help those affected by incarceration and share that first glimmer of hope.