San Quentin Inmates Look Ahead

Two weeks ago, Walter Brooks was sitting in a jail cell in San Quentin State Prison.

Today, the West Oakland resident is sitting in a classroom at San Francisco City College.

Brooks, who was released Feb. 8, is the first person to complete No More Tears, a program aimed at improving the social standing of recently released inmates.

"They provided me with motivation and support, so that when I made the transition, there were people there that could help me," Brooks says. "I don't think that there is another organization in the state, maybe even the country, that would go the distance like that for an ex-offender."

The all-volunteer in-prison program formed by San Quentin inmates less than two years ago currently provides aid to close to 100 inmates, says Denise Banister, executive assistant for No More Tears.

Its founders saw a need to reverse the trend of released inmates returning to prison.

"Unfortunately, 70 percent of the inmates return to the prison, and more than half of that is for probation violations as opposed to a separate crime," says Keith Carson, president of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, who led 20 social and political leaders in a visit to San Quentin to learn about No More Tears on Wednesday.

Berkeley City Councilmembers Darryl Moore and Max Anderson were among the visitors who met with Warden Jill Brown and inmates.

"The warden emphasized that the next five years are a prime opportunity to view the effectiveness of rehabilitation-focused programs," says Alona Clifton, trustee for the Peralta Community Community College Board, who also attended.

She says the philosophy among current wardens favors rehabilitation programs, but in the next five years-when current wardens will leave the system-that attitude will fade.

The country's new wave of wardens is expected to be more business-oriented and will likely downsize social transition programs, Clifton says.

Prisoners were particularly effective in illuminating the economic plight released inmates face, Carson says. Clifton points to no-hire policies for former inmates as an example of discrimination within society.

"This whole segment of the population gets discriminated against right off the bat," Clifton says. "They don't even get an opportunity."

Social improvement programs like No More Tears are far from common in prisons, Carson says, adding that the success of former inmates like Brooks is an indication that society must re-examine the prison system itself.

"As legislators, we have to really revisit current legislation on these issues, and for us, as a caring society, we have to see if we are reasonably working with the penal society," Carson says. "And if we do that, I think we will see that we are not being fair."

Brooks' experience, aside from social benefit, emphasizes the aid No More Tears has given to former prisoners to pursue educational opportunity. The program helped Brooks register for classes prior to his release.

Brooks, who was introduced to No More Tears while incarcerated in December, took advantage of the program's orientation and full employment workshop.

He says such programs are relatively well-received among the prison population, and that they should be viewed as powerful tools to reintegrate prisoners into society.

"It helps people gain workplace skills and emphasized workplace problem-solving strategy and mediation," Brooks says. "It shows great promise, provided the individuals that are receiving the help are willing to help themselves."

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