correction officer's appreciation day

This was the official poster inviting COs and prison employees to a special day just for them sponsored by the prison ministry I work with, Providing Hope. I am the ministry's administrative assistant, which I think is just a fancy term for someone who does odd jobs and busy work. That's fine. I have fun when I can, and I had fun with this. Honestly, I know anyone who has a loved one incarcerated, is incarcerated, works in the prison system, has to deal with it...knows that it isn't a pleasant business. The people who call themselves DOC or in this case, LCCF, employees, can be just as brutal as their surroundings, or add such grace to them, and every shade of grey in between those walls. At Providing Hope, we depend on these employees to work with us, and we in turn desire to help them, not make their job harder, and so we don't judge them, just try to give them every reason to let us do what we can.

I was told that when the employees saw this poster up in the prison, it was taken down and pictures were added. That made me laugh! I guess they really loved it. And they certainly loved the cook-out spread that was provided for them. The guys kept coming back for more, taking covered plates back inside, telling their co-workers to come out. It was gratifying. I was the bun lady. I kept laying them out on a tray, and it seemed as soon as I did, they were gone. Friends of the ministry donated delicious salads and desserts. The potato and macaroni salads were to die for, as was this pineapple whippy cake thing. It was a good day all around.

When I went in on Saturday, the CO at the desk was one who came to the picnic, and he could not say enough about it, kept thanking us over and over. Then when we went into group, we had this great female guard who participated with us, smiled and encouraged the women in the group, and really added so much to what we were doing instead of sitting there like she was miles away. The men and women who staff jails and prisons go back day after day to a place devoid of much in the way of "curbside" benefits. It's an ugly place to be. We try to make it less so. Thanks to the staff of LCCF for letting Providing Hope do just that.