Matthew 25:36-40
“I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”
The holidays are an especially stressful time for people that are incarcerated. Many experience heightened levels of anxiety and depression. Human beings miss their families and friends. They miss the get-togethers, community events, and the festive environment in free society. WE ALSO MISS THOSE INCREDIBLE HOLIDAY MEALS. Foods like roasted turkeys, macaroni & cheese, giblet gravy, collard greens, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, stuffing, tamales, empanadas, rice with poblano peppers and corn, pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, and CHITLINS! (Well, maybe not chitlins, but you all get the idea 😊)
Helping those less fortunate
Julio Escobar is a dedicated and respected member of the Archdiocese of San Francisco’s Restorative Justice Ministry. Some of our readers may remember the re-entry conference and resource fair sponsored by the Restorative Justice Ministry in September 2024 at St. Mary’s Cathedral Event Center in San Francisco. This year on Thursday, November 21, 2024, Julio Escobar and a group of selfless volunteers will be delivering a hearty and delicious Thanksgiving meal to incarcerated juveniles and adults.
We interviewed Mr. Escobar and he had this to say: “One of the goals of the Restorative Justice Ministry is to show compassion and empathy toward adults and juveniles who are detained in local San Francisco jails.”
You can help! The Restorative Justice Ministry of the Archdiocese of San Francisco is in need of financial donations in order to fulfill their holiday promise to those who cannot be home with their loved ones this year. If you’d like to donate, we are providing the information that can help facilitate that donation here: https://www.sfarch.org/thanksgiving-meals/
If perhaps you’d like to volunteer, register here: Restorative Justice Ministry Volunteer – Archdiocese of San Francisco
Remembering Benjamin LaRue
Seven years ago around Thanksgiving time in 2017, I was locked up in a maximum security Ad Seg unit in the State of Texas known as the infamous Eastham Unit in Lovelady, Texas. Housed in the cell next to me was a young White man named Benjamin LaRue. This was Ben’s first time ever being incarcerated and separated from his family. I befriended Ben and tried to help him adjust to the uber-restrictive and draconian prison environment. Eastham Unit was known for its harsh conditions. The Ad Seg Unit was cold that year because the prison administrators refused to turn on the heat. On top of all that, the food was horrible, and the water had been shut off for over a week because of busted pipes. Ben and I could not flush our toilets, and the entire unit smelled like raw sewage. I observed Ben become increasingly depressed. He stopped showering and he slept all day. I shared what food I had with Ben, but it didn’t help much to pull him out of the dark place he was in. I specifically remember Ben’s mom visiting him on Saturday, November 18, 2017. He was really quiet after the visit. Ben told me that he didn’t want his mother to leave him. On Sunday morning, November 19, 2017, at approximately 12:45 a.m., Benjamin LaRue was found hanging in his solitary cell. He was dead at the age of 27.
Malik Washington is a freelance journalist and Director at Destination: Freedom and Destination Freedom Media Group.
