While the COVID-19 pandemic has brought new challenges for NOLA dynamic members and our team, we have had many things to be thankful for over the past few months.
In early June, a dynamic member reached warrant expiry, which was the end of his sentence. He was the first NOLA member to hit this milestone, and we can’t wait to see other dynamic members progress to warrant expiry.
We also moved our NOLA volunteer training online. Twenty-one people participated in the three one-hour sessions held on Tuesday evenings between May 26 and June 9. That’s a record attendance for NOLA training—praise God! We hope and pray that those who attended the training will continue along the road to become volunteers with NOLA.
One participant, Hilde Jones, said her favourite parts were when dynamic members joined the discussion. “They seemed so focused. They weren’t afraid to share and collaborate with us.”
She also gained some insights into the obstacles people face as they leave prisons. “They’ve just moved out of their comfort zones into something completely new,” she said. “They didn’t have to look for jobs or find a place to live while they were in prison. They need trust from people. They don’t need to be judged.”
When she joins a circle, Hilde looks forward to learning from her dynamic member, and being there to listen and provide support. “I’ve got that capability,” she said, “to be someone they can trust.”
Right now, NOLA case managers aren’t allowed inside the institutions. Volunteer visits remain suspended due to the pandemic. Thankfully, we are still able to contact some members over the phone. Now that social gathering restrictions have been eased, we can meet in person with all of our dynamic members in community. This is a blessing for everyone.
It has been a unique and challenging season. As a team, we’ve found resiliency and worked together in new depths. We continue to move forward and are excited to empower and support more dynamic members as our program continues to grow.
This story also appears in our Summer 2020 newsletter.