Terrence

Watch our video as Terrence tells his story:

Terrence: My name is Terrence Lynch. I'm 55 years of age. The journey for me has been relatively... it's not been a straight line. It's had its ups and its downs. I was incarcerated for 20 years.

Antoine: Before coming home, tell me about the journey inside. While you were inside, what was the first year like when you went to prison?

Terrence: The first few years of my incarceration, I was literally broken. I was unable to really accept or come to terms with the reality of that I was going to be incarcerated for such a lengthy time.

Antoine: So let's talk about the brokenness. What does that mean?

Terrence: The reality of having lost everything as far as, my life was concerned, it was difficult for me.

I didn't have much family. First few years of my incarceration I was literally broken down emotionally, physically, even spiritually, but for the grace of God keeping me through that. I didn't keep myself.

Antoine: So some of the things that transitioned you from them broken to stabilizing? What were some of the specific things that transpired?

Terrence: As a result of establishing a routine, faith based mentor, as far as academics, as far as school, as far as exercise. Eating right. Getting a certain amount of rest, and considering the environment to the best of my ability. I started to develop a routine and as a result was able to transition.

Antoine: Moving forward, how did that routine impact you personally? What did it do to your mental, what does it do to your psyche as you were near the door of release?

Terrence: I had plans of coming home, being re-acclimated into society and being a productive member of society, but I didn't realize that it was not going to be as easy as I thought it was.

Antoine: And then, so what were some of the specific things you had hoped to do upon release?

Terrence: Upon my release, the requirement was for me to come home and reapply for my green card, et cetera, et cetera. However, that process required me having certain information that was lost throughout my incarceration. Those things were not available for me. So it became very depressing. I became depressed. I lost interest in a lot of things. My goal, my momentum, my drive was lost.

There are no provisions without an ID. I felt the equivalent of a person who was homeless.

Antoine: How has the ministry genuinely and truly supported you during your journey home?

Terrence: I was able to reach out to you and you were beyond receptive to me and my needs, my situation, knowing that I didn't have a place to stay.

You opened the door as a father, when you reached out to the members of the community and you expressed my situation to them, and you basically put yourself between myself and the trauma that I was supposed to be going through. I didn't have employment. I didn't have a place to stay, food, shelter.

And, but for you doing that, I would definitely be homeless. I would literally be on the street.

Antoine: What are some other ways would you say that Philemon has supported Terrence in, particularly in your role as program, as case manager?

Terrence's case manager: Our most recent session, meeting with him, asking him, really challenging him, pushing him to to think about what life will be like, even when he gets his documents. And just questioning him around what do you see for yourself? What do you see for your life when you are able to get employment? When you are able to get the things that you haven't been able to acquire, what does your quality of life look like?

What does life look like for you?

Antoine: How would you say that working with Philemon, working with the men, being entrenched in this world, with these men, how has that impacted your life personally?

Terrence's case manager: Challenging my ability to not only help, but counsel men throughout that process. I think that society, we build a very strong web of oppressions around people who have committed the crimes that men at Philemon have committed.

And what I've been challenged to do professionally is listen with intent. For sure. It sticks with me that I'm a patient listener. And I think just being able to listen, and strategically listen to men stories as case management, I always think of it. It's a little bit of counseling, it's advocacy, it's being able to, compile resources for people. I'm really just managing individuals in a way. But the counseling side with Philemon is something that I've grown a lot in. And just being able to really listen, and help point men in the right directions from within themselves.

Terrence: There's a threefold ministry. There's the church, there's the house. And recently added to the ministry Home For Good. It's an extension of the ministry which allows for individuals coming home, who don't necessarily have the means or the ability to support themselves, to generate some work, some income and to contribute.

Working for Philemon has been very helpful. It afforded me an opportunity to come home and be productive as opposed to come home without any sense of direction or purpose. This affords me an opportunity to to be a productive member of society. I have had the opportunity to work with different various equipments, get to meet a number of different people. And what I basically do, I arrive and I set up shop or get equipment ready, prepped, inspected and ready for for a day's work.

The landscaping aspect of it primarily involves cutting grass, trimming trees, trimming hedges. We actually cut trees down. We do root work, literally removing roots, things of that nature. You average about a 40 hour week, and we can have one person to as many as the job requires.

Antoine: You had issues and hurdles that you had to get over that were debilitating, that broke you again. And it's there that the ministry, in my opinion, had value. It's there that the ministry- no, we couldn't fix everything for you, but we were able to be a support to you as you find your way home. To me, if there's anything that can be communicated to the world about Philemon is that. It's the people that's praying for you when you're walking street, not knowing where you're going, because you've lost hope. It's the times we laugh together and break bread together and work together, sweat together, worship.

It's those subtle nuances that support you and hold you. while you're in your own personal journey. That's the heart. That's the value of the Philemon ministry.

Because without it, most people turn to drugs, most people turn to drinking, they turn to self-destructive behavior. They returned back to their old neighborhoods. Ultimately they end up back in prison or worse.

And to me that has always been the heart and the spirit of the ministry. The house, that's nothing. It's important, it has its value. But it's all those little nuances to help hold a man, and support a man as he's going through his journey home.

Thank you for sharing, man. And thank you for sharing authentic.