Second strike, still on base, nobody out
Caribbean Life, March 6-12, 2020 43
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
Applause, applause.
Give the man a hand. Clap
like your life depended on it,
tell him with noise that he
did well and that you want
more. Give him a hand, let him
hear your approval; roar, if you
want, and encourage him. Give
the man a hand or, as in the
new book “The Second Chance
Club” by Jason Hardy, give the
man a hand up.
Jason Hardy didn’t quite
know what to do.
After graduating from college,
he taught high school
but he “lacked the aptitude
for the work.” He returned
to school to get a graduate
degree which “did nothing to
improve… job prospects…”
He tended bar, waited tables,
sold watches, and made just
enough money to pay utility
bills when he heard that
the City of New Orleans had
job openings in probation and
parole. The “barriers to entry
were low,” he says, and he was
hired.
Being a PO (probation officer)
fit with Hardy’s ideals then.
He imagined himself making a
difference in the lives of his fellow
citizens, and the New Orleans
judicial system was on the
cusp of change. Rather than
putting people in jail for minor
offenses, POs were charged
with doing “community supervision.“
Drug possession no
longer meant immediate jail
time; in fact, POs were encouraged
to try to keep offenders
out of jail as much as possible
through levelheaded judgment
calls, home visits, an array of
programs, and ample opportunities
to go straight. People
who “clicked out” got mental
health assistance. Drug
addicts were offered treatment.
Jail was a last resort.
But funded programs and
the human touch weren’t
always enough – although
they did help 18-year-old Sheila
hold a job separate from
her “ride-or-die”drug don boyfriend.
They helped Hard Head
Book cover of “The Second Chance Club” by Jason Hardy.
decide that he wanted to be
clean. They helped Ronald get
the funds he needed to stay at
home. They helped Kendrick
get the mental intervention he
required.
But they didn’t help Travis.
Or Damien. Or even Hardy
himself, when the system
didn’t work…
Statistics, of course, show
that mass incarceration of
African American men is
extremely high and commonsense
says that something
needs to be done about it. The
rate, says author Jason Hardy,
is excessive even in New Orleans,
which he mentions but
doesn’t belabor because race
is a factor but not the focus
in “The Second Chance Club.”
Indeed, there are times here
when racial identity is untold,
and left to the reader to infer
because the bigger issue – the
reason for the book – is that
of hope within a new kind of
judicial system.
That comes as a pleasant
surprise, one that could spark
change elsewhere. It’s a story
that’s sometimes gritty, sometimes
funny, often grateful
and, while also frustrating and
desperately sad, includes some
good news, and real people
you’ll genuinely pull for.
Surely, this is a book you
can’t look away from, and for
justice reformers or anyone at
any point within the court system,
it’s impressive. For you,
“The Second Chance Club” is
one to get your hands on.
“The Second Chance
Club: Hardship and Hope
After Prison” by Jason
Hardy
c.2020, Simon & Schuster
$27.00 / $36.00
Canada 271 pages
“Second Chance Club” author Jason Hardy. Pim Van Hammen
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