We can't do it without you!

I sat at the kitchen table this morning with my bowl of low-carb cereal, and flipped on the computer to review my overnight messages.

From the distraught mom of a 17 year old, mentally ill kid:

He attempted suicide by hanging himself with a sheet. I learned it around noon after calling tons of people, but no one would tell me why.

This young man was doing fine in a private institution, but then had serious problems, and was arrested again for parole violation. He's back in the Michigan prison system.

I don't think he will be able to cope. I hope he can find the will to live, but I don't feel he has it in him anymore. He made it very clear he cannot live in this life anymore. It is so sad.

I love this kid! I went to see him in prison, and when he was stabilized with proper medication he was a delight: a charming teenager with an award-winning smile. I bought him soda and candy bars. We laughed together, and hugged. His mother received a national award for working 24/7 to get him out of prison and into a proper institution. I was honored to speak at the awards ceremony. Now this. More charges, court arraignments, trials.

It's time for HFP to ratchet up our work with and for the mentally ill in prison! First and foremost, we must try to help these people. It's estimated that one prisoner in four is mentally ill in our prison system. Are you with us on this? It's going to take two things, in this order: prayer and dollars! Start today by praying for mother and son.

We have a psychologist as the chairman of our board. I pledge that he and I will begin to lay out plans for an expanded program as soon as next week. May we count on you? We cannot wait!

Doug Tjapkes, President
HUMANITY FOR PRISONERS
P.O. Box 687
Grand Haven, MI 489417

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Half-a-race!

The HFP Drag-Racing Fund-Raiser had the potential of being extremely successful, and could have raised several thousand dollars. Let's just say it was partly successful. For background purposes I'll explain that I was racing a 1963 supercharged Studebaker Lark that has a reputation of being one of the fastest stock Studebakers in drag racing today. The engine was built by one of the finest Studebaker engine mechanics in the country, and the car many times has achieved quarter-mile runs in less than 14 seconds! We promised to make at least ten passes in the Pure Stock Muscle Car Drags at Mid-Michigan Motorplex in Stanton, Michigan, this past weekend, and we asked for pledges ONLY ON THOSE RUNS REACHED IN LESS THAN 14 SECONDS. On Friday, here's how we fared: Run #1 13.936 @ 101.24 mph Run #2 14.027 @ 101.30 mph Run #3 14.091 @ 100.88 mph Run #4 13.805 @ 102.84 mph Run #5 14.058 @ 101.26 mph By the 5th run we discovered that ...
Read more

Gregory John McCormick: 1964-2008

Itchy is dead. The lifeless body of this talented rock musician, whose band Shock Therapy was a popular group especially in Europe, was found in a field in Detroit last Wednesday, November 5. The Wayne County Coroner's office informed father Glenn McCormick that the body of his son Gregory, better known to all of us as Itchy, bore no signs of trauma. Glenn said that Itchy, who had been living at his father's dental lab in Detroit, had been drinking to excess for some time. While the toxicology report has not been released yet, the general consensus seems to be that he drank himself to death. Our agency, while still named INNOCENT, first got involved with Itchy in 2005. The Detroit native, who called Germany his home, got involved in some unfortunate activity that placed him in the Michigan State prison system on a charge of arson of a dwelling. It was really just a bonfire in an alley, but an alleged parole violation placed him in prison for 1-20 years. I personally sat w...
Read more

Three lives, connected by a divine thread

My kids say it should be a book! The Doug, Pat and Mark story is a doozie!   About 25 years ago, while fighting to free Maurice Carter from prison, I read a newspaper column written by Pat Shellenbarger of the Grand Rapids Press on the topic of eyewitness identification. I contacted Pat re that story. That led to a friendship between Doug and Pat that continues to this day.   In subsequent months, Pat would go on to assist me in an investigation into the Maurice Carter case that eventually led to solving the crime.  That particular episode became a chapter in my book about the Carter case, SWEET FREEDOM, published in 2006.   Fast forward to 2009, A New York businessman claims wrongful conviction, and while serving time in a Michigan prison is handed a copy of my book. Mark Hartman, who was also convicted in Berrien County, was amazed at the similarity of these two stories and tried to reach out to me. His letters bounced.   Persisting in his efforts to c...
Read more