Dismas uses national CCHD grant for advocacy

By Tanya Connor
The Catholic Free Press
Many people think that once folks are released from prison they have freedom and can just go on with their lives, said Michael Earielo, a community organizer working with Dismas House of Central Massachusetts.
He used to live at Dismas, which provides a community, housing and services for former prisoners, in an attempt to reconcile them with society. He now advocates for others who were incarcerated or are homeless, and gives local Catholics high marks for what they do for the same population, to help them overcome obstacles to resuming their lives.
Former prisoners can find it hard to get housing and jobs because of their past, and some must pay probation and parole fees even if they aren’t employed, Mr. Earielo  said. He is working to remove such obstacles by listening to those affected and getting them involved in advocating for change.
Dismas House pays him for this part-time work through a national grant it received from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. CCHD is the U.S. Catholic bishops’ national anti-poverty program.
Last year was the first time Dismas received a national CCHD grant, according to David McMahon, Dismas’ co-executive director. As it has in the past, Dismas also received a local CCHD grant to help feed and house former prisoners.
“I think the Catholic Church is doing a wonderful job now,” Mr. Earielo said. “When they see something is wrong, they’ll speak out against it. They’re not scared to be that voice for individuals that are mistreated” or not getting a second chance. “I would say, (Catholics should) continue doing what they’re doing, being that ally, that support system.”
He pointed to local activity that serves those in need.  
Catholic Charities is tremendously helpful and Father John F. Madden, pastor of St. John Parish in Worcester, is a “great guy” – he opens the church for a shelter, has a feeding program and is a voice for substance use disorder and homelessness. St. Peter Parish’s basketball program gives a chance to youth who otherwise “probably wouldn’t have anywhere to go,” since “a lot of parents can’t afford” sports team fees, he said.
The Catholic community has done much for Dismas House, Mr. Earielo said. He said he lived at Dismas’ home on Richards Street in Worcester from 2012 to 2015, then went to the agency’s Father Brooks House, also in Worcester, which offers apartments to Dismas House “graduates” and their families.
“I just moved out,” Mr. Earielo said, adding that he bought his own home. “I owe it to Dismas House. … I was deemed good enough to have a second chance. In my case, maybe a 10th or 11th chance. I’d been incarcerated my whole life,” in and out of prison since age 17.
“Now I’m trying to do my part,” said the 49-year-old of Puerto Rican and Italian descent. “A lot of people say the system is broken. It’s perfectly designed to keep us broken. I want to change that.”
He said the system is not in favor of prisoners, the poor and people of color; laws keep them oppressed. He cited drugs as an example of oppression.
“Drugs did not grow out of the concrete jungle in the city – they were brought to us” by the CIA to keep us down. There was no cry for change when there was a crack epidemic, he said.
“People were dying; they were overdosing for a very long time in my community,” he said, adding that he was raised on Kilby Street, now called Boys & Girls Club Way, in the Main South section of Worcester. He said people are still serving life sentences for selling crack cocaine, but that there was no outcry to address drug addiction until the opioid epidemic hit white suburban youth.
“The belief that those who are directly affected by unjust systems and structures have the best insight into knowing how to change them,” is central to CCHD, according to the bishop’s website www.usccb.org. “CCHD works to break the cycle of poverty by helping low-income people participate in decisions that affect their lives, families and communities.” That is just what Dismas is doing.
Mr. McMahon said Dismas is using the one-year, $35,000 national grant, to pay salaries for Mr. Earielo’s part-time advocacy job and for part of the full-time job of Anna M. Rice, directing attorney for Dismas’ B.A.R. None (Basic Advocacy for Re-entry) program.
Attorney Rice said she began representing individual Dismas residents one day a week in 2006. In 2012 Dismas opened B.A.R. None and she began representing more individuals besides Dismas residents. To help people overcome common obstacles she offers legal workshops at residential programs, including homeless shelters and substance abuse facilities. Her current workshops address housing, sealing one’s record, credit reports and identity theft, and community resources to help with various needs.
“I’ve had clients that were denied a job because they were living in a shelter,” she said. Poor people can face this obstacle because potential employers have extensive access to their background information.  
Through the national CCHD grant she’s adding advocacy to her job, by working with Mr. Earielo, she said. When giving workshops or representing individuals, she learns what people are facing, and shares that information with Mr. Earielo. He and she help each other as needed, she said.
“His part is huge, because he’s the voice,” she said. And he’s had some of these experiences.
The personal experiences of Dismas House resident Matthew Barry are also invaluable to Attorney Rice and Mr. Earielo.
“You are more important than I would ever be,” she told Mr. Barry, who joined her for The Catholic Free Press interview. She said his personal stories are more likely to affect policy-makers than things she says, since she gets paid to address these issues. As a volunteer, Mr. Barry  helps Mr. Earielo do advocacy work.
The 38-year-old said he was released from prison about four months ago after serving 10 years. Mr. Barry and Attorney Rice shared part of his story as an example of obstacles former prisoners can encounter.
He said he gets about $866 a month from Supplemental Security Income and pays $75 a week to live at Dismas House, where some, but not all, food is provided. His federal food subsidy (formerly known as food stamps) was cut from $160 to $29 then to $16 per month.
When he appealed the first cut, he was denied, apparently because someone incorrectly listed his rent on the form as $152 per month instead of the $300 he pays. Attorney Rice discovered the mistake and is helping him appeal.
Mr. Barry said he also lost his MassHealth medical insurance, which he didn’t realize was temporary, so money for Medicaid is taken out of his SSI check.
“There’s a lot of things I’m trying to save for,” he said. “Ideally you must help yourself. … I do believe it is on us.”
But growing up poor, with a poor education, unaware of his rights, “I feel incredibly inadequate,” he said. “I’m so used to taking whatever is given. … Advocating for others helps me. … I’m a lot more confident” when standing up for them. This helps him change his childhood mindset that says he doesn’t have the rights others do, he said.
Attorney Rice said advocacy is the best way concerned citizens can join these efforts. For more information, they can contact Dismas House at cmdismashouse@aol.com or 508-799-9389.