The Lampstand Foundation
Creating tools for grassroots organizations developed and managed by transformed criminals who serve the community from a deep knowledge leadership model.
It takes a reformed criminal to reform criminals.
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Prayer |
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For those of us whose apostolate is within the world, the prayerful power and contemplative intercessions of the religious has our back, for they are a mighty arm of the Church and their prayer is one of the sharpest swords of the Word, now as it was centuries ago, when St. Teresa of Avila wrote these words: "I think we should act as people do when, in time of war, the enemy has overrun the country and the king finds himself hard pressed. He retires into a strongly fortified town from whence he sometimes makes a sortie. The small company with him in the citadel, being picked men, are better than a large army of cowardly soldiers; thus they often come off victors, they are not vanquished for there is no traitor in their ranks and famine alone can conquer them. No famine can force us to surrender--it may kill us--it cannot vanquish us! But why have I told you this? To teach you, my sisters, that we must ask God to grant that, of all the good Christians in this fort, none may desert to the enemy, that no traitor may be found here, and that the captains of this castle, or city--that is, the preachers and theologians--may be proficient in the way of our Lord. Since most of these are religious, you must pray that they may advance in perfection and may follow their vocation more perfectly. This is very necessary, for, as I said, it is the arm of the Church and not of the State which much defend us now. We, being women, can fight for our King in neither way: Let us, then, strive so to live that our prayers may avail to help these servants of God who have laboured hard to arm themselves with learning and virtue with which to help their Sovereign." The Way of Perfection, [1565]. (1997). Rockford, Illinois: Tan Books and Publishers. (pp. 16-17) ---
The Church - 760 Christians of the first centuries said, "The world was created for the sake of the Church." God created the world for the sake of communion with his divine life, a communion brought about by the "convocation" of men in Christ, and this "convocation" is the Church. The Church is the goal of all things, and God permitted such painful upheavals as the angels' fall and man's sin only as occasions and means for displaying all the power of his arm and the whole measure of the love he wanted to give the world. - Just as God's will is creation and is called "the world," so his intention is the salvation of men, and is called "the Church." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #760)
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Contact Us
David H. Lukenbill, President
The Lampstand Foundation
Post Office Box 254794
Sacramento, CA 95865-4794
(916) 486 - 3856
David H. Lukenbill is a native
of Sacramento and lives along the American River with his wife and
daughter. They have two cats and all the wild critters they can
feed.
His educational credentials include an Associate of Arts degree in Administration of Justice from Sacramento City College; a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Behavior from the University of San Francisco; and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of San Francisco.
He believes that traditional reentry programs-based on the evidence-clearly tell us that something new must be tried as everything we are now doing is not working with any degree of success, and seeking the ideas of reformed criminals who have successfully reentered the community and possess the graduate education and professional training to effectively manage community reentry programs, might be a productive place to start.
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"Contrary to the expectations of program planners and research staff alike, Greenlight participants recidivated at higher rates than either of the comparison groups after one year postrelease."
(James A. Wilson, et. al. (2005) Smoothing the Path from Prison to Home: Roundtable Discussion and An Evaluation of the Project Greenlight Transitional Services Demonstration Program, Executive Summary.)
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"I wish it were otherwise, but scientific evidence is sorely lacking to support the effectiveness of [traditional] rehabilitation programs for criminal offenders."
(David Farabee (2005) Rethinking Rehabilitation: Why Can't We Reform Our Criminals)
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"Unfortunately, as presently operated, the in-prison substance abuse treatment programs managed by the Office of Substance Abuse Programs are inneffective at reducing recidivism."
(California Inspector General (2007) Special Review into In-Prison Substance Abuse Programs Managed by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)
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"By 24 months post-release, the reincarceration rate for adult male SVORI program participants was about 8% higher than the non-SVORI rate."
(National Institute of Justice (2009) The Multi-Site Evaluation of the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative: Summary and Synthesis)
For links to these evaluations, and others, see our blog post at http://catholiceye.blogspot.com/2010/04/evaluation-of-reentry-programs.html
"To those who are searching for a new and authentic theory and praxis of liberation, the Church offers not only her social doctrine and, in general, her teaching about the human person redeeemed in Christ, but also her concrete commitment and material assistance in the struggle against marginalization and suffering." (Pope John Paul II, Centesimus Annus)