Editors Note:Timothy Yeargin is one of several power-FUL PNN Plantation correspondents who contribute to Poor Magazine notes from the inside, a column of plantation resistors who needs your help to get justice
I ask this because we serve life sentences and have left our children and teens do for themselves.
Some of us don't like the way other people raise our teens now, but you and I are left out of the job that was ours. We are upset because our sons or daughters took on another person as their idol because we were not there.
Now, I ask why you always do what he says. I am your father. Why don't you listen to me? Our young teens will say to us, “Who left?” Dad, who are you? Because you were never around, I talked to my uncle and my stepfather about life and what I wanted to be.
They were my idols growing up and also some of my friends' fathers and mothers. Now you come into my life asking me who who are they to teach me because that's your job! Dad, you let us and mom down.
Now, my brothers want to know who you are and where you have been. I ask again, who are you? If you know who you are, take time to love and understand your children. Care for them and talk to them too.
I come to you in concern for all prisoners that are locked up and trying to do something better with their lives, so that we can get back into society. We have a lot of inmates here in prison that have families out there trying to do their best.
Here at Chuckawalla Valley State Prison we are trying to start a young men's awareness group dealing with insight into criminal behavior, etc. Since we are a group of older fathers in prison we do need help from the public. We do need volunteers to serve as mentors for men who want to change their lives so they can be better fathers. This program needs to be here. Some fathers in here are really hurting and don't know how to let it out. This is why when society hears about fathers behind bars many people on the outside can say this program is helping our young fathers to learn to avoid violence.
Our young men need help and our children too, so will you please hear our cry so all of us can save our children. To help our young men, it takes all of us. It has to be something that we in here can use or feel that hits us hard at home, so we fathers can look at ourselves with more pride and dignity. As we lift up one another we lift up ourselves.
Help us to look out for our young children and young men out there.