People are released from prison so unprepared. They give you $200. We call it gate money. And you have to pay for a bus ticket back to L.A. You get off the Greyhound bus, downtown Skid Row, and you're supposed to make a life from that.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the struggle of reintegrating into society after incarceration with minimal support.
In this quote, Susan Burton emphasizes the harsh reality that individuals released from prison often face overwhelming challenges due to lack of proper support and resources. With only a small amount of 'gate money' to their name and the burden of returning to a difficult environment, they are expected to rebuild their lives without the necessary tools or guidance, shedding light on a systemic issue that affects many upon their release.
In practice
In a discussion about criminal justice reform, this quote illustrates the need for better support systems after incarceration.
Many times, I left the prison thinking, 'I'm smart. I can make it. I won't get caught up again.' But you get off downtown Skid Row, and you're a target for all of the environmental harms in that area. The pain and trauma in that area is so thick, you can almost reach your hand out and touch it.
We're willing to spend countless dollars putting people who need help in cages, and then when they get out we say you can't have a job, and you can't have housing, and because you don't have either, we're going to take your kids, too.
I knew hundreds and hundreds of women like me, who had traveled in and out of prison in a revolving door. They needed support and help just like I had received. And it could make a difference, just like it had made a difference in my life. I wanted to see them come back to the community and have a chance at a different life, too.
It is only by risking our persons from one hour to another that we live at all.
So many amongst us live in the past rather than loving the present and building a brilliant future. Some people stay stuck for years over something they did or a failure they've experienced. Sad. A life is a terrible thing to waste.
Know what we did, Lucy? You and me? We spent our whole lives yearning. Isn't that the God damndest thing?
At 20, 25, 30, we begin to realise that the possibilities of escape are getting fewer. We have jobs, children, partners, debts. This is the part of us to which literary fiction speaks.
When we see life, we call it beautiful. When we see death, we call it ugly. But it is more beautiful still to see oneself living at great speed, right up to the moment of death.
I do not choose that my grave should be dug while I am still alive.
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