Last week, I attended a staff meeting for Randall, a person whom I serve as legal guardian. Randall has three strikes against him: he is black, he has a developmental disability and he is a sexual offender. Without going into much detail, his sexual offense was a single incident that took place 15 years ago (no such incidents before or since). There was no predation or violence involved. In fact, the few people with knowledge of the details feel that Randall was actually the victim in the incident.
Anyway, Randall moved to a new community a month ago in order to have more employement opportunities. His team expected to deal with the usual concerns from neighbors about his status as a sex offender. Word always seems to travel quickly! One of the inconveniences is that Randall was required to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet. The team decided on this for two reasons: It might help his neighbors that might learn of his sexual offender status to feel a bit more comfortable and open to him and wearing the bracelet would help protect him against any false accusations of things like peering in windows, etc. Recognizing that wearing the bracelet was somewhat demeaning to Randall, our intention was to use it for a few weeks and have it removed if there were no concerns expressed by neighbors.
Our meeting was on Thursday. The parole agent that supervises Randall (a unique situation since Randall is not on parole, he is on conditional release) planned to remove the bracelet after the meeting. On Wednesday, the parole agent got a call from a sexual assault victims' advocate that learned about Randall and expressed strong concerns about having him living in the neighborhood where her teenage daughter lives. The parole agent explained the situation to the woman without going into details that might breach Randall's privacy. The woman seemed to settle down a bit. However, because of the call, we felt it best to keep the bracelet on for a few more weeks.
After the staffing, I noticed that parole agent talking with a man in front of the house where Randall lives. I went out to see what was going on. I learned that the man is Randall's next door neighbor and the son-in-law of the woman that called the parole agent the day before. He expressed concerns about having someone like Randall in the neighborhood, especially since he has five children. We explained that Randall is not a predator and was involved in one incident 15 years ago. We explained that he has 24 hour supervision, the electronic monitoring bracelet and alarms on the doors and windows of his house. I told the man that I would be concerned, too. The man, Louis, said that he could sort of understand Randall's situation. Louis said that he had been involved in gang activity 15 years ago, but gave it up completely. When he shared that, I mentioneded that Louis must have some understanding for Randall's situation. Louis said he did, but that it would be tough to warm up to Randall. I have regular contact with thousands of people. Randall is in the top five of the nicest people I know. I mentioned that to Louis, but he still seemed to have doubts.
I went back into Randall's house and explained the conversation that I had with Louis to Randall and his staff. Within a minute, Louis came to the door. He introduced himself to Randall and gave him a bag filled with walleyes (a fish delicacy in these parts). Louis said that he noticed Randall going fishing and coming back empty-handed. He wanted to make sure Randall had some fish. Randall responded by offering a plate full of cookies he had just baked to Louis.
Go fish!
Anyway, Randall moved to a new community a month ago in order to have more employement opportunities. His team expected to deal with the usual concerns from neighbors about his status as a sex offender. Word always seems to travel quickly! One of the inconveniences is that Randall was required to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet. The team decided on this for two reasons: It might help his neighbors that might learn of his sexual offender status to feel a bit more comfortable and open to him and wearing the bracelet would help protect him against any false accusations of things like peering in windows, etc. Recognizing that wearing the bracelet was somewhat demeaning to Randall, our intention was to use it for a few weeks and have it removed if there were no concerns expressed by neighbors.
Our meeting was on Thursday. The parole agent that supervises Randall (a unique situation since Randall is not on parole, he is on conditional release) planned to remove the bracelet after the meeting. On Wednesday, the parole agent got a call from a sexual assault victims' advocate that learned about Randall and expressed strong concerns about having him living in the neighborhood where her teenage daughter lives. The parole agent explained the situation to the woman without going into details that might breach Randall's privacy. The woman seemed to settle down a bit. However, because of the call, we felt it best to keep the bracelet on for a few more weeks.
After the staffing, I noticed that parole agent talking with a man in front of the house where Randall lives. I went out to see what was going on. I learned that the man is Randall's next door neighbor and the son-in-law of the woman that called the parole agent the day before. He expressed concerns about having someone like Randall in the neighborhood, especially since he has five children. We explained that Randall is not a predator and was involved in one incident 15 years ago. We explained that he has 24 hour supervision, the electronic monitoring bracelet and alarms on the doors and windows of his house. I told the man that I would be concerned, too. The man, Louis, said that he could sort of understand Randall's situation. Louis said that he had been involved in gang activity 15 years ago, but gave it up completely. When he shared that, I mentioneded that Louis must have some understanding for Randall's situation. Louis said he did, but that it would be tough to warm up to Randall. I have regular contact with thousands of people. Randall is in the top five of the nicest people I know. I mentioned that to Louis, but he still seemed to have doubts.
I went back into Randall's house and explained the conversation that I had with Louis to Randall and his staff. Within a minute, Louis came to the door. He introduced himself to Randall and gave him a bag filled with walleyes (a fish delicacy in these parts). Louis said that he noticed Randall going fishing and coming back empty-handed. He wanted to make sure Randall had some fish. Randall responded by offering a plate full of cookies he had just baked to Louis.
Go fish!
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