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Vets Behind Walls: Twice The Struggle

By Rick Clemmons

Prison Organization for Veterans' Affairs (POVA) is a body of dedicated civilians and incarcerated veterans working together towards eradicating problems which vets face; it's located at the DC Correctional Complex at Lorton, Virginia. It was established by and for incarcerated vets in June, 1974, under the name Incarcerated Veterans Assistance Organization (IVAO). At that time the primary objectives were to assist incarcerated vets to get discharge-upgrading, educational benefits, apprenticeship training, legal assistance and housing and employment upon release. In 1975, the prison chapter changed its name to POVA and was incorporated on December 30, 1975.

Since the inception of POVA, they have been successful in developing links with the VA and the University of the District of Columbia. POVA was instrumental in initiating the apprenticeship training program which was recently applied to the establishment of the Culinary Arts (cooking) School. The American Veteran Committee has researched and prepared 23 cases for veterans with less-than-"honorable" discharges; thus far 14 vets have received upgrades, several hundred have been assisted by getting advice, researching information and filling various motions for relief. The Housing and Employment Committee has filed hundreds of employment application forms to try to get some form of job for residents once released. As part of the 1982 program POVA is establishing an "Incarcerated Veterans Family Assistance Project," and seeking funding and/or contributions, and filing claims for Agent Orange victims.

The popularity of POVA has spread throughout the prison communities across the country. Mail from other incarcerated vets asking for information attests to the good work that POVA has done. Nevertheless, the successful operation of POVA depends largely on the resources provided by the institution such as free mailing, office equipment and supplies, stencils, typing paper, envelopes, etc.

Because of the criminal cutbacks in the human services section of federal and city governments in the infamous trickle-down theory, inmate programs are all but shut-down. For sure, POVA has had more than its share. Due to the slow renovation of the building that housed POVA offices, it has been very difficult to carry on business as usual. Needed services are not available at a time when help is truly needed.

Reaganomics, which serves to speed up the extermination of poor and working people in this country and around the world has made it virtually impossible to maintain any semblance of organization; and that's especially true if the organization is designed to deal with problems brought on by this system which is built on profit and pays only lip-service to the needs of the people. Reaganomics has taken an even colder stance against persons incarcerated justifying cutbacks in services to those incarcerated at the same time that mandatory and harsher sentencing is being promoted in the name of "justice."

While on the subject of prisons, there are reasons why Americans by the millions hate such a system—an institution to try to deal with some of the symptoms of our economic system. As a deterrent or as rehabilitation or as a crime-control measure, prisons have failed. For all imprisoned offenders, it is counter-productive, a "school of crime" that has been proven to erode a prisoner's sense of self-worth and their ability to function responsibly in the community. In fact many of the "communities" to which a prisoner returns share the problems of the prison: lacks safety, has sub-standard housing, poor-to-no educational opportunities, brutal police control, poor-to-no health facilities, and little-to-no voice in changing things for the better. In spite of the fact that some new prisons are cosmetically more attractive, the social and psychological realities of prison life haven't changed and are, in fact, getting worse with more over-crowding, more corruption, etc. Newest prisons feature various forms of technological gadgetry which eliminate any sense of personal privacy and greatly reduce human contact, all because it cuts and eliminates human error.

Prisons, at present, let us off the hook by providing the illusion that we are doing all we can afford—or at least something about crime. We lead all nations in our rate of imprisonment with the exception only of the Soviet union and South Africa. And the rate continues to climb, though there has been no reduction in the rate of crime. Check this: at the cost of $50,000 or more for each new cell built, not to mention the maintenance costs that at times are in excess of $25,000 per year per prisoner, it is clear that it is cheaper to pay people not to commit crime—just like a farmer is paid not to grow food. Just suppose that instead of paying maintenance costs of $25,000 per year per prisoner, we gave them a job paying that much instead—but no, that seems like an only too reasonable suggestion that might be a solution!

I think we should stop building prisons, jails and juvenile detention facilities until we have a thorough review of that entire justice process in order to determine how all of its components work, and how the system either serves or fails to serve the cause of justice—for instance, why is it that this system of "justice" incarcerates Blacks at eight times the rate it does whites? The reason for this must be heard and understood. Also, we should implement fully all reasonable alternatives to incarceration, mainly because incarceration is so unproductive. And, quiet as it is kept, production is one of the factors in our economic recovery. It is now known that incarceration is used in this country as a tool of oppression, in the same way that war is used.

Whatever the reasons for POVA's existence, someone must accept the responsibility for assisting those who have and are paying their so-called debt to society. Almost every family of the working class has or knows someone in prison. So I'll close with an appeal: we have bled for this country; on the battlefield you are forced to give your all. Now we are back home and it looks like we are getting nothing but a hard way to go; this must stop—Now.

—Rick Clemmons (a long-time member of VVAW, presently of the Washington DC Chapter, who spent time in prison before organizing the prison support group.)