Delancey works on the premise that those who have had the experience are the best teachers. In this case the experience is usually of prison but may also simply be an inability to control drug or alcohol dependency and to cope with life. People self- refer and are interviewed by other residents before being accepted, or not. A willingness to commit to at least two years of the communal life Delancey offers is the essential criteria. Some are put off right there but those who realise they have exhausted every other avenue and have the need to come and stay are clear that this is not a 'programme' but a home and a way of life.
I started my day yesterday on my first visit to them by meeting some of my own limitations. Back home at work I recently completed a day on the Myers Briggs personality indicator and learned, to no surprise, that I am a big-picture kind of a person. Short on detail. As though to demonstrate I took the Metro North train to Brewster, New York from Grand Central, navigating my way downtown from my accommodation in Harlem. Only to discover that the train runs on the Harlem line and stopped feet from my building on its way out of Manhattan. A whole hour and several dollars later I reflected, not for the first time, that a little more planning and a little less rushing in would have made for a more efficient start. But then.....I wouldn't have seen the newly refurbished Grand Central Station (and it is simply gorgeous) or got to pretend that I was Diane Lane in The Cotton Club about to board a train to LA with Richard Gere. I digress.
The point being that during the time I spent with the people of Delancey I found myself reflecting that most of the things that limit people are different in degree rather than kind. Most of us have dependency issues for example: coffee, food, smoking. It's just that for most us they don't become socially disruptive. Most of us suffer from lack of insight (as demonstrated by me), prejudice, 'blind spots', but we don't think of ourselves as having learning difficulties. Most of us do wrong but don't end up in prison. Not to minimise or trivialise the extent to which that degree can make a profound difference, but I was struck throughout my visit by the commonness of human experience and how Delancey has struck some gold in holding people to the necessity of undergoing the painful process of understanding themselves before they can hope to live well with others. Something familiar in that.
I met Robert, the facilitator at Brewster, and Jimmy who has been there for four years. Both talked of how their criminal, drug and alcohol dependent histories had brought them here. The thing that was different about Delancey, they said, was that they had been challenged by people who had been where they had been to take responsibility for their own situation, to see the truth of how they came to be here and to think differently about themselves. The constant challenge to do better seemed to be the key. The phrase 'like looking in a mirror' came up a lot. I was very interested to meet Dwight, a teacher who had nurtured a serious drug dependency while holding down a responsible job. Never fired and never in prison, Dwight was hospitalised to the point where he knew he had to make a radical change or die. He chose Delancey and now teaches the newly arrived to such a standard that when they leave those who can have achieved a high school diploma or the equivalent. Dwight described to me how he uses a professional assessment tool to gauge each persons ability and educational level. Learning difficulty is often highlighted as an issue and in these cases individuals are supported away from the group classroom setting and given one to one tuition with a more experienced resident whom he has trained in tutoring others. Where the difficulty is more profound
he will take over the support himself. Dwight was clear that a certain level of capacity was necessary for life at Delancey and someone with a more profound learning disability requiring specialised support could not find it there. He agreed, however, that at the milder end of learning disability and certainly what is usually labelled learning difficulty, the over representation among the people coming to Delancey from prison is evident and for them, who receive no other support, the personal commitment and attention they find at Delancey makes an appreciable difference. In this respect I was able to relate closely through the services we provide at Cornerstone (www.cornerstone.org.uk/communityjustice) where just such differences are being made. Delancey and Dwight demonstrated to me how much more could be done through a few simple but radical adjustments. But I was impressed most by his use of the phrase 'unspeakable joy' in describing the satisfaction of his work. When did you last year someone talk of their job like that?
he will take over the support himself. Dwight was clear that a certain level of capacity was necessary for life at Delancey and someone with a more profound learning disability requiring specialised support could not find it there. He agreed, however, that at the milder end of learning disability and certainly what is usually labelled learning difficulty, the over representation among the people coming to Delancey from prison is evident and for them, who receive no other support, the personal commitment and attention they find at Delancey makes an appreciable difference. In this respect I was able to relate closely through the services we provide at Cornerstone (www.cornerstone.org.uk/communityjustice) where just such differences are being made. Delancey and Dwight demonstrated to me how much more could be done through a few simple but radical adjustments. But I was impressed most by his use of the phrase 'unspeakable joy' in describing the satisfaction of his work. When did you last year someone talk of their job like that?
The adjustments are, to be fair, a lot more than tweaking. Delancey is entirely self-funding. I know. I couldn't get my head round it either. But they explained. They simply won't seek or accept government or other external funding because then, as Robert told me, 'it becomes their facility, not yours'. As I nodded he smiled knowingly, drawing on 20 years with this group of people who have resisted all the temptations of big money and the business model. To find out more about how this works I will attend the Delancey Street Foundation course in San Francisco early next month. For the moment my deepest thanks to Robert, Jimmy, Russell, Dwight, John and Tommy (82 years old and 42 years with Delancey) who all generously gave of their time and themselves to further my understanding.
Plant pots made with multi coloured sand in Delancey workshop.
Training in new skills is integral to life at Delancey but everything is done in house, skills passed from one to the other.
The men's dorm in the grounds of Delancey at Brewster.
