Delancey Street Video

Initial Post

Delancey street is a non-profit self-supporting program that was first established in San Francisco consisting of a variety of different departments in which they offer people who have committed wrongdoings such as crimes an unconventional way of incarceration. They are able to work in different departments until they find one that they are interested in and want to commit to. They learn to change their behaviors by dedicating their time towards working and eventually able to work their way up in the department and be able to be an authoritative figure. Behavioral changes occur in this manner through the training and rehabilitation process. They give the opportunity for people to break out of their felonious behavior in order to better their lives through learning different skills that they can use in real life. The objective of this program is to provide the opportunity for people to acquire the basic skills and to apply these learned skills and behavior towards finding a job to get themselves out of trouble. The aim is to reintegrate these individuals into society by working.

I believe Delancey Street is a phenomenal program. It gives people a chance and confidence to change their lives. I would love to see more incredible programs like Delancey Street. The skills that people learn in this program set them up for a positive future. They give these individuals meaning and motivation. Some things I would add to the program would be enhancing their departments and jobs to incorporate more skills such as mathematics and science. This program is gives a chance for these individuals to learn not only to be a team player but also teaches them leadership skills. Organizations like this are a great way to rehabilitate these individuals.

Reflection

The assignment I have chosen to reflect upon is the Delancey Street video. This assignment made me reevaluate my perspective and possible biases that I may have about those who have committed wrongdoings such as crimes and are incarcerated as a consequence. I believed that those who committed such crimes should be sentenced to life imprisonment. I believed these offenders who committed such dreadful crimes should be disallowed a sense of hope to change their lives for the better, which in a sense deemed that they were in the same situation as those expecting on death row. However, after watching the Delancey Street video, I questioned my beliefs. These offenders were given the opportunity to invest their energy and time to better their lives by learning how to change their behaviors by working and learning different skills that they can utilize in real life. After watching this video, I saw what a phenomenal program Delancey Street is. This assignment really opened my eyes and knowledge base. Before this video, I did not know that such an institution existed. I really enjoyed learning about this program and how people are able to change their behaviors. Learning about this program was truly captivating and has peaked my curiosity to research and learn more about similar programs that offer the same opportunity to those incarcerated. This assignment helped me better understand myself and improved my mindset. On the next assignment, I want to go in with an open mind and leave behind what biases I may have. I want to gain as much knowledge as I can from the assignments and readings, which will help improve my critical thinking abilities. I want to work on thinking on a deeper level then just scratching the surface and go deeper then what my mind defaults to. I find it frequently that I drift towards my pre-determined viewpoints. Working on thinking on a deeper level also means taking it upon myself to independently explore, research and question my own thought process. This will ultimately lead me to a better insight and understanding and hopefully help me view situations through different viewpoints of that of Marx, Comte or August.