Ten Point Coalition gets help from unexpected source

INDIANAPOLIS - Through the barbed wired fences at the prison in Pendleton, incarcerated criminals have a message for the young men caught up in a life of crime in Indianapolis.

They're getting that message out through a letter and book called "Prison is for Real," which they recently sent to the Ten Point Coalition, a group that works in Indianapolis neighborhoods with a mission to stop violent crime.

According to Ten Point's leader, Rev. Charles Harrison, the 20 page booklet is real talk about what prison is like and how the men got there.

"These are individuals with long prison terms," explains Harrison, thumbing through the pages.

One of the authors is 18 years old and serving a sentence of life without parole. He writes in the book, "As a teen, I never thought I'd die in prison, but that's my reality now."

"Never getting out. I think that's a message. It's a good message," says another Ten Point member, Darryl Jones.

It's a message the booklet's authors hope the Ten Point Coalition will bring to the young men they're meeting on their patrols in some of the city's most crime ridden areas.

"If just one reads it and one gets something out of it, you save one," said Jones.

Jones doesn't have to read the book to know what prison's like. He's already been there eight times since he was 23.

"Prison is a whole new world. Prison is another life for you," he explains. "I don't want to see these kids go through that."

Read more:
Ten Point Coalition gets help from unexpected source