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I read an article recently that was written by a released prisoner.  She was incarcerated for two years and had experienced solitary confinement (the hole) while imprisoned.  Upon release, she experienced the normal anxieties associated with returning to the free world.  Eventually, supported by friends and family, she settled into her routine and began to enjoy the benefits of freedom.  A talented writer, she secured employment as a journalist, enjoyed fun times with special people, and appreciated being able to live outside the confines of prison. 

Then came COVID-19.  Then came physical-distance orders.  Then came in-home sheltering orders.

That’s when she began experiencing terror.  As I read her story of the terrifying effect of in-home sheltering orders, my heart was pricked.  I had to write about this unknown and little discussed phenomenon that may be happening to millions of previously incarcerated persons around our country.  I never thought about the possibility of in-home sheltering as a re-traumatizing trigger.

Trauma is very individual.  What traumatizes one person may not impact another who shared the same experience.  Trauma has memory.  That’s why an action, event, or even words can re-traumatize people.

This weekend is recognized as Easter or Resurrection Weekend for Christians around the country.  It is a time when Christians remember the death, burial, and most importantly, the resurrection of Christ.  Additionally, people around the country people are connecting in prayer with regards to COVID-19.  Free Conference call operations, Zoom, FaceBook, etc. are bombarded with pray-ers – people joining together asking for healing, protection, guidance, understanding, etc. 

Believers, I ask that as you honor Resurrection Weekend and as you pray about this devastating virus, please remember the traumatized previously incarcerated person.  Remember the person who is silently reliving untold horrors of solitary confinement.  Remember the person who is trapped at home wrestling with nightmares of the hole behind closed curtains.

While praying for the sick, while praying for victims of domestic violence, while praying for medical breakthroughs – please pray for persons who are retraumatized in their own homes and don’t even recognize what’s happening or why.  Please join me in that prayer.