Sharing God's Blessing

Their journeys have been strewn with potholes, their lives jilted by the empty promises of life on the streets.

Their aging eyes witnessed acts so heinous that even their lips remain silent.

Joe DeArmond Jr. and Wayne Murphy have been in and out of the state correctional system for much of their lives. They have lived life outside of the law, exposed to all of its vagaries. But as they recently reflected on their past, their focus is on the future, one filled with hope and a refresh button to life. 

“I feel like God is working with me, and I’m more in tune with God,” said DeArmond, a Kentucky native who was raised in the Baton Rouge area. “I feel like God has come and touched me and showed me what to do. The more I share his glory, the more he blesses me.”

Fueled by their own miscues, DeArmond and Murphy are reaching out to young people, urging them not to fall for the seduction of money, stylish clothes and fancy cars on the street, not to be sucked in by the lies.

DeArmond and Murphy recently shared their stories with members of the St. Margaret Queen of Scotland Church in Albany youth group at Joseph Homes, a ministry of Catholic Charities of Baton Rouge that provides shelter for recently released ex-offenders who are homeless.  

Their message was one of positivity and not negativity. Rather than dwelling on the past, they spoke of the present and their optimism for the future. Above all, they stressed making good decisions. 

“I told them not to give in to peer pressure because it will cost them dearly,” said Murphy, whose was raised in the Ninth Ward in New Orleans and spent a combined 33 years behind bars at Angola on two sentences.

“The street life is a lie, it is an illusion as if things are alright and things will be alright but in actuality it leaves you hanging by yourself in a jail cell or in the grave.

“And I don’t want to see nothing like that happen to (the youth).”

DeArmond, who admittedly has a long rap sheet and was released from the East Baton Rouge jail five months ago, told the youth “life is about decisions, making good ones and bad ones. 

“Poverty and bad does not pick and choose; it will come at the most successful and the most poor. If you start making bad decisions it snowballs. I wish somebody had told me this when I was 12.”

Visiting Joseph Homes was one of several stops on the youth group’s itinerary. The 15 young people and five chaperones also visited the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, the Baton Rouge Food Bank and St. Agnes Church in Baton Rouge, where they interacted with the Missionaries of Charity sisters.

“We touched on the different Catholic social teachings and corporal works of mercy,” said Ashleigh Munn, St. Margaret’s coordinator of youth formation, said of the week. “We wanted to get the kids exposed to different ways to serve people, as Jesus calls us to do these things in different capacities.”

Munn said her hope at Joseph Homes was to have the young people communicate with men who had been through prison and hopefully witness the men’s humanity. 

“I know most of our kids don’t have very much interaction with prison ministry or even understand how the church fits in,” she said. “I think the kids grew and understand how the prison system works and how they can help. And how the choices they make can affect them.”

Munn said the youth were a bit surprised at the calmness and composure of Murphy and DeArmond, as well as their hope for the future. 

“I think it changed some of their misconceptions,” she said. “(DeArmond and Murphy) laughed, talked about their families, about some of the (realities) that came along (in jail).”

She said the youth were flabbergasted at how Murphy and DeArmond have been able to get back on their feet and be grateful for what they have and not (bemoan) what they didn’t have.

“I think our kids found that inspiring,” Munn said.

Murphy, who completed a mentoring certification program at Angola, believes he owes the youth something and to help steer them out of harm’s way. 

Although he grew up in the Desire Street projects in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, traditionally one of the more dangerous areas of the city, Murphy emphasized his environment did not make poor decisions for him. Rather, he said, “I made the decision for myself.”

“Don’t think that since you are coming from a poor neighborhood, you automatically have to make a decision to do wrong,” he said. “I’ve seen (inmates) doing hard time who came from affluent families.

“That is a personal choice, and it has a lot to do with peer pressure.”

Murphy said helping young people “is where my heart is” and feels obligated to be a message of peace, guiding them through difficult circumstances.

He watches the news and sees crime on the rise. Although endorsing efforts by city and law enforcement officials, business groups and spiritual organizations to address the problem he says “the key ingredient to this gumbo that is being left out is incorporating the formally incarcerated, the people formally in that lifestyle who have something to say. 

“I think it’s crucial if you leave us out. Once (the people they are trying to reach) trust us, whatever ideas those agencies have we can mix it up with them.”

He is also pursuing his dream of converting some of the area’s abandoned homes into transition centers, where those in crisis would have a place to go and receive counseling 24 hours a day. He believes opening a center in every neighborhood would greatly reduce crime.

DeArmond is focusing on his spiritual life and has taken particularly pride in recently purchasing a car.

“I’m just staying in God’s blessing,” he said. “If you don’t start (using drugs) you don’t have to stop.”