“Our whole family was incarcerated”

"What am I going to do?" wondered Yvonne Trammel as she watched her husband being led off in handcuffs. It was 1999, in a Ramsey County courtroom, and she had just heard her husband being sentenced to 88 months in prison on drug charges. The shocking sentence left Claude's family desperate and confused. To survive, they were going to have to learn to trust God in ways they never had before.

Claude had a long history of selling drugs, stemming from his childhood in Detroit where he followed in his big brother's footsteps. He left home, dropped out of school at 16, jumped from job to job at the local factory, and sold dope. For Claude, selling led to using, using led to stealing, and only when he stole from his own parents to support his drug habit did he realize how desperate he had become. He knew he needed to quit. On the steps of a church one day, he prayed, crying out to God for help. God intervened and the habit stopped.

But, oh, the selling! Money had such a hold on Claude that he routinely drove from Detroit to Minneapolis to sell on the streets. It was in the Twin Cities that Claude met Yvonne who invited him to church. And he went with her, but often complained about the services or the offering plate. "I never thought we would be able to grow together with God," Yvonne said of those times.

Their lives were forever altered that fateful day in 1999 when Claude went to prison. Yvonne was forced to take on a second job, their son grew depressed, their lives were devastated. "My faith had to kick in," Yvonne says now. "Our whole famly was incarcerated. I did time with him, too." She visited Claude every week and slowly began to notice the rewards of her faith.

"I could see his spirit begin to change," Yvonne says. "The way he talked and carried himself changed. He always had a Scripture to uplift and encourage me." Though separated by bars, husband and wife began to grow together with God in ways Yvonne had thought impossible. "Prison changed my life," says Claude.

He joined the InnerChange Freedom Initiative (IFI) while at the Lino Lakes correctional facility. IFI is a Christ-centered, faith-based program that supports inmates through spiritual and moral transformation. Claude rededicated his life to Jesus, began to read his Bible and pray regularly, and developed the close relationship with Christ that enabled him to be a better husband and father even before his release.

Damascus Way is able to work as a filter for inmates reentering society from the IFI program. We helped Claude continue his development in the Lord and find the vital support he and his family needed to fit into the community. "Damascus Way has allowed my husband another chance to be productive in the world," says Yvonne. "Thank you, Damascus Way!"

For the men of Damascus Way,

Rev. Dick Harden, Executive Director

Damascus Way Reentry Center Inc.

P.S. Your contributions of time, money and prayer are critical to the Damascus Way work with men like Claude. Without such a program, many men just wouldn't make it. Being there for these men as they transition from prison to the society in which you and I live is crucial to their success. May we count on you to pray for us? Will you give to meet our needs? Thank you.