Sawubona (I/We See You): Confronting the Disenfranchised Grief of Justice-Involved Persons
摘要
Justice-involved individuals often experience profound relational ruptures and grief, yet their grief is frequently unacknowledged or dismissed—a phenomenon known as disenfranchised grief. This chapter explores the impact of disenfranchised grief on the reintegration process through an attachment-narrative lens, which integrates attachment theory’s emphasis on relational bonds with narrative therapy’s healing power of storytelling. The aggressive incarceration of individuals in the United States has disrupted family systems, strained relationships, and distorted self-perception, leaving justice-impacted persons bereaved yet without societal recognition of their loss. This chapter also examines the consequences of disenfranchised grief on reintegration, offers strategies for practitioners to support resilience and healing, and highlights the work of Redemption Housing—Reentry Services, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit that restores dignity to grief and fosters communal healing through Christian Community Development and sacred neighboring.