The following was received by Bill Peirsel, Parenting Instructor/Counselor at the State Correctional Institutions in Laurel Highlands and Somerset, by an inmate who participated in our Parenting Program. What a special thank you!

For most of my life on the outside, I struggled with alcoholism, which has ultimately resulted in my incarceration. I am now serving a six to twelve year sentence.

I am also the father of a single son who is now going on nine years old. I have not laid eyes on my son in over three years! My son has always been the light of my life but unfortunately my incarceration has more or less severed any physical contact with my son and served to make any meaningful relationship nonexistent.

During my incarceration, I have been involved in numerous programs, groups and counseling sessions which although informative, have proven to be very structured, dry and impersonal. I have been a Christian for over fifteen years now, regardless of my sometimes ungodly lifestyle on the outside. As a Christian, it was the “Bethesda” name that intrigued me to sign up for Parenting Group offered at this institution. I must admit though, given my experiences with previous groups here, my expectations were not very high. I signed up because I figured I had nothing to lose. I was watching my relationship with my son slip through my fingers and I figured that a worse case scenario would be a certificate that I could show the parole board.

I am writing to you today to express my greatest appreciation and gratitude to Bethesda Family Services Foundation and for the Parenting Group. It has proven to be the single most productive and constructive activity that I have been involved in. The curriculum of the Parenting Group is excellent but I believe it is the dedication of the Counselor that makes the program outstanding!

Mr. Peirsel through his gift of discretion saw the potential in me and has also counseled me one-on-one. It is Bill’s willingness to look at all of us as men rather than just inmates which allows for so much productivity. It was his willingness to get personally involved with me and my family that has allowed me the opportunity to salvage the single most precious and important relationship in my life. A relationship that was in dire jeopardy and slowly and surely dying. The relationship a father is supposed to have with his son.

As a direct result of Bethesda’s Parenting Group, correlated with a gifted counselor who was willing to go an extra mile for a convicted felon such as myself, my son and his mother are coming for a personal visit with me. My eight-year-old son whom I have not seen in over three years is coming to visit his father! This would not have been possible except for Bethesda. My counselor and I are now working on activities and topics that will make this important visit as productive and positive as it can be.

For more information on Bethesda Family Services Foundation, feel free to e-mail us today or call (570) 523-0605.