“I was in prison and you visited me.” Catholic Social Services-Lincoln volunteer Anita Fitzekam lives out this calling from Christ, using her 33 years of experience as a mental health counselor to visit the incarcerated and celebrate Mass with them at the Reception and Treatment Center in Lincoln. She started out volunteering with another organization, writing letters to men and women in prison, but when she heard about CSS’s Prison and Reentry Apostolate, she felt called to do more. As a Catholic Social Services volunteer, she visits weekly with the men and women at RTC, some of whom are in restraints, and some she’s only able to communicate with through a door. Having been a counselor working with the homeless in the Fremont and Blair area, she said she feels like she’s back doing her ministry. To her, it is a privilege to be someone these men and women can share their deepest, darkest secrets with while helping them process their trauma.
When she first started volunteering, Anita thought she would be afraid, but that hasn’t been the case. Instead, she’s been surprised by how grateful the men and women are, often having big smiles on their faces and joy in their hearts when she sees them. Even those who will be incarcerated for the rest of their life have this joy, accepting their situation and “having a light heart.” Throughout her years working with the incarcerated and homeless, she’s never encountered an individual she didn’t like, which is part of the reason she’s never wanted to stop doing it. One benefit to volunteering with CSS, she says, is that she doesn’t have to worry about falling asleep on the interstate! Thank you, Anita, for helping bring Hope in the Good Life to some of the most vulnerable and forgotten members of our community!
