Prison Life and the Aftermath of Thug Living: Chaplain Training Approaches to Pastoral Care for the Long-Term Incarcerated

While COVID-19 affected the world, the prison population was equally impacted. Three thousand incarcerated men at the beginning of the pandemic were exposed to the virus. With an increasing number of individuals in custody hospitalized and others placed in quarantine, individuals in custody felt little attention was given to their survival and spiritual care during incarceration. Therefore, this study highlights what pastoral care should resemble for chaplains working in prison through the critical lens and assessment of formally incarcerated citizens. Furthermore, this work reflects on their experiences with chaplains and reconstructs how chaplaincy provides care. Damien Davis utilizes qualitative data, interviews/questions, observations, and storytelling to measure his results. This thesis ministry project offered a trauma-informed pastoral care model through a framework known as the 3 Cs for chaplains, who, in the end, became more educated, informed, and equipped to meet the needs of the incarcerated.

Damien W. D. Davis is an alumnus of Wilberforce University. He has an earned an MDiv and DMin from McCormick Theological Seminary and was awarded the John Randall Hunt Prize for Outstanding Doctor of Ministry Thesis. He serves as associate pastor of New Tiberia Baptist Church and as a hospice chaplain for Harmony Cares. He was the former senior chaplain at the maximum-security prison Stateville Correctional Center for Illinois Corrections.

Sharon Ellis Davis is an affiliate professor at McCormick Theological Seminary, a trainer for the Faith Trust Institute, and a nationally recognized speaker on domestic violence in the church and society. Ellis Davis was a Chicago police officer for thirty-one years and upon retirement served as a Chicago police chaplain and UCC pastor. She is the author of Battered African American Women: A Study of Gender Entrapment.