It only takes 45 minutes or less per month to help change the direction of a man in need.

My name is Mike Olson and I am the director of In Your Cell jail/prison outreach ministry based out of Wellspring Community Church and First Methodist Church, both in Escanaba.

We provide a Christian-based outreach in Dickinson, Delta, Menominee and Marquette counties so far, and to all of Michigan’s 27 male prisons and some federal facilities.

For jails, we offer phone calls, U.S. mail, visits and go to court with inmates desiring that option. Our goal is to offer support, encouragement, a confidential listening ear, respect, dignity, a good role model, Christian values and ideally some inspiration to men whose lives are broken. One of our goals is to offer Dickinson County chaplains and clergy our support and reinforcement.

Our largest program to prison inmates is our Adoption one, where men, women, families or couples on the outside “adopt” an inmate to write once a month a U.S. mail letter. Inmates do the same. It takes 45 minutes a month to do so. And the interest shown makes a world of difference. No money or phone calls involved. All inmates are vetted on our end to qualify and adopters can choose to have mail sent to them by prisoners go through our office if desired. We have had no issues in seven-plus years.

We have currently matched about 21 men in the past seven years. We have about seven men right now waiting to be adopted. Volunteers can be 24, 34, 54, 74, whatever age … and do not need to be local at all. We have adopters now from Wisconsin, downstate Michigan and even Arkansas.

Some potential adopters get concerned about what to write about. No worries — we will give you so much. And, you can talk with a current adopter for information if you choose to get their feedback.

We ask inmate and adopter to commit to a one-year initial connection. All that is really required is a desire to help out a man seeking guidance, counsel and connection. We deal with the 20% of inmates who choose to do things that better themselves.

Sadly, about 80% of Michigan prisoners have little to no outside connections. Dan and I work statewide with other organizations on criminal justice reform and with many local social service agencies, clergy, rehab centers, courts, attorneys, etc.

We are hoping that many readers in Dickenson County will contact me to obtain information on the Adoption program. Questions can be answered and there is no “right now” need for commitment. I can be reached at 906-241-7731 (9 a.m. to 9 p.m.) or at wyolaramie@yahoo.com anytime.

We hope that we are swamped with calls that I may not get back to you right away. We will get back to you!

Male readers take notice: A recent poll of 200 Michigan prisoners indicated that 100% of inmates indicated they had negative impressions of their fathers. Note that challenge. A warden told me he could describe his prisoners as “little boys waiting for dad to come home.” Boy, can we help out here.