Returning Citizens (RCA)
- pancakemarathon
- Jul 2
- 4 min read
This version can be used in peer support groups, reentry programs, or transitional housing environments as a guiding framework. It helps participants not only avoid recidivism but also begin to rebuild identity, purpose, and healthy relationships. The language honors the realness of survival behind bars, while opening the door to transformation beyond the sentence.
Steps
For those transitioning from a jail cell to community life
We admitted that the habits, systems, and survival tactics we used while incarcerated no longer served us in free society—and that continuing to live by them would keep us stuck.
Came to believe that a greater way of life, beyond the cage and the past, could restore our dignity, direction, and ability to live free on the inside and out.
Made a decision to turn our will and lives over to the care of this greater purpose—as we began to understand what freedom truly means.
Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves—not just what we did, but what we needed, what we lost, and what we still hoped for.
Admitted to ourselves, to another human being, and to a power greater than us the exact nature of our wounds, our survival, and our wrongdoing.
Became entirely ready to let go of the hardened parts of ourselves that kept us trapped, even after the doors had opened.
Humbly asked to be freed from the mental cages and emotional chains that still defined our reactions and beliefs.
Made a list of all those we had harmed—including ourselves—and became willing to make things right, one day at a time.
Made direct amends wherever possible, except when to do so would cause further harm or violate the healing process.
Continued to take personal inventory and, when we found ourselves slipping into old survival patterns, promptly admitted it and chose a new path.
Sought through prayer, meditation, or quiet reflection to improve our connection with purpose, asking only for clarity and strength to live free and do right.
Having experienced the internal shift from prisoner to person of value, we carried this message to others like us and practiced these principles in all our affairs.
🔄 Short Explanation of Each Step
Admission of Truth Survival mindset kept us alive—but now it keeps us stuck. We admit that what worked in a cage doesn’t serve us in a community.
Belief in a Greater Path We come to believe that healing and reintegration are possible, even if we’ve never seen it done before.
Decision to Trust Growth We let go of control and open ourselves to a new direction—even if we don't yet understand it.
Inventory of Our Lives We dig deep. Not to shame, but to see. What molded us? What hurt us? What habits did we take with us?
Confession of Truth We speak our story out loud. No more hiding. It’s not for pity. It’s for power.
Readiness to Evolve We let ourselves change. We stop clinging to the image we had to maintain inside.
Requesting Internal Release We ask for freedom from the traits we thought were necessary, but are now holding us back.
Willingness to Repair We list who we’ve harmed—including ourselves—and become willing to set things right.
Making Amends We do what we can to repair the wreckage—respectfully, wisely, and when possible.
Ongoing Check-ins
We stay self-aware. When we slip, we don’t spiral—we own it, correct it, and move on.
Daily Connection
We build a quiet relationship with purpose, prayer, or peace—whatever centers us.
Giving It Away
We help others like us—those still stuck in the mindset, even if they’re not in the cell.
Would you like this formatted into a pamphlet-style doc, or would you like to build out a workbook version next (with questions, meditations, or meeting topics)?
13 step
“In Mo’s Anonymous, we recognize that trauma can confuse connection. No member shall use their position, influence, or vulnerability of others for romantic, sexual, or manipulative gain—especially within sponsorship or early reentry. This space is sacred for healing, not hunting.”
This is not just a warning; it’s a covenant of safety, rooted in respect for each other's healing. Any violations are not overlooked or minimized—they’re addressed firmly and with collective integrity.
Traditions
Our common purpose—reclaiming dignity after time served—comes first. Personal freedom is strengthened by shared responsibility.
For our group purpose, there is but one ultimate authority: the truth that sets us free. Our leaders are trusted servants—they do not govern.
The only requirement for membership is a desire to move forward without shame, secrecy, or self-sabotage.
Each Mo’s group is autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or the fellowship as a whole.
Each group has but one primary purpose: to carry this message of hope and healing to Mo’s still struggling with the cage—within or without.
A Mo’s group never endorses outside institutions or enterprises, lest money or influence divert us from our mission.
Every group should be self-supporting, declining outside contributions. We honor value by not placing a price on freedom.
Mo’s Anonymous remains forever nonprofessional, but our service may employ others in supportive or administrative roles.
We organize only as much as needed to serve our purpose, never to control people.
Mo’s Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the name ought never be drawn into public controversy.
Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and social media.
Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, reminding us to place principles before personalities.
Promises
If we are honest, humble, and willing...
We will begin to walk free, even in places that used to trigger us.
The street won’t feel like a threat—we’ll feel we belong again.
We will rebuild trust with others and, most importantly, with ourselves.
The system may still exist, but it won’t own our mind anymore.
The mask we wore to survive will fall off—we’ll breathe real air.
New ways of coping will replace old patterns of reacting.
We will sleep with less paranoia and wake up with more purpose.
We will forgive ourselves without forgetting who we were.
What once felt like permanent damage will now feel like planted seed.
We will stop defining freedom by gates—and start defining it by grace.
We will learn to let others in, even slowly, without fear of being used.
We will carry a quiet strength that no institution can take away again.
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