(Above) Keith Cieplicki
50 years of service
By Eileen Jevis
Staff writer
“The Lord hears the needy and does not despise His captive people.”
Psalm 69:33
Jail Ministry of Onondaga County is a spiritually based social justice organization founded in 1976 in Syracuse. The ministry provides spiritual, emotional, and personal support, as well as advocacy and practical assistance, to incarcerated individuals and their families.
Over the past 50 years, the organization has achieved significant milestones, including visits to more than 59,000 incarcerated men and women, writing more than 97,000 letters to inmates at the Justice Center and Jamesville Correctional Facility, helping more than 8,000 individuals with low-level charges secure bail, and providing 85,000 pairs of socks and more than 80,000 Bibles.
Keith Cieplicki is the executive director of Jail Ministry. In his 14 years in that role, he said the core mission of visiting the incarcerated has remained the same and continues to be driven by inmates’ needs.
Cieplicki shared an experience with The Catholic Sun that inspires him to this day.
“I visited a woman every week for a year who was in the Justice Center. She then served eight years in State Prison. I watched her grow tremendously during my visits each week, and I was able to keep in touch with her throughout her time in prison, which is not the norm,” he said. “I listened to most of her life story over the course of that year. I heard her speak of everything she had gone through and how she ended up in the justice system.”
Cieplicki said the inmate worked incredibly hard to understand herself and grow in so many ways, both personally and spiritually. She also worked to prepare herself to be the very best mom that she could be. “She is home now and reunited with her children and family. It gives me great joy every time I think of her and all she went through, and knowing she is now in the very best place she has been in her entire life.”
Today, more than 30 trained volunteers visit 50 incarcerated individuals each week, offering conversation, encouragement, and connection to the outside world. The Ministry has over 60 trained volunteers who visit individuals at the Justice Center for one hour each week. Visitors are assigned based on requests from residents at the jail who would like to have company.
Barclay Damon LLP Syracuse attorney John Sindoni is the Jail Ministry board president and a volunteer. He said that Cieplicki is an inspiration to those who serve in the ministry. “I’ve found it to be a wonderful experience,” Sindoni said. “Keith taught me that it is a privilege to go into the jail and provide emotional and spiritual solace while staying within the boundaries and rules of the jail system.”
Sindoni said that when he joined the ministry, he had some trepidation, but he found residents were very open to conversation and craved spirituality. “For many of them, I think, they are looking for forgiveness. Some of them are pretty good people, but they made a mistake. They may be there because they don’t have $500 to post bail.” Sindoni offers to call a family member or a lawyer for them.
Spiritual and practical materials are provided to residents of all faiths, including Rosary beads, reading glasses, and spiritual and motivational books. Since residents leave the jail with only what they wore when arrested, and because these clothes often no longer fit or are not weather-appropriate, Jail Ministry provides them with clothing upon release.
Sindoni said he finds fulfillment in his volunteer work. “You’re dealing with individuals who really want to talk to someone,” he said. “Mostly, you just listen — with compassion and without judgment. We talk about sports, or what is going on in the outside world, and we ask if they are getting the medical and mental health services they need.”
Sindoni encourages others to consider becoming involved in this ministry. “Don’t assume that those incarcerated are all bad people,” he said. “They may deserve some incarceration, but we don’t know what they have been through in life. Not everything is as awful as you imagine.”
In addition to becoming a visitor advocate, other opportunities outside the Onondaga County Justice System include office support, answering phone calls, and letter writing.
A number of events to commemorate the 50th anniversary are being planned. More information about volunteering, anniversary events, or how to make a donation can be found at jailministrysyr.org or by emailing jailministry@gmail.com.
