Rules of Home Confinement

I had to sign two forms for home confinement, one was specifically by the community corrections place I was staying and the other by the Feds... I'll start with the Fed Rules (this is a blanket form, so not everything applied to every person) - parts in parenthesis are specific to my situation:

I understand and agree to abide by the following conditions during my period of Home Detention:

1. I will reside at my approved residence.
2. I will conduct myself in a lawful manner.
3. I will accept phone calls from RRC/Probation Staff, verifying my presence at my home and at my job site. I agree to maintain a telephone at my place of residence without "call forwarding," or "three-way calling" for this period and will, when requested, provide copies of my telephone bill to the Center/Probation staff. I also agree that if my confinement is to be electronically monitored, I will wear any electronic monitoring device required, follow procedures specified, and comply with any telephone and computer access restrictions as they apply to the monitoring device requirements.
4. I will accept the visits of RRC/Probation personnel to my job site and home.
5. I will return to the RRC/Probation at least (twice) weekly on (Monday and Thursday at 9am) for program participation, and more often if instructed to do so.
6. I understand I must continue mental health/psychiatric treatment, substance abuse treatment, sex offender treatment on Home Detention.
7. I will not own or possess any deadly weapon or knowingly be in the company of a person possessing the same.
8. I will remain steadily employed at: (Independent employment or school) ___ and will not change employment without prior approval of RRC/Probation staff.
9. I will not knowingly associate with persons having a criminal record, nor frequent places where illegal activities are conducted.
10. I will not drink alcoholic beverages of any kind; nor will I enter any establishments, such as bars or liquor stores, where the sale and/or consumption of alcoholic beverages on the premises is the primary business of the establishment.
11. Except as medically authorized, I will not use or possess narcotics, or other controlled substances, nor be in the presence of persons possessing the same.
12. I agree that during the Home Detention period, I will remain at my place of residence, except for employment, unless I am given specific permission to do otherwise.
13. I will not own or drive a motor vehicle without proper authorization.
14. I will abide by special instructions given to me by the RRC/Probation, e.g., electronic monitoring program participation.
15. I will submit to urinalysis or alcohol testing as requested by the RRC/Probation. I understand that ingestion of poppy seed food products may result in positive test results for unauthorized drug use and is therefore prohibited.
16. I agree to pay subsistence for the cost of my participation in home detention.
17. I understand that I am personally responsible for all costs of my housing, meals, and general subsistence, while I am on Home Detention.

RULES OF HOME CONFINEMENT
1. Report two times, in person to the ____ facility each week.
2. Telephone (the facility) each day after returning to your residence from place of employment.
3. Accept a telephone call at place of employment, from (facility) staff, when working.
4. Follow curfew of 9:00pm-6:00am. The only exception is for work.
5. Make copy of pay checks and pay subsistence each time you are paid.
6. Submit a urine sample and take a pbt each report day.
7. Provide signed verification from all appointments.
8. Call (the facility) two (2) times each day from your residence.
9. Accept telephone calls from (the facility) staff at your residence each day.

I understand that if (the facility) calls my residence and I do not answer, or make a return telephone call within 30 minutes, I will be ordered back to the (facility).

Homeward Bound

I'm going home, I'm going home, yes, yes, yes, I'm going home! At 11am I heard my name. I'd just started doing hall laps for the second time today out of pure boredom. I walk up to the bubble and I'm told, "go get your stuff." I look at her and say, "I'm going home?" "Yes, you're going home." Hurray!!!!! Tonight begins my next step closer to a 'normal' life.

I asked if I could make some phone calls - look for a ride - but what time I'm actually released is unknown. I still need to meet with my CW.

Five nights here. It's not a true HWH, for some it's rehab, others for drug court, for all it's a locked facility. I'll never know (I hope) the experiences of a true HWH. Perhaps Freckles will and that will inform us as all.

I was just called to the CW's office. I signed more forms (some that should've been signed when I arrived), went over this week's goals - no reason to leave home, except try and go to a GA meeting on Wednesday, and went over all the rules of home confinement (shared in a separate entry). My curfew is 9pm-6am, but I need advance okay to leave and do anything. I will be called on my home phone at least 3x/day, including in the middle of the night. The home phone and I will be best friends!!

I need to take a "rules test" for staying here, even though I am leaving. They need to take my photo. Then I'm allowed to call to get a ride home. I'll likely be out after dinner.

12:35pm I'm sitting in the tv room. My leg always shakes, but it's going especially crazy. I'm so happy to be going home! I should be in my room until 1pm according to the rules, but I no longer have a room. I'll be in the not so comfy chairs for the next six hours. I'm fine with that. They are certainly better than the blue benches at Carswell. I can be patient for anything now.

I had to pick up a bunch of "Request for Time Out" slips. Once pre-approved, anywhere I'd like to go, I need to pre-fill out the form and bring it with me when I go. All places outside my home will need to sign the form when I arrive and leave. Every Monday I will go over my schedule with my CW, so my week's activities will all need to be determined before the Monday.

It turns out my PO will have nothing to do with me during my home confinement. I will still do all my reporting here. There's so much the BOP is wrong on in the info they share with us. I hope my experiences help others get a feel for what to expect - or rather - expect nothing, because whatever you think is going to happen, it is rarely ever right. What they tell you will happen, is also rarely ever right.

A bird just flew into the window where I'm sitting. It fell straight to the ground. I'd check on it if I were allowed outside this building. Once home, I can sit outside, as long as my phone reaches in terms of reception. I will certainly take advantage of being able to get some fresh air.

I've warned T.S. and Sporty to be gentle with me, in terms of wanting me to catch up on a year's worth of everything right away. I said we should make a list of everything they want to show me (T.S. video blogs, pictures, movies, tv shows, new music, etc.) and we'll so a little every day. It's a little overwhelming to come back to a 'normal' life and it is certainly okay to do it with baby steps. Sleeping on a real bed, access to a refrigerator, playing with my dog, choosing my own clothes, using an oven, wearing a cute hat, playing on my iPhone, using the internet, writing directly into my blog, and communicating to anyone at anytime using a choice of mediums are things I haven't done in nearly 10 months.

Instead of seeing life as it was before I was locked up, my head is still in prison mode. I had a small sandwich bag last night and I turned and asked if anyone needed it before I threw it away. We don't throw things away in prison that can be repurposed. The good thing was that I didn't horde it in my locker (Red would be proud). Anyway, no one needed my sandwich bag and it went to the garbage.

I guess the good thing is that I certainly will have plenty of things to keep writing about for a while. I've now had this odd HWH experience, next will be a month of home confinement, then the transition to supervision. I'll be updating on new hoops I need to jump through, successes, learning points, and failures. A new chapter is beginning.

Before I finish uploading everything I've written from the last week, I need to out out a very special "thank you." Traveler has been keeping this site from literally around the world. She has responded to individual emails, made adjustments when necessary, and has truly been the Dragonfly Hazel alter ego for 10 months. While there are a lot of thank you's I owe to all the people who made my life better while I was away, this very special thank you goes to Traveler - because she really made it possible for you all to follow my adventures and for more than 40,000 hits to occur in such a short span of time. Thank you Traveler - you are officially off-duty and I will forever be grateful to you!! This pic is for you:

Food

I'm still waking on Carswell time. I asked the woman in the bubble if I could sit somewhere and write at 5am, not allowed, so I wrote in my not so comfy bed using my book light. I spend about half my day in this bed.

At 6am, I was allowed out of my room, so I drank an OJ (out of vending machine) and walked the halls for 30 minutes. I was missing Freckles - we walked together most mornings.

Breakfast was at 8:15am, but by then, my stomach was feeling pretty funky. By lunchtime - very funky. It must be the OJ - I hadn't had real OJ in nearly a year. It's like introducing things into one's diet during an elimination diet. I hear many foods may cause me a reaction. Unfortunately, there was no way for me to get any Pepsid, Imodium, or the like, so I have had to just face bouts of "ugh" through the day. So be it.

There's no programming here on Sundays. Some residents get furloughs with their families, many go to AA/NA meetings, others work - some of us continue to be locked in this building with nowhere to go. The one other non-smoker and I bonded over no fresh air.

So, we watched a movie with Kevin Costner called "Dragonfly" and I thought, "how aperpo." It was alright. Now, they are watching Step Up 2. A room filled with young women, slightly older than T.S. I would be watching something different, perhaps one of the movies they have that are considered structured time - "Walk the Line" or "Silver Lining..." about characters dealing with addiction...

9:15pm We are watching "The Hunger Games." We have 1 & 2, but due to smoke breaks, dinner saves, pill line, etc we will only get through #1 tonight. I'll watch #2 at home. I am still in hope of going home tomorrow. I am thinking it must be true, because I am on the last page of this journal - a journal Freckles got me during the merry-go-round. So, I guess I need to go home to get a new notebook :-)

Since I get a night time medication, I automatically get a snack - bologna sandwich with mustard and a small cranberry juice every night. I give away the sandwich and drink the juice.

I love the line just spoken in Hunger Games, "Hope is the only thing stronger than fear..."