Houses of Healing: A Chaplain’s Perspective

James M.W. Kim is a Canadian prison chaplain working with incarcerated people in British Columbia. Here are some excerpts from his letter to Robin Casarjian, the author of Houses of Healing, on the impacts of the program.

Hello Robin,

You have no idea how Houses of Healing has brought healing to me as I began to deal with my own issues from my past. It was your phone call and encouragement which made me make the decision to order your materials 9 years ago. And every time I facilitate the course, it gets better and deeper for me, but the tears of healing I see in the inmates are what keep me coming back to this program over again.

It is your program that changed my approach to chaplaincy, from mainly religious and pastoral focused to programming and relationship focused. I’ve developed and [currently] facilitate programs on Setting Boundaries, Anger Management, Choosing Safe People, Starting Over, Relationship Skills, and of course, your Houses of Healing. So I have a lot to thank you for, both personally and vocationally.

Many outside of corrections may not know this, but you have made a huge impact for the inmates in prisons. When I get together with chaplains from the federal system, many of them who are also facilitating Houses of Healing, we are all in agreement that this is one of the most impactful and meaningful programs many of us have come across. We all wish every correctional center could have this program.

Thank you from all of us,

Chaplain James M.W. Kim

PS. A volunteer who will be helping me with this program used to be a prison volunteer in Ecuador, and she led HOH in Spanish; she also loves this program.

Global impact!!