I am new here. My brother is in prision and I live across the states from him. I have not seen him in about 2 years. I miss him so much. We have always been the best of friends. I am scared that when he comes home he will be changed somehow. Does anyone else ever have that feeling?

Welcome Pooh, I have a brother in prison also. I am hoping he will come out a better person then when he went in. I also have my man in prison and has been for 9 years and will be comming out a better man. His words not mine,. I hope you stay in contact with him as they need support from the outside world. you have come to a good site for support and suggestions. How long is your brother away from you?

peace and blessings to you.

Hello and Welcome to PTO!!:)

wow, thanks for the welcome. I was a little nervous about joining but it is nice to feel welcome where other people know what I am going through. I really hope he does come out a better person. we write to each other often and while he has been in he has taken up art and music. music is one thing we always had in common and was a dream. he has written many songs he hopes to sing with me. It is just hard knowing that he has missed the last 2 years of my life even though i am an adult now. anyway thanks for welcoming me.

Welcome to the Siblings Forum Rick's Pooh - we are glad you found us :) You will find lots of support here. I am sure most of us share the same feelings that you have expressed- fear of how changed our brother or sister might be as we don't know exactly what they have been through or how they will adapt once they are released, etc. This is why this place is so great-just knowing you aren't alone- we are all here to help one another.

Welcome to PTO Ricks Pooh!!

One

Hi, welcome to PTO and my best wishes to you and your loved one. You asked if he will change...absolutely.

Whether positive or negative, he has to change. Spending any time in jail or prison makes a major impact on any person's life. I spent almost 5 years in jail and prison, and it made a major impact on my life. But be careful not to assume that I mean "negative". Whenever you are exposed to a different way of living, your life changes forever. The question is HOW has it changed?

That gets more complicated, but in essence it all depends on the choices and decisions he makes while in prison. I know that sounds very vague, but believe me, it has a major impact. I won't get too much in that, because I run my mouth too much sometimes, but I will say that you have a very powerful part in how his life changes. Don't think that you are in no position to help; you are much more important that you think. He needs you to be positive and to support him. If he knows that someone out there still loves him, it will encourage him in a great way.

Will he change? Of course he will. But how he changes depends largely on him, with a little help from you too. Don't give up on him.

Welcome to PTO.