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MAY 2007
By Tim Ashley, staff writer Growing up, Sister Susan Kintzele was not part of a rich family but she always had what she needed, including love and affirmation. Since then, she has made it a point to seek out those who did not have love and affirmation to let them know they are capable of doing some good. A primary avenue for Sister Susan to accomplish that task has been her involvement in a bail bond project at the St. Joseph County Jail. Sister Susan noted St. Joseph County, South Bend, Indiana, does not have bondsmen, so therefore those bonding out of jail post their own bond. The bail bond project began approximately 30 years ago in the 1970s at the Justice and Peace Center in South Bend before it closed in the 1980s. It was a project of the Holy Cross priests, brothers and sisters. Those bonding out of jail can be given an interest-free loan to pay part of their bond. “Most people in there don’t have the money to get out,” Sister Susan noted. But she emphasized the entire bond is not posted through the loan “so someone else will have an interest in that person,” she said. Sister Susan interviews the person seeking to bond out and looks for community ties, such as family or relatives living in the area. She visits the jail usually twice a week and meets with four, maybe five people on each visit. Some can be helped, while others can’t. If someone can be helped, Sister Susan sets everything up with the court system and is able to provide a check to post part of the bond. It is not her own money, but originally came from the Holy Cross priests, brothers and sisters. When the case is taken care of, the money is recycled and used over and over. The basic premise of the bail bond project, she said, is that the “poor would have the same opportunity to bond out at those who have the money.” Essentially, the project helps level the field. “People have a better chance to make a case for themselves when they are out of jail,” Sister Susan said. “They can talk to their attorney or help their attorney. And they also can continue to work and be less of a burden on their family. It gives them a chance to prove themselves.” She has been doing the bonding project for so long her name and phone number are well known by jail staffers, judges and others. Someone will typically refer a family member of a jailed person to Sister Susan. Deciding who should be helped is based in part on what the person is charged with and how much the bond is set at. Typically, she does not help those who have extremely high bond amounts in the thousands of dollars. And one of the conditions attached when a person is helped is that he or she is to appear in court for the case, which is the whole point, she said. Fruits of her ministry, which she does pretty much on her own, are often not known until years later. One day she might be walking down the street and run into someone she helped years ago who will tell her he or she is doing fine now and has turned his or her life around. Sister Susan said a lot of people are told so often they are bad and will never amount to anything good, but “I believe there is good in everyone … they just need a chance to show it.” Originally from Michigan City, Sister Susan attends St. Augustine’s Catholic Church in South Bend where she is on the parish council. She is one of the Sisters of the Holy Cross, lives on the campus of Saint Mary’s College and is on the board of directors for the Dismas House, where ex-offenders live when they first get out of prison. And she also finds time to teach algebra at Indiana University South Bend and is an avid reader. * * * |
