Humanitarian Arthur Pratt Dies at Age 83.

For most of his 83 years, Arthur was an unsung hero. He put his life on the line everyday to help others. He went into the Marion Country Jail everyday for 35 years to help others stay out of it. He spent a life time helping the homeless, alcoholics, drug addicts, and the poor. Arthur was the founder of the LET Program in the Marion county Jail. His friend Senator Richard Lugar helped him get Federal funding for a program he called Life Effectiveness Training. Mr. Pratt was one of the first to convince the courts that if people could if people could stay sober, they could stay out of jail. He saved the lives of many who would have otherwise died an icy death in the cold. Prior to his work in the jail, half of the offenders would return within months, have serious health problems within the year, or freeze to death in the streets. He went on to document that treatment works in his working in conjunction with IUPUI. He was the recipient of many awards from the State of Indiana in recognition of his work. He was a pioneer in asking for alternative sentences for those with substance abuse problems.

Arthur was dedicated to his work. His program was funded by grants an offered no heal;th benefits, or vacations or sick days. But, Arthur saw the jail as his calling, and didn't need vacations. He inspired may others to make a life work with helping others to maintain sobriety and a better quality of life. In his work he brought together some of the most unlikely combinations of people who share his desire to help others. Those friendship would span a lifetime. One of those friendship is the one I have with his long time associate Janet Hair who helped him in his ministry since 1986. Arthur had encouraged me to take over his work int he Jail but I felt his shoes were much too big for me to fill.

Arthur Pratt was a firm believer in the program of Alcoholics Anonymous and the effectiveness of living a Christian based life. He lived this life by example. He believed that in order to be effective in the community you have to live and be present to that part of the community. He spent many of his years living in Dodge City, helping his neighbors make changes through sobriety and Christan Faith. He was the forerunner to the programs in Faith Based Values that are now state wide. He wrote about these value in several of the books he published titled Freedom, Information on Alcoholism, and the Party's Over.

Arthur lived in the same neighborhoods with the people he was trying to help, often time sharing his home an meals with the less fortunate. He lived for many years in an area that was called Dodge City, it was one of the highest crime rate areas. But, Arthur had a belief in community and that knew shunning the poor and addicted only added to the cycle of addiction. He was quick to cite that it was only hard person work with others that made the difference. Arthur encouraged others to accept his Christan Faith, become active in Alcoholic Anonymous, and accept strong family values. Arthur encouraged the men he worked with to marry their girlfriends, stop the violence and to put their wife's and children first in their life's.

Not only did Arthur impact the sentencing and ail system, her helped change his neighborhood. The area is now know as Fall Creek Place and has been revitalized and helped the start of Oaks Academy. Andrew Hart, the Headmaster of Oaks was quoted as saying that "Arthur saw angels when the rest of us saw problems." His friend and neighbor Jane Haldeman was quoted as saying that Arthur always saw the potential for beauty. He had a Midas touch for everything he put his hand on changed for the better.

Arthur was hands on in his approach and did not want to be the administrative person. He always believed the the relationship with the client was primary to change. Arthur taught that quick fixes do not work in resoling the problems of poverty and addiction. Arthur knew that sobriety only came when you could learn to love you fellows. Arthur was well aware the the two problems with intertwined and that part of the root of the problems was a soul sickness in the individual who was often rejected by society. Arthur believed that you had to love others until they learned to love themselves. This was probably on e of the most import lessons he shared with me in my work with addicts. the the Indianapolis Community. Arthur taught that support and relationships were primary to sobriety. He believed that quick cognitive approaches did not work and it was important for the counselor to commit to a long term relationship with the client.

Arthur had many accomplishment that included working in an agricultural co-op in Africa, working for World Government, was one of the founders of the the national Flynn Homes, President the Christian Inner-City Association, and Board of Directors of Interfaith Housing. Everything he touched and became involved with grew, and his guiding hand will be a loss

My condolences go out to his friends and family. May his beloved wife Amal find peace after coping with Artur's long illness, and his two sons and two daughters. My condolences also go to his dear friend and mine Janet Hair who share so many hours of loving labor with Arthur in the Jail.