Miracle Village Explained

Official Name:City of Refuge
Nickname:Miracle Village
Pushpin Map:Florida#USA
Pushpin Label:Miracle Village
Pushpin Label Position:top
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Florida
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Palm Beach
Government Type:Operated by
Leader Title:Executive Director
Leader Name:Ted Rodarm
Established Title:Founded
Established Date:1964
Timezone:Eastern (EST)
Utc Offset:-5
Timezone Dst:EDT
Utc Offset Dst:-4
Blank Name:GNIS feature ID
Population Est:200
Pop Est As Of:2018

Miracle Village (officially City of Refuge since 2014)[1] is a community on Muck City Road, about 3miles east of Pahokee, Florida, that serves as a haven for registered sex offenders. It is located within one of the most isolated and poorest parts of Palm Beach County.[2] [3] The site was chosen because of its isolation given that the sex offender residence restrictions do not apply.

Description

The complex of 54 duplexes and six family homes[4] is operated by, an organization with the stated goal of providing prison aftercare. The Executive Director in 2017 was Ted Rodarm, himself an ex-offender.[5] In October 2010, the community included 66 registered sex offenders; by July 2013, there were 100;[6] and by 2017, it held 120. The total population as of 2018, including family members, was 200.[7] It is the largest community of registered sex offenders in the United States.[8] There are an additional 300 who have resided there but since moved on.

An affiliated organization, Miracle Village Ministries, provides services including transportation to newly released prisoners. It describes itself on its website as "a faith-based prison aftercare ministry".[9]

Previously, the complex was known as Pelican Lake. It was built by U.S. Sugar in 1964 as housing for migrants working the sugar cane fields,[10] now replaced by machinery. After working out a deal with Matthew 25 Ministries to lease the property, the owner, Alston Management Inc., informed residents with school-age children that they would have to leave or be evicted.

Federal law prohibits discrimination against families with children, except in certain cases such as communities for the elderly.[11] Witherow was sued by the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County and the Florida Equal Justice Center on behalf of some residents.[12] In 2011, a federal judge found that Matthew 25 Ministries and Alston Management had violated the Federal Fair Housing Act.[13]

Relations with Pahokee

Miracle Village's relations with nearby Pahokee were initially difficult, but have improved considerably. The day Pat Powers, a resident and the village manager, first approached the City Council in nearby Pahokee, "We were the plague. They wanted to hang us. They wanted to knock the crap out of us and they had to give us a police escort to leave."[14]

The mayor in 2009, Wayne Whitaker, stated that he was unaware that offenders were being recruited to live there and that he believed having so many live together would be "very, very risky".[15]

Media attention

Radio

National Public Radio's All Things Considered covered the town in 2009.[16]

Photography

Noah Rabinowitz

On assignment for the German magazine Süddeutsche Zeitung (South German Times), American photographer Noah Rabinowitz took a series of photos of Miracle Village. They were published in 2013, with a 4,000 word article in the magazine.[17]

Sofía Valiente

In 2014, photographer Sofía Valiente, who lives in nearby Belle Glade, published a book with the simple title of Miracle Village.[18] The unpaged book contains pictures of Miracle Village and its sex offender residents. Along with an introduction by resident Joseph Steinberg, describing what it is like to be picked up at the prison gate and driven to Miracle Village, the book reproduces 11 handwritten statements by registrants describing their offenses, plus a Dear John letter from an offender's wife saying she wants a divorce.[19] [20] [21] [22] Of her work, Valiente said: "It is not just a documentary record of a shunned community, but an argument for understanding, rehabilitation, even forgiveness."[23]

Charles Ommanney

Photographer Charles Ommanney lived at Miracle Village for a week with the residents and in 2017 published 10 photographs, with brief commentary, in Politico magazine.

Movies and Television

Banished

Banished is a 15-minute video by reporter Aaron Thomas[24] and produced by Journeyman.tv in 2013, which aired in 2014 on SBS Australia. It concludes with a focus on Pahokee's pastor Patti Auperlee, who has helped the sex offenders be accepted by the wider community.[25]

Sex Offender Village

A New York Times "Op-Doc" (see Op-Ed) video from May 21, 2013, focuses on the problems of the residents, many of whom are interviewed.[26]

Second Chance Sex Offenders

On January 24, 2018, the BBC released its 58-minute documentary Stacey Dooley Investigates: Second Chance Sex Offenders, whose topic is Florida's sex offender policies, the toughest in the nation. Reporter Stacey Dooley interviews some officials who are hostile to sex offenders and believe they can never be rehabilitated, such as Florida Senator Lauren Book and Bradford County Sheriff Gordon Smith. She concludes with Miracle Village.[27] [28] [29] [30] [31]

Criminal Minds

Season 11, Episode 6 “Pariahville” of the television series Criminal Minds takes place in a fictionalized version of Miracle Village called “Glenport Village”.

Play

America is Hard To See (Off-Broadway play)

A research team from the Life Jacket Theater Company visited Pahokee for a week in October 2015. Based on interviews, autobiographical statements, and court records the team collected, the Company presented America Is Hard to See in January and February 2018.[32] The play is a fusion of personal interviews and texts written by the residents, with traditional Methodist hymns, lines from the sermons of Patti Auperlee, and original songs composed by Priscilla Holbrook. The central theme is whether there are limits to grace, whether or not sex offenders — all of them — can ever be forgiven.[33] [34] [35] [36]

Except for the hymns, each line of the eighteen songs is taken from the transcript of a statement by a Miracle Village resident, or from a sermon by Pastor Aupperlee.[37]

See also

Further reading

External links

26.8124°N -80.6114°W

Notes and References

  1. News: Hu . Caitlin . March 3, 2015 . 110 convicted sex offenders live in harmony in this small Florida town . . live . December 9, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171115085947/https://qz.com/344508/110-convicted-sex-offenders-live-in-harmony-in-this-small-florida-town/ . November 15, 2017.
  2. News: Inside the Remote, Little-Known Sanctuary for Sex Offenders. Katelyn. Fossett. December 7, 2017. Politico. January 20, 2018. Photographer Charles Ommanney lived at Miracle Village for a week with the residents and tried to capture what it was like to live on the other side of America's sex offender laws.. December 10, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171210015828/https://www.politico.com/magazine/gallery/2017/12/07/inside-the-off-the-grid-sanctuary-for-sex-offenders-000760. live.
  3. News: 6 Of The Weirdest Tiny Towns In The United States. Marina. Reimann. July 8, 2015. January 25, 2018. cracked.com. Among the new residents were men convicted of looking at child pornography, young guys who had underage girlfriends, guys who exposed themselves in public, a guy who got caught urinating in public, and actual child molesters. Oh, and one woman sex offender. Just one.. January 17, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180117031453/http://www.cracked.com/article_22760_6-weirdest-tiny-towns-in-united-states.html. live.
  4. Web site: Miracle Village story takes center stage off-Broadway. Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church. March 21, 2018. Suzanne. McGovern. July 25, 2018. July 27, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180727181253/https://www.flumc.org/newsdetail/miracle-village-story-takes-center-stage-in-nyc-11103306. live.
  5. Web site: We'd Like You to Get to Know Us. Matthew 25 Ministries Newsletter. September 2017. January 20, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180126012604/http://www.matthew25ministries.org/september-2017-newsletter.html. January 26, 2018. dead.
  6. Web site: The village where half the population are sex offenders. 31 July 2013. 31 July 2013. Linda Pressly. BBC News. 31 July 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130731014517/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23063492. live.
  7. Web site: Noah. Rabinowitz. Miracle Village. January 20, 2018. January 26, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180126070635/http://www.noahrabinowitz.com/miracle-village. live.
  8. News: Sex Offenders Find Safe Haven in 'Miracle Village'. Matt. Gutman. Akyssa. Litoff. October 8, 2010. January 20, 2018. Nightline (ABC News). August 17, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180817193248/https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/sex-offenders-find-safe-haven-florida-pastors-miracle/story?id=11776332. live.
  9. Web site: Welcome to Miracle Village Ministries. January 20, 2018. January 26, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180126012424/http://miraclevillageministries.org/index.php. live.
  10. News: Wolford . Ben . August 1, 2013 . Sex offenders, Pahokee congregation forge unlikely bond . Tampa Bay Times.
  11. Mitra Malek (January 29, 2009). Housing for ex-inmates raises rancor in Pahokee, The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved on February 22, 2011.
  12. http://www.justicefellowship.org/news-and-events/12810-florida-ex-offenders-find-safe-harbor Florida Ex-Offenders Find Safe Harbor
  13. News: Religious group that evicted families to house sex offenders violated federal law, judge rules. Jane. Musgrave. Palm Beach Post. November 5, 2011. January 24, 2018. January 29, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180129004548/http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/crime--law/religious-group-that-evicted-families-house-sex-offenders-violated-federal-law-judge-rules/TPdBPGuyIGckEqiAnSIQqI/. live.
  14. News: Usborne . David . August 16, 2013 . Miracle Village: Sex offenders are welcome . The Independent.
  15. Carlos Miller (September 27, 2009). Community Caters to Sex Offenders, NBC Miami. Retrieved on February 22, 2011.
  16. News: Allen. Greg . December 4, 2009. Pastor Offers Sex Offenders A 'Miracle': A New Start. All Things Considered, National Public Radio. January 25, 2018.
  17. News: Leben auf Abstand (Living at a Distance). Süddeutsche Zeitung. Max. Fellman. 2013. 50.
  18. Book: Miracle Village. 2014. Fabrica. Catena de Villorba (Italy). 9788898764273. Sofia Valiente.
  19. News: Inside Miracle Village, Florida's Isolated Community of Sex Offenders. Marcus. Thompson. January 28, 2015. Vice. January 20, 2018. Sofia Valiente's photographs explore how the most ostracized people in Western society live.. January 25, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180125021130/https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/jmbzz7/inside-miracle-village-379. live.
  20. News: This was a way to look beyond the stigma, to find the person there.. August 17, 2017. January 20, 2018. Barbara. Marshall. Palm Beach Post. Taking pictures of sex offenders convinced artist to make Glades home. January 26, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180126012547/http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/entertainment/taking-pictures-sex-offenders-convinced-artist-make-glades-home/xrQl6OcxFYawQlvGAIObwK/. live.
  21. News: January 26, 2015. Welcome to Miracle Village. I saw another human being and not the monster he was made out to be.. Lisa. Iaboni. January 20, 2018. The Marshall Project. September 17, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170917143136/https://www.themarshallproject.org/2015/01/26/the-residents-of-miracle-village. live.
  22. News: Life Inside a Community of Sex Offenders. Josh. Sanburn. Review of Valiente's book. September 16, 2014. January 20, 2018. Time. January 25, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180125040434/http://time.com/3705637/life-inside-a-community-of-sex-offenders/. live.
  23. News: O'Hagen . Sean . January 19, 2015 . Miracle Village: the sleepy Florida town for sex offenders . . live . February 4, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180206073620/https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/jan/19/sex-offenders-florida-town-sofia-valiente-miracle-village-photography . February 6, 2018.
  24. News: January 8, 2015 . Miracle Village: A Secret & Secluded Town for Sex Offenders in Florida . First to Know . live . January 20, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180124135630/http://firsttoknow.com/miracle-village-secret-town-sex-offenders-florida/ . January 24, 2018.
  25. News: Film: Banished. January 20, 2018. 2013. Journeyman.tv. January 24, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180124071746/https://www.journeyman.tv/film_documents/6150/transcript/. live.
  26. News: Sex Offender Village. Lisa F.. Jackson. David. Feige. New York Times. May 21, 2013. July 28, 2018. July 28, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180728223251/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/22/opinion/sex-offender-village.html. live.
  27. News: Stacey Dooley Investigates: Second Chance Sex Offenders. MH. BBC News. 2018. January 23, 2018. February 7, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180207042613/http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2018/04/stacey-dooley-investigates. live.
  28. News: Stacey Dooley Investigates: Second Chance Sex Offenders. January 24, 2018. BBC. January 23, 2018. January 28, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180128122421/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05tjbkp. live.
  29. News: Myall . Steve . January 16, 2018 . Inside the secret community dubbed Miracle Village where 100 child sex offenders live in isolation cut off from normal society . . live . January 25, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180128132734/https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/inside-camp-dubbed-miracle-village-11861997 . January 28, 2018.
  30. News: The secret sex offender village. Vanessa. Brown. Central Telegraph (Australia). January 22, 2018. January 22, 2018. January 23, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180123032744/https://www.centraltelegraph.com.au/news/inside-americas-isolated-community-for-sex-offende/3315727/. live.
  31. News: Meet the mum who defends daughter dating a sex offender and claims no relationship is perfect. January 23, 2018. January 23, 2018. Sarah. Deen. MetroUK. January 23, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180123121550/http://metro.co.uk/2018/01/23/mum-whose-daughter-is-dating-a-sex-offender-hopes-they-have-children-and-insists-he-has-a-good-heart-7248614/. live.
  32. News: Review: An 'Our Town' With Sex Offenders, in 'America Is Hard to See'. Laura. Collins-Hughes. February 2, 2018. New York Times. February 4, 2018. July 19, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180719143406/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/02/theater/review-america-is-hard-to-see-travis-russ.html. live.
  33. Web site: January 20, 2018. Life Jacket Theatre Company. America Is Hard to See. A New American Play.. 2018. Through field interviews and archival research, the company shares real stories about diverse human experiences, particularly those of people living on the margins — the outsiders and outcasts.. January 25, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180125080159/https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57606cf32b8ddea046415b36/t/5a537e068165f5deaa9c8270/1515421220119/AMERICA+Press+Kit.pdf. live.
  34. News: February 6, 2018. A Colony of Sex Offenders Takes the Stage in America Is Hard to See. Life Jacket Theater's latest documentary play addresses an uncomfortable subject.. Zachary. Stewart. February 2, 2018. Theatermania. February 7, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180207182932/http://www.theatermania.com/off-broadway/reviews/a-colony-of-sex-offenders-takes-the-stage-in-ameri_83943.html. live.
  35. News: Florida sex offender story moves to New York stage. Anne. Schindler. Des Moines Register and Iowa City Press-Citizen. February 5, 2018. December 4, 2015. February 7, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180207200011/http://www.hawkcentral.com/story/news/local/florida/2015/12/04/pahokee-story-to-new-york-stage/76808706/. live.
  36. News: 'Hard to See' A story of sex offenders takes center stage. Anne. Schindler. November 3, 2016. February 5, 2018. WTLV (First Coast News). July 17, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210717124204/https://www.firstcoastnews.com/article/news/local/consumer/on-your-side/hard-to-see-a-story-of-sex-offenders-takes-center-stage/77-347522585. live.
  37. WFUV. Miracle Village — America Is Hard To See. Fordham Conversations. January 25, 2018. February 4, 2018. 30. Host: Robin Shannon. February 8, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180208064314/http://www.wfuv.org/content/miracle-village-america-hard-see. live.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Miracle Village".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.