Norfolk native, Reesy Floyd-Thompson stood behind her husband, Nivens Thompson, in a Pennsylvania courtroom six years ago as his sentence was read. “[I] took a deep breath, told him I was proud of him for addressing the judge and promised him I would be by his side,” Floyd-Thompson said. Thompson was sentenced to twelve and a half to 25 years in prison.
“My husband and I are still in a relationship, regardless of his geography,” Floyd-Thompson said. She and Thompson pay bills and make decisions together as a family. She said he sends money home. “He has a responsibility as a husband to do whatever he can to contribute to the home and his prison sentence hasn’t changed that,” she said. She and Thompson have been married for just over 5 years.
“My family has been supportive from the beginning,” she said. Her family sends him gifts during holiday seasons, visits him, talks to him. She said they love Thompson. “He is a part of our lives because we talk about him all the time,” she said.
Floyd-Thompson describes herself as a regular girl. She is off and running around 7 a.m. and finishes her day around 9 or 10 p.m. Most of her time is spent working and researching resources for partners of inmates. “My life is so boring,” she said.
She is looking forward to his homecoming. She is planning a parade. “I know it sounds crazy, but my friend lives on a remote street, so we will have family and friends parade with signs and stuff just to show him he was missed,” she said. She and her husband are planning to buy a home upon his return. “Buying a home is the one thing I will not do until he is home,” she said.
Floyd-Thompson is more than the wife of a prison inmate. She is also a freelance writer and advocate for the partners of other inmates. She is the director of Prisoners’ Wives, Girlfriends and Partners, a support group for the wives, girlfriends and partners of inmates. She started the program in July 2009. She said it gives the partners a place to share, get support and connect with her. The group meets on the second Tuesday of each month and is free and confidential. She said she is currently looking for a place to hold the meetings permanently.
“If a person decides to stand by their partner, then it is their job to do the best they can to ensure the relationship is the focus and not the incarceration,” she said. Floyd-Thompson is in the process of attaining a non-profit status for the group. She said the group will offer parenting classes, relationship, self-esteem and finance workshops. She said those topics are of interest to people in this situation.
She is also looking into starting an annual victim’s awareness day. “Because all crimes have a victim and I, by no means, want that to get lost in the shuffle,” she said, “but at the same time, partners of the incarcerated also need support and are, by no means, victims.”
According to her Web site Floyd-Thompson recently completed her first television interview on Another View. The topic was family life and incarceration. She represented the Prisoners’ Wives, Girlfriends and Partners group. The episode will air February 26 at 9 p.m. on PBS.
Anyone interested in the group can visit her Web site or go to meetup.com.
Comments
Very well written!
You rocked this article!!! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my story. You capture the essence of who I am. I know people have strong opinions about prisoners and their families but with this article, for just a moment, maybe will be willing to see the human side of this.
This was a great article! I believe this article did indeed shed light on the human aspect of prisoners and their families. Good read!
Great job Mandi!! Atta girl !!
What did this thug do? Hopefully if he does get out, he will not come down to Norfolk, we have enough scumbags here.
to tellus--we dont need anymore dumb bitches either. you have NO IDEA who he is or what he did but yet here yu are running you ignorant mouth!!!! people liKE you are a HUGE PROBLEM for others working on the positive. yes we are live in a country of free speech but that certainly doesnt mean we want to hear garbage!! ie YOU!!!
Well written and what a story!
I love this article, well done! I thank you for all that you do for us. I too are wearing those shoes and it takes a real strong women to fill them. I wouldn't change a thing and I live it every day!
Thanks Ressey for being a voice for us. Our loved ones are not the only ones "doing time". If we stand with them and support them we are also treated like a criminal. When will people learn that Love is unconditional. We can still love the person and not like what they did. Can't we learn a lesson from God?
Why not answer what this scumbag did? The thug looks like a murderer? Is she exposing her kids to this felon?
You r being so ugly
For the person who didn't care to leave her name or number and seems to have alot of questions, you don't seem to be as productive with your time as this bright women is with hers. You don't need to worry about her man, just know that there is plenty of positives with him. Don't be so quick to judge, it may be you one day in the same situation. Luv Ya!
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