Lauren Daigle recently visited Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola State Prison, where she announced she had raised $17,000 on behalf of the inmates. While at Angola prison, Daigle performed her song “How Can It Be” and reminded the prisoners of the hope they have in Jesus.
“In the middle of the pain, in the middle of your problems, in the middle of you being the worst of who you are, he comes and he sits next to you in that process,” said Daigle, speaking from a stage to a crowd of offenders. “He doesn’t point the finger, he doesn’t give you shame. He sits with you.”
Bringing Comfort to Angola Prison
A video Daigle posted to her social media channels shows the singer visiting with different inmates at Angola prison. At one point, she spoke on the prison radio, sharing words of encouragement to every offender at Angola, even those unable to attend her concert. On the air she said, “I appreciate and I love all you guys. I know that I don’t know you, but maybe someday I’ll get to cross paths with you, if not here, then on the other side, in heaven. We’ll be able to give each other a big ole hug. Honestly, I care so much about each one of your stories.”
Part of Daigle’s visit included having lunch with a select group of offenders, where she shared that she had partnered with Angola prison for Giving Tuesday and had raised $17,000 in donations. The funds will go toward paying for clothing, as well as phone calls so inmates can talk to their family members and loved ones. In an Instagram post before visiting the facility, Daigle wrote, “These are luxuries to inmates and not every person can afford to call home for the holidays, connect with their families, and hear the voice of a loved one…Help comfort them this season and let them know that there are people who care and have not forgotten them.”
On Twitter on December 4th, Daigle wrote that because the cause “means so much,” she had extended the campaign and that if people gave to it through Friday, she would match each donation.
The campaign we launched yesterday means so much that I’m extending this window beyond a single day for Giving Tuesday and making this a GIVING WEEK!
If you give to this cause through Friday…
I WILL MATCH EVERY SINGLE GIFT!! https://t.co/L9zwdDqiT0— Lauren Daigle (@Lauren_Daigle) December 4, 2019
Located in Angola, Louisiana, Angola State Prison is the largest maximum-security prison in the U.S. It has 6,300 male inmates and 1,800 staff. Over 85 percent of the offenders are in prison because of violent crimes, and over 50 percent are serving life sentences.
True Freedom
This is not the first time Lauren Daigle has visited a maximum-security prison in order to support the inmates through music and encouraging words. In October 2018 soon after the release of her hit album, Look Up Child, she visited Statesville Correctional Center in Illinois. On Facebook, Daigle described it as “a day that was more than I can articulate. It was a day my eyes had never seen and will never be able to unsee…I saw hope in the face of the hopeless, joy in the wake of sorrow, wealth in the gap of depravity, and life in the midst of death. These people have stories, and they also have souls.”
Speaking to the Angola inmates from the stage, Daigle reminded them that true freedom is found in Jesus: “He’s called the savior of the world because he comes to save us and to set us free and rescue us from the things that would have us caught and ensnared and left in bondage. He sets every captive heart free.”
