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Learning to live forward

Inmates create reentry program to change the 'code'

By PAULA BARR
Daily Journal Staff Writer

Monday, August 18, 2008

Jesse Scott and his friends had spent their lives in a world that was backwards. Emotions and caring for others were seen as weaknesses. Taking advantage of others and ignoring violent acts was a way to survive. Everything wrong was seen as right.

Scott and the others had collectively spent more than 150 years in prison and they had bought into the “prison code” expected of those who want to fit in.

Scott, now 60, realized five years ago that he could no longer live that way.

“Here at Potosi, it’s probably one of the most negative places I’ve ever been in, in 30 years,” Scott said during a phone interview. “I was frustrated with all the time we had and not one of us was taking advantage of it.”

At the time, approximately half the offenders in Potosi Correctional Center had paroleable sentences. However, there was no program that focused on helping them to prepare for life on the outside.

Scott gathered a group of offenders, some around his own age, others much younger. The youngest in the group was 27 and had been in prison since he was 15. The men brainstormed about their environment and what might make it more positive.

“We came to the conclusion that there were a lot of problems,” Scott recalled. “A lot of times we didn’t want to admit to our culpability and our criminal way of thinking — things we knew were wrong. Some of my friends were still caught up in the same old prison games.”

At the time, the Department of Corrections was changing its focus and looking at ways to reduce recidivism rates by helping ex-offenders successfully enter society. In September 2005, Gov. Matt Blunt signed an Executive Order directing the Department of Corrections to lead a permanent interagency steering team for the Missouri Reentry Process. Among the goals — assist ex-offenders in learning skills that help them avoid more crimes.

Full Circle was a good tie into  that new philosophy, Scott realized. He and McKinley Robinson, Fuller Christian, Rashid Junaid, Lonnie Lockhart Bey and Juan Arch began working on their goal to create an effective program to help ex-offenders be self-reliant and successful.

The men brainstormed ways to help offenders learn life skills, change their way of thinking, and prepare for successful reentry into society.

Age differences made consensus challenging, especially when it came to language. Phrases that meant one thing to the older offenders were offensive to the younger men, or had gang-related meanings. The men turned to dictionaries and thesauruses to find the best wording.

Volunteer Elaine Aubuchon, Institutional Activities Coordinator Rick Secoy and Maj. Daniel Hudson of the Salvation Army worked with the group as they developed a curriculum for Full Circle.

“We had to show them that in order to reach the prisoners, some of the curriculum needed to come from our viewpoint,” Scott explained. “The program was different because offenders were used to clinical viewpoints.”

The first class began in January 2005 with 26 applicants. Nineteen completed the program, meeting four hours each week and working on homework assignments between classes.

Public speaking was the first segment, and it was not easy.

For example, there was the “ah” count.

And the “um” count.

Some participants were surprised how often they interjected those words into one sentence. Once they realized what they were doing, the men worked to stop.

Participants discussed the reasons they were in prison. Inmate facilitators made sure the students realized their actions put them in prison, not the acts of others. They discussed alternatives the men should have used.

The curriculum incorporated “Breaking Barriers,” a course on cognitive awareness and critical thinking. Facilitators addressed procrastination, resume writing, job interview tips and parole planning.

One test was the mock parole board, comprised of facilitators who had asked for parole before. They knew what questions to ask, what buttons to push. Then they critiqued the classmates’ performances.

Tips offered included: Admit culpability, tell the truth, do not tell a lie.

About a dozen men who completed Full Circle went on to have real parole hearings. Some are now on the street.

In the six sessions offered thus far, 59 men — about 60 percent of participants — completed the program, Scott said. Most see a reduction of violations and those received are usually minor misbehaviors. Many go on to participate in other Department of Corrections programs.

Scott hopes the program will be incorporated into the reentry initiative that is getting under way at Potosi correctional Center.

“There are people in here who know they need help and are trying to improve, but a lot of them don’t know how,” he said. “You’ve got to work on it, you can’t just go out there and do what you used to do, or you’re coming back.

“It’s not all about you.”

Paula Barr is a reporter for the Daily Journal and can be reached at 573-431-2010, ext. 172 or at pbarr@dailyjournalonline.com.