Grant Targets Prison Cycle

Grant targets prison cycle

Grant targets prison cycle

Second Chance program aims to keep ex-cons from returning

Jimmie E. Gates • May 28, 2011

It's the revolving door of young males entering the corrections system, coming out and then going back.

About a third of offenders return to prison after their release, according to the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

The nonprofit West Jackson Community Development Corp. hopes to provide the support needed to stop the cycle for at least 40 ex-offenders in the Jackson metro area.

A $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice will give the organization the financial backing for its second chance re-entry program.

West Jackson CDC will work in conjunction with MDOC to identify former offenders, ages 18 to 34, to receive help with education, housing and job replacement.

"We know those offenders who leave our custody with a place to live and strong support systems have a much higher likelihood of staying out," state Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps said.

Epps said the recidivism rate is the highest the first year of release.

Three months before offenders are released, mentors will begin working with them. The former inmates will be chosen from Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility, the South Mississippi Correctional Institution in Greene County, and the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in Pearl.

"The Second Chance Act grant is a significant step in helping our effort to address successful community reintegration for offenders as they transition back into the Jackson community," West Jackson CDC Executive Director Linda Carter said in a news release announcing the program.

For some, the two-year program will be coordinated with the $1.1 million YouthBuild grant West Jackson CDC was awarded in March from the U.S. Department of Labor, Carter said.

The grant is part of $30.7 million the Labor Department awarded for its YouthBuild program, which prepares youth for careers through hands-on construction training, and high school completion and General Educational Development programs.

West Jackson was the sole Mississippi agency to receive funding, the department said.

West Jackson CDC's YouthBuild is for ages 16-24 and allows participants to earn GEDs, gain job skills and serve the community by building affordable housing.

Participants work with contractors and subcontractors for affordable housing. Carter said YouthBuild participants are working on six homes in west Jackson.

YouthBuild participants are paid a maximum $300 stipend every two weeks.

The former inmates who qualify for the second chance re-entry program will be used in the YouthBuild program to gain job skills, Carter said. The YouthBuild program isn't new for West Jackson CDC, but the inmate program is.

Carter said a person has been hired to run the second chance program, and mentors are being identified to work with the former offenders. About 100 volunteers will be recruited to be mentors.