PCSO Adult Detention Center implements life skills courses

The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office Adult Detention Facility has implemented programs that help manage the growing population of individuals facing incarceration for short or long periods of time.

The ability to offer a variety of programs and activities helps staff give incarcerated individuals the chance to do something “with their time,” not just “do their time.” The goal of PCSO’s “Perseverance Through Programs” is to improve self-esteem through life skill courses and drug and alcohol awareness and education to help individuals prepare for release and start a future in a better direction.

Through the combined efforts of staff and volunteers the facility has collected approximately 1,800 books, which have been distributed throughout the facility. Non-profit organizations, such as Read Between the Bars in Tucson, have been a valuable resource, as have local residents and businesses, in the effort to provide fiction, non-fiction and educational books.

The facility has also recently created a position to work directly with inmates who are interested in participating in specific programs. Programs Officer Sandra Price has begun to develop self-improvement programs such as “Reading Readiness,” which introduces the proper grammatical skills needed to successfully present oneself in the interviewing process, and “Step, Walk and Run,” which opens up the dialogue for establishing the proper process to success, including taking the steps to formulate a plan, walking through the doors of opportunity and running the race for endurance, not speed.

On Aug. 25, the Pinal County Adult Detention Center welcomed Chaplain Michael Whitaker of Good News Jail and Prison Ministry as part of the continuing effort to offer better support programs and services to those incarcerated. The ministry will provide comprehensive services to all inmates in the facility that request contact or those who face personal crisis while detained, such as family/personal emergencies and death notifications. The chaplain will work with local churches to provide ministry support through prayer, volunteers and finances, and serve as a liaison and facilitator between the pastoral community and the facility staff.

General recreational and social programs are a benefit to all individuals who wish to participate and help develop a sense of worth to help with the sense of failure so many experience when incarceration begins. Programs help relieve tension and frustration within the facility, which helps create a safer living environment for inmates and a safer working environment for staff.

PCSO will continue to create and implement programs throughout the facility for those wishing to make a change and better prepare for a positive start back into their community. Program availability and participation may not be a guarantee for rehabilitation or a reduction in recidivism, but if it opens one door for one individual, it is a worthwhile effort.

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