Inmates Get Tools for Life Outside Jail

D.C. Program Aims To Ease Transition

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) recently visited the D.C. jail to highlight a program that prepares inmates for a life beyond cellblocks.

Thirty inmates at a time are participating in a five-week course that includes résumé writing, computer classes and life skills. The program is meant for the last two months before an inmate is released.

"This program allows those returning to the community to be more prepared for employment," said Charles Jones, director of Project Empowerment, which offers employment and training to ex-offenders and other D.C. residents. "This program builds self-esteem and confidence, because many of our participants are learning that they can do better. For many, all that they know is the streets."

Jones said participants range in age from 24 to 54. Prison activists say it is a worthwhile program at a facility that has had its share of problems.

The D.C. jail has about 1,900 inmates. Fenty said the Employment Readiness Center is an effort to ease their transition out of imprisonment. Equipping the inmates to be self-sufficient is critical, Fenty said.

"We were at the jail trying to give offenders better job skills," Fenty said in an interview. He is also pushing a crime bill with new mandatory minimum sentences. Crime is rising and residents want it to stop, he said.

"We are giving the police and the U.S. attorney more resources to put more people in jail," he said. "In a month and one week, we have had 15 homicides, and two-thirds have been in Ward 8."

Inmates and prison advocates have long criticized the lack of services and educational opportunities for those incarcerated at the jail.

"Historically, discharge planning has not been one the jail's strong suits, so this is certainly a positive step," said Phil Fornaci, director of the D.C. Prisoners Project. "It is better to have a more comprehensive approach for all inmates, because you don't know when they will come out. But this is a positive step."

Pauline Sullivan, former head of the D.C. Chapter of Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants, said that a little help can go a long way, because most of the inmates are not hardened criminals.

"Most of the people in the jail are there for a short term. I think [Corrections Director] Devon Brown is really trying to bring some changes in that jail," Sullivan said.