The Republican
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Hampden County Sheriff Michael J. Ashe doesn’t believe a prison term should close the door on an inmate’s future. And putting that philosophy to work is yielding benefits for both inmates and the community at large.
The evidence was clear this week as Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and city officials joined the sheriff for a tour of some of the community service projects that have tapped the hidden labor force at the Ludlow correctional facility.
One crew was rebuilding a staircase to the basement in the Forest Park administration building. Another was busy cleaning buildings at the park and a third was carving wood planks from dead trees at an inmate-staffed sawmill operation.
Fourteen crews totaling about 120 inmates a day work on projects ranging from cleanup details to construction jobs. “The participants are really building ‘sweat equity’ in their futures,” Ashe said. About 93 percent of the inmates lack marketable skills and 70 percent are unemployed at the time of incarceration, the sheriff said.
Not only are the inmates getting some valuable on-the-job training that they could use once they’re released from jail, the city is saving a bundle of money in the process.
Patrick J. Sullivan, the city’s director of parks, buildings and recreation management, said inmate labor has enabled the city to move on projects that would otherwise be delayed while saving the city millions of dollars.
As the city continues to recover from a legacy of poor fiscal management, the sheriff’s department’s program is an example of the kinds of innovative programs government can accomplish with smart leadership.
The sheriff’s department has been recognized as a model correctional institution by Congress and the American Correctional Association, the nation’s oldest professional correctional organization.
It is our fervent hope that the inmates who participate in these community projects can put their newly acquired skills to use after they are released from prison.
Copyright 2008 The Republican