By Mark Gilger Jr.
Republican & Herald
POTTSVILLE, Pa. — As the Schuylkill County Prison Board continues to look for a more permanent solution to overcrowding, there are about a dozen inmates who cannot be released on parole because they do not have anywhere to go.
Prior to parole consideration, an inmate must complete a home plan and have it approved by the state Board of Parole and Probation. The plan should provide a stable environment that will provide support and assistance to the offender, according to the board’s website at www.pbpp.pa.gov.
Warden Gene Berdanier said there are about 12 inmates at any given time in the prison who are eligible for parole, but they often do not have an approved home plan and cannot be released. However, the prison has no choice but to release them once they serve their maximum sentence. While not often, Berdanier said, that does happen.
“That’s unfortunate because where do they go?” Berdanier said.
Nonprofit organizations like Open Arms Ministry, Saint Clair, and Servants To All, Pottsville, have helped people without anywhere to go find housing, but the small operations have limited resources.
Pastor Vince Murray and his wife, Joanne, started the Open Arms Ministry in 2008 as a clothing and food ministry. Since 2012, the ministry has operated a transitional home program for men struggling with addiction and life-controlling problems.
Murray has recruited people for the program at the county jail, but the transitional home in Pottsville only has five beds.
“Pastor Vince is doing a great job, but he is limited,” Berdanier said. “Housing is a big issue in the county and in the city.”
Meanwhile, Servants To All mainly deals with people who are already homeless. Due to the small organization’s work load with its My Father’s House program in Pottsville, Albert Nastasi, program director, said they are unable to assist those looking to get out of prison on parole find housing.
“When we have a homeless person fit for Vinny’s program, we will sponsor them for the program,” Nastasi said.
Commissioners Chairman and prison board Chairman George F. Halcovage Jr. said the board recognizes the problem.
“It’s a problem out there that we are looking at any solution for,” he said last week.
There was an average of 234 inmates at the prison in September, peaking at 257 for the month. There were 28 inmates being housed at other facilities, as of Oct. 19. It cost $29,194.09 to house inmates at other facilities in September.
The state Department of Corrections lifted its three-month-long restriction on accepting new inmates at the prison on Aug. 17. The county’s new agreement with the state DOC lifts the ban on the condition that the prison board continues to submit biweekly reports on the inmate census and ensure that it does not exceed its approved capacity of 277 through June 30, 2017.
To bring the prison population down, the county commissioners approved agreements to house inmates at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility, Thornton; Centre County Correctional Facility, Bellefonte; Columbia County Correctional Facility, Bloomsburg; and Berks County Prison, Leesport, for $60 to $65 a day per inmate.