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| Home is where the farm is |
| By Ann Coppola, News Reporter |
| Published: 07/09/2007 |
In states like Oregon where agriculture is the leading industry and a farming labor supply is always in demand, farmers often face the challenge of housing migrant farm workers who travel between regions and states to find work. One Oregon prison tries to help both farmers and workers one modular home at a time.Despite losing support from the Oregon Housing and Community Services a few years ago, the Building Construction Technology program at Snake River Correctional Institution still provides a one-year workforce development program. It provides inmates with the skills needed to work in the residential construction industry upon parole. BCT utilizes two classrooms, a 25,000 square-foot woodworking shop, and a 25,000 square-foot outdoor construction area where the module homes for farm workers are built. “We still do modular housing, still do migrant housing,” says BCT supervisor Brad Phillips. “I still meet with and talk to farmers about farm housing, and we’ve built quite a few homes in Hood River County.” Phillips has two homes about to go to contract in Hood River, a beautiful, lush area of northwest Oregon that is the world’s largest producer of Anjou pears. “Farmers and growers call us if they need to supply housing for migrant workers,” Phillips explains. “We’ll start talking about needs, costs, and put together a set of plans and create a contract.” Phillips says the modular homes also come furnished with furniture. Inmates build all the kitchen cabinets, tables, armoires, wardrobes, and dressers. These homes help not only the migrant workers, but also the farmers who need to attract a workforce to their farm. “The workers typically tend to be mobile in nature moving from season to season, south to north with the harvest, and the labor market is tight right now,” adds Phillips. “Farmhands aren’t that available; it’s not like it used to be. If one farmer can offer the same salary as another in addition to a nice place to live, the workers are probably going to pick the place with the better accommodations.” Phillips and his BCT students build one to two homes a year. The program’s success benefits the farming community and has a tremendous impact on SRCI and its inmates. “I love working on the homes. It’s definitely my favorite,” says Benjamin LaFollette, a master student who has been in the BCT program since June of 2003. Students can remain in the program beyond the first year to become advanced and then master students like LaFollette. “Building the homes gives us a mild sense of freedom and I’m getting work experience I can use,” he adds. “It allows us to lead the institution mentally.” LaFollette has been part of five housing projects and personally worked on three. “We build everything from bottom to top. We do interior work, flooring, and laying out decking, as well as walls. We just finished working on a roof outside. I’ve started doing finishing work like insulation and dry wall too. It’s a complete, finished home by the time we ship it out.” He says the program has changed the way he views his life. “I was a former gang member and I was set in that lifestyle. Once I entered the program it opened me up to a different perspective on life. I know there is plenty of opportunity to succeed far beyond this prison. As far as my family, I have brothers who have been incarcerated and this is giving me something to bring back to the table to offer to them.” Phillips says students with LaFollette’s attitude are the driving force behind BCT’s success. “One of the things we tell inmates is they are leaving a legacy and what we’re doing is bigger than them. It’s not here today, gone tomorrow. We call it counter-prison culture. For some inmates it’s just ‘me, all about me, no one’s going to tell me what to do.’ BCT is inmates leading inmates, inmates learning from inmates. Those qualities are to a large degree taboo in prison.” Breaking down barriers while building up homes and futures truly makes BCT a multi-purpose program. “The fact of the matter is, most of the guys I work with here are getting out,” Phillips says. “When we give them these skills, their chances of getting a job and being better off in society are much, much higher. The confidence level and pride they gain in working on these homes is something they can take with them for the next step in their lives.” Related Resources: Photos and information about the Snake River Correctional Institution Building Construction Technology program Visit Hood River County |
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