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| Gov. Sam Brownback - Mentors for Kansas inmates |
| By pressandguide.com - DEB GRUVER |
| Published: 06/20/2011 |
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Gov. Sam Brownback wants every inmate leaving Kansas prisons to have a mentor. He will speak at a conference in Wichita today that aims to bring people together toward that goal. The Out4Life Kansas conference, which starts today and runs through Wednesday, is a partnership between the Kansas Department of Corrections and Prison Fellowship, a faith-based group from near Washington, D.C. The goal of Out4Life Kansas is to bring together government resources, businesses, social services and churches to provide support to inmates re-entering society. Brownback is also supporting faith-based initiatives in the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services. The conference is "designed to help build coalitions around the state so when an inmate gets out of prison, there are people out there to receive him," said Don Raymond, director of Out4Life Kansas. Speakers will include Brownback and Corrections Secretary Ray Roberts. It is open to the public, but most people who will attend are already involved in mentoring programs for offenders. Representatives from churches and groups such as the Urban League have signed up. About 5,000 people get out of prison in Kansas each year, Raymond said. "This whole conference is designed to bring the stakeholders to the table" so those 5,000 people successfully re-enter society and don't return to prison, he said. Out4Life Kansas hopes to train and recruit 5,000 mentors statewide, one for each inmate leaving prison. "When an inmate gets out of prison, no one church or agency or organization can meet all his needs," Raymond said. Those needs may include employment, housing and mental health and substance abuse treatment. "We're trying to have these coalitions that are ready to get an inmate, receive him and help him make that positive transition so he doesn't go back to his old playground and old playmates," Raymond said. The goal is for mentors to work with inmates for at least six months before they get out of prison. Out4Life operates in 12 other states — Arkansas, Arizona, California, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Lynn Everett McBride executive director of Central Kansas Prison Ministries in El Dorado, plans to be involved. That group, which formed before the prison in El Dorado opened, works with inmates before they get out of prison. About 120 people volunteer, McBride said. "If we can lower recidivism in the state of Kansas, that can save a lot of tax dollars," McBride said. Prison Fellowship says that about 43 percent of offenders return to prison within three years, citing a Pew Center on the States study. They go back to prison either for a new crime or because they violated a condition of their release from prison. Read More. |
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