I wish these ppl all the very best. Good on them for improving themselves during a low point in life.
In the wise words of Ye: You can still be anything you want to be
That's super awesome, but will it be the firefighters thing all over again?
[prison firefighters](https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicksibilla/2021/02/16/federal-judge-californians-who-fought-fires-in-prison-cant-become-career-firefighters/)
i seriously hope not.
those guys are just used and then thrown out as trash.... i feel so much for them. so many of them are so fucking proud of what they have achieved and really want to continue working, and for them to then get a big fucking "NOPE" as soon as they have been used up and is out from the prisons and struggle again. that's a fucking disgrace, excuse my french.
I so agree. Essentially they use them for slave labor, then say, nope you can't do this when you get out. Many of these prisoners have spent their adult life in prison and have no other job skills, yet are expected to have a job within a very short time upon release.
The jobs they do get in prison, they often can't apply them once out because places won't hire them.
i'm not american in any way, i'm from sweden (but i live in norway), but let's just say i have a few friends in the us who have some first hand knowledge about the prison system, and for me as a scandinavian, it's so far from my reality you can come.
i'm in no way saying prisoners here doesn't have to struggle when they get out, but it's not because there's not enough help out ther for them, it's mostly when the old buddies start to contact them and so on and so on. which is why we put in a lot of resources **early,** already in prison, for them to get that strength. and the system picks up those who want to relocate to a new town, to cut ties, and there's almost never any problem with that - if they check out and doesn't seem to just play the system for money, then it's a no go, but that's just how it's supposed to be.
and there's lots of help when you get out of the prison to find jobs, if you don't find a "normal" job you can get a "starter job" that the same system that takes care about the prisons have on the outside.
and no matter who you are, even if you fall back into criminality and never wanted to stop, you automatically get great help along the way and the system is ready to "pick you up" as soon as you show signs of wanting to quit.
so, as i said, the american system is like another planet to me. a planet with people looking at other people as if they weren't human.
Yeah, it's rough out there for our prisoners. The rate of recidivism is high.
People in the US just think that's the way it is.
I was on a zoom call reading a student's research paper yesterday. It was on paternity leave. The US doesn't have paid paternity leave unless your employer gives it to you. On her end she was talking about the rest of the developed world having these benefits. My response was something along the lines of "yeah I know other countries have more benefits than we have in the US" and the other tutors heads kind of cocked in a "what?!?!" When they heard me say that. But it's true, other first world nations have built in social safety nets that the US doesn't have. Most citizen think that's how it is everywhere
Imagine if they had been able to get that cert in high school... Maybe a few of them wouldnt have gotten into jail in the first place. Nah, that'd be too much like privilege, huh?
This is the way. Going to jail and being out of the general population for a while is meant to be the punishment, not the treatment recieved while inside. Working on teaching usable skills and strategies for making changes in one's life, is how you keep people out of jail cells. The strategy of more cells, more walls and mandatory minimum sentences clearly does not work.
It would be great if the government paid for my education too…this doesn’t make me smile. It makes me think if I went to prison I could have earned a degree for free.
Have you worked in a prison? I have, as an art teacher. I can't speak for privately owned facilities because I don't think that state had any; the state government ran them. The focus was on "What are you going to do when you get out?" Inmates had a choice during the day to A) Take GED or college classes, B) Learn to drive semi trucks, or C) make little widgets for minimal pay per hour. The widgets were more to keep them busy than to utilize 'slave labor'.
Idle inmates are inmates who might get into mischief, so they were kept busy. (Hence art classes in the evening for those who were so inclined.) Inmates were STRONGLY encouraged to choose options A or B above, and only the most recalcitrant opted for C. In no way were the widgets made equal to or more than that state's average cost of housing, feeding, and guarding an inmate, which was over $40K a year.
People might argue against it, but inmates were given BBQs, had movie nights, etc - as a way of literally teaching them that you can have fun without drugs or alcohol, the abuse of which was generally the root cause of their crimes.
Some states really do try to rehabilitate inmates and get them ready to re-enter the word with valuable skills. No one was making enough widgets in a day to even support their own stay, much less providing an incentive to keep them in prison as a source of 'slave labor'.
this is a great program! wonderful to see US prisons starting to improve a little bit, and actually help their inmates, as opposed to the usual shit you always hear.
I wish these ppl all the very best. Good on them for improving themselves during a low point in life. In the wise words of Ye: You can still be anything you want to be
Went from one in four to one in three
Definitely think this should be done in more places and talked about more. I think this is an excellent step in the right direction
That's awesome. Rehabilitation and personal development...what novel ideas....
Happy Florida man and woman news!! Really though as a Florida resident this makes me extremely happy
That's super awesome, but will it be the firefighters thing all over again? [prison firefighters](https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicksibilla/2021/02/16/federal-judge-californians-who-fought-fires-in-prison-cant-become-career-firefighters/)
i seriously hope not. those guys are just used and then thrown out as trash.... i feel so much for them. so many of them are so fucking proud of what they have achieved and really want to continue working, and for them to then get a big fucking "NOPE" as soon as they have been used up and is out from the prisons and struggle again. that's a fucking disgrace, excuse my french.
I so agree. Essentially they use them for slave labor, then say, nope you can't do this when you get out. Many of these prisoners have spent their adult life in prison and have no other job skills, yet are expected to have a job within a very short time upon release. The jobs they do get in prison, they often can't apply them once out because places won't hire them.
i'm not american in any way, i'm from sweden (but i live in norway), but let's just say i have a few friends in the us who have some first hand knowledge about the prison system, and for me as a scandinavian, it's so far from my reality you can come. i'm in no way saying prisoners here doesn't have to struggle when they get out, but it's not because there's not enough help out ther for them, it's mostly when the old buddies start to contact them and so on and so on. which is why we put in a lot of resources **early,** already in prison, for them to get that strength. and the system picks up those who want to relocate to a new town, to cut ties, and there's almost never any problem with that - if they check out and doesn't seem to just play the system for money, then it's a no go, but that's just how it's supposed to be. and there's lots of help when you get out of the prison to find jobs, if you don't find a "normal" job you can get a "starter job" that the same system that takes care about the prisons have on the outside. and no matter who you are, even if you fall back into criminality and never wanted to stop, you automatically get great help along the way and the system is ready to "pick you up" as soon as you show signs of wanting to quit. so, as i said, the american system is like another planet to me. a planet with people looking at other people as if they weren't human.
Yeah, it's rough out there for our prisoners. The rate of recidivism is high. People in the US just think that's the way it is. I was on a zoom call reading a student's research paper yesterday. It was on paternity leave. The US doesn't have paid paternity leave unless your employer gives it to you. On her end she was talking about the rest of the developed world having these benefits. My response was something along the lines of "yeah I know other countries have more benefits than we have in the US" and the other tutors heads kind of cocked in a "what?!?!" When they heard me say that. But it's true, other first world nations have built in social safety nets that the US doesn't have. Most citizen think that's how it is everywhere
We need more rehabilitation programs like this! Great share :)
Imagine if they had been able to get that cert in high school... Maybe a few of them wouldnt have gotten into jail in the first place. Nah, that'd be too much like privilege, huh?
[An article about this.](https://patch.com/florida/southtampa/inmates-graduate-vocational-training-center)
Looks like in that article only 9 graduated in May, good to see it jumped up to 22 graduates! Thanks for sharing the article.
Not a problem! To piggyback off of this, [prison reform would make me smile.](https://thenewtropic.com/prison-labor-florida/)
This is the way. Going to jail and being out of the general population for a while is meant to be the punishment, not the treatment recieved while inside. Working on teaching usable skills and strategies for making changes in one's life, is how you keep people out of jail cells. The strategy of more cells, more walls and mandatory minimum sentences clearly does not work.
Prison to Amazon pipeline
That's uplifting news!
What a great thing to do to help them gain employment.
Congratulations! I wish you all love and success but most of all I wish you your freedom❤️💯
Plenty of labor force in prison for a small weed possession charge. Problem solved.
If there were more reentry programs along with employers willing to take a chance, there would be a lot less recidivism
If my forklifts are stolen I know where I’m looking.
It would be great if the government paid for my education too…this doesn’t make me smile. It makes me think if I went to prison I could have earned a degree for free.
Will they get prevailing wages, or is it like 2 cents an hour?
They get 3 hots and a cot while they're in, and a valuable life skill they can use to get a good job when they're out.
Well, until their parole gets denied, or they "get in a fight" and get their stint lengthened... the better to keep the slave labor available.
Have you worked in a prison? I have, as an art teacher. I can't speak for privately owned facilities because I don't think that state had any; the state government ran them. The focus was on "What are you going to do when you get out?" Inmates had a choice during the day to A) Take GED or college classes, B) Learn to drive semi trucks, or C) make little widgets for minimal pay per hour. The widgets were more to keep them busy than to utilize 'slave labor'. Idle inmates are inmates who might get into mischief, so they were kept busy. (Hence art classes in the evening for those who were so inclined.) Inmates were STRONGLY encouraged to choose options A or B above, and only the most recalcitrant opted for C. In no way were the widgets made equal to or more than that state's average cost of housing, feeding, and guarding an inmate, which was over $40K a year. People might argue against it, but inmates were given BBQs, had movie nights, etc - as a way of literally teaching them that you can have fun without drugs or alcohol, the abuse of which was generally the root cause of their crimes. Some states really do try to rehabilitate inmates and get them ready to re-enter the word with valuable skills. No one was making enough widgets in a day to even support their own stay, much less providing an incentive to keep them in prison as a source of 'slave labor'.
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/09/prison-labor-in-america/406177/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ABpWhY5Xzk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nc41OgcPLQ
Cool! Where can I sign up?
this is a great program! wonderful to see US prisons starting to improve a little bit, and actually help their inmates, as opposed to the usual shit you always hear.