SCI Waymart’s Reentry Services Office celebrated Second Chance Month with a variety of activities and programs.
Between April 1-14, facility RSOs statewide were tasked with overseeing a Reentry Poster contest. This year’s theme was “Why Reentry Matters to Me,” and one submitted poster from each institution was then forwarded to the Office of Reentry for further review. The top three submissions from across the Commonwealth were featured on the PA Department of Corrections Facebook page for online voting by the public.
The Waymart RSO received submissions from six inmates showcasing incredible talent. Anonymous votes were cast by both Waymart staff and RSO workshop participants, and the winning Waymart poster was submitted to the Office of Reentry for the next phase of the contest. This poster was then selected as one of the top 3 in the entire DOC and published as a finalist in the contest on the DOC’s Facebook page.
Waymart’s RSO, located in the Library Group Room, is staffed by Reentry Parole Agent Jess George and Social Worker Christine Fletcher. On April 14, the RSO welcomed guest speaker Trish Doherty from the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation to discuss the benefits of OVR and how OVR can assist the reentrants and potentially their families.
The final Second Chance Month activity was an “Open House” for all staff to visit the Waymart RSO, check out the available workshop curriculum offered to our inmate population, and ask questions about the program.
The RSO is available to all inmates with a focus on those who are within 18-24 months of their minimum date through their sentence maximum date. The RSO is a voluntary program in which inmates participate in workshops that are not only beneficial for transitioning from incarceration to the community but are also of personal interest.
The RSO workshops include but are not limited to: Living and Understanding Supervision; NCTI Life Skills (a multi-session cognitive behavior workshop); NCTI Real Colors (in which participants learn about their temperament and personality traits along with others); Employment; Effective Communication; Banking; Budgeting; Understanding Credit; and Renters Prep. Waymart RSO also coordinates with various community-based reentry programs and agencies throughout Pennsylvania by connecting RSO participants and guest speakers representing those programs and agencies.
In addition to hosting group workshops , RSO staff meet with participants one on one to discuss individual release planning, upcoming parole interview expectations, parole board decisions, release conditions, driver’s license restoration requirements, assist participants with setting up aftercare appointments and access to the RSO computer lab where inmates can job search and research resources available to them upon release from incarceration.
Since March 2022, the SCI Waymart RSO has been moving full speed ahead and interest from the inmate population at Waymart and coordinated effort among all departments throughout the institution have only enhanced the success of the Reentry Service Office.