Prior to becoming a unit manager 1, I was a treatment specialist who worked with a group of lifers/long timers on the Day of Responsibility that was held in 2011. During our monthly meeting, we would brainstorm on what more we could do.
Finally, by 2016 we developed the inmate youth mentoring league. I am part creator and coordinator of the program. Since I was part of developing the program with the group of inmates, I just assumed the duties of planning. I do it because I believe in the idea of the program.
The actual league meets weekly, and the committee myself and the inmates meet monthly. The program has been running for almost two years. The scope of the program is the mentors and mentees meet in the Activities Department on Friday evenings. One mentor then picks a value term and they give a brief presentation of what it looks like and how it is used in day to day life both in and out of prison. For the next 45 minutes, they play a sport (basketball, volleyball, etc.) and break off into several different teams. If one of the mentees exhibits a behavior that is not acceptable they have "PAUSE" moment where they come together as a whole group to discuss why it is not acceptable and what could have been done differently.
After the games, they meet as a group again, and the mentor then gives a brief inspirational talk about how to apply that skill to their lives and why it is important to do the right thing. An activities employee provides supervision; however, we are looking to branch out. When the gym is not available they are in the Chapel doing more small group activities or watching a movie.
The time I volunteer varies, and I try and give it as much attention as I can. In February 2017, we had Penn State Behrend professors, in conjunction with the Mentoring Partnership, come to Albion and provide formal mentor training. Each inmate paid $15 for this training.
Mentor & Mentee Quotes "Being a mentor is a way for me to give back. Aside from what we do for these young men, this program also has been a part of my rehabilitation process. My life has been a series of give and take. Early on my focus was taking and I took too much. That imbalance ultimately landed me in prison with a life sentence. I'm trying to restore that balance. This program helps me do that." "What I get out of this program is that they give us a different way of looking at things. You can tell that they want good for us and I've never really had that. That's rare in a place like this. Plus, I really like the activities." |
We currently have 27 mentors and the number of mentees varies weekly, but usually is around 40-45 mentees. The program is voluntary, and we reach out to youth ages 18-24. We have been expanding the age range over the last several months, as we determined mentoring has no age limits.
The best example of a mentor is this: We had an inmate who was threatening to jump from the top tier and refused to talk to any staff, peer support inmates or psychology staff. The mentor went over and deescalated the situation by just talking about his own life experiences. The other inmate came off the top tier with no issues.
We all have mentors whether it be formal or not. With this population, the long timers are trying to give back, because most of them may never leave here. The goal is to get people to complete programs, get an education, get a job and build life skills so that they have a less chance of returning to prison.
We are trying to build a program to provide this information to at-risk youth in the community, however that is a work in progress. It also allows people to meet someone they may never have met otherwise. With the recent spike in suicide and drug use, this program also provides another layer of support to the inmate population. I have inmates writing to me daily asking to be a part of the program.