GEO Reentry Services and the Wyoming Department of Corrections hosted a graduation for 19 individuals who have successfully completed intensive reentry programming at the Casper Reentry Center, last month. Jeremy Jones, executive director of the 12-24 Club, was the event keynote speaker, and he encouraged the graduates to “keep moving forward and have respect for your future self.” Three graduates also spoke about their experiences in the program.
GEO Reentry staff, family members, community partner agencies, Wyoming DOC officials and others attended the event recognizing program graduates’ accomplishments. The event was an opportunity for the program participants and their support network to celebrate the successful completion of this unique program designed to reduce criminal behavior.
“This program is hard for participants, but they get a lot out of it. Seventy-five percent of the individuals who go through it successfully complete it. That is significant,” said Vivian Whetham, GEO Reentry’s Deputy Director of Programs at the Casper Reentry Center.
The program combines cognitive-behavioral interventions with communal therapeutic settings and is an accredited program through the American Correctional Association. The program can take six months or a year, depending on the person. “Watch your character before it becomes your destiny,” graduate Joshua R. told the assembly last week. “What we think, we become.”
“When you’re living in addiction, you don’t care about anyone; you only care about yourself,” said resident Kevin P. He said he is serving out his third prison term. He said the TC community has helped him unwind the default posture of aggression that comes with the gang lifestyle, as well as the reliance on slang and other verbal crutches. He said it was all really a cover for awkwardness and insecurity. While serving this term, he says he learned to read, got a welding certificate and became head of the peer-managed department of behavior.
The center is managed by GEO Reentry’s Jerry Hughes, who assumed the reins this year. With six combat deployments during a 25-year career in the Army, Hughes says he can relate to the challenges of reintegration after being away from family for an extended time. “You have to start over every time you come back. You come back and everyone’s different,” he said. “What helps is knowing you can’t do it all at once. It’s steps.”
Operated by GEO Reentry Services, the Casper Reentry Center receives referrals from several agencies supervising individuals in the Casper area, including the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Wyoming Department of Corrections, and local city and county courts. The center provides cognitive behavioral treatment, case management, work release, and educational and transitional services. It offers a safe and secure alternative to custody or step-down from incarceration as justice-involved individuals return to community life. Services are provided seven days a week, offering structure and flexibility to meet each participant’s risks and needs.
The center has also developed strategic partnerships with community-based organizations, into faith-based entities such as Celebrate Recovery and the Casper College, which provides onsite GED classes.
The event was also attended by the Oil City News media. Read more here.
Excerpts of this blog courtesy of Oil City News