Sheriff’s Office Launches New Education Program at Roanoke City Jail
Roanoke, Virginia (WDBJ) – The Roanoke City Sheriff’s Office is launching a new program in city jails to help offenders prepare for life after incarceration and reduce the number of new crimes they commit after release. .
A tape-cutting took place outside the Roanoke City Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday morning, and a program in the prison gymnasium introduced an initiative known as (R)IGNITE.
It builds on a successful program that began in Flint, Michigan and was adopted by the National Sheriffs Association.
The Roanoke initiative will continue existing programs, including GED classes. There are also new additions, such as a re-entry pod for those who have completed their sentences and are preparing to return to the community.
“How do you want your citizens back,” Sheriff Antonio Hush asked in an interview with WDBJ7. “Do you want them to be returned to you just as they were when they entered our facility? Because if we don’t fix where they go back into society, they will reoffend.”
Events to kick off the new endeavor included a graduation ceremony for participants in the prison’s Fresh Start Cooking Program.
Matthew Miller is a fresh start graduate who was recognized by several others on Tuesday afternoon.
“A lot of people say it’s better than it’s hard. The sheriffs here are giving everyone a second chance and giving them the tools to succeed,” says Miller.
Sheriffs from Flint and Charlotte, North Carolina attended the event.
Roanoke will be the first community in Virginia to adopt this concept.
Hush also has other ideas, calling people in prison residents instead of inmates, and asking the Roanoke City Council to consider renaming the prison the Roanoke City Justice Center.
Council members have expressed support for what the sheriff is trying to achieve and said talks about renaming the prison will continue.
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