Prison program offers hope

By John Geluardi

A group of San Quentin inmates is going to reach out from behind prison walls to try to reduce violent crime in Richmond.

The group, known as the San Quentin Trust for the Development of Incarcerated Men, and the Richmond Improvement Association, a coalition of 80 local congregations, has proposed the Richmond Project to help transform 17 soon-to-be-released inmates into community assets.

"We understand these 17 inmates have done things that caused them to go to prison," said the Rev. Andre Shumake, president of the Richmond Improvement Association. "But even though they went in as liabilities, we can help them come back to Richmond as assets."

The Richmond Improvement Association will help the inmates, both before and after they're released, to find resources such as job training, housing and education opportunities.

In exchange, the 17 inmates, who are scheduled to be released within the next three years, will work with troubled youths, many of whom they know through family and friends, to discourage criminal behavior and promote education and responsibility within their communities.

But in order to be effective, the 17 Richmond inmates will need the training and guidance of experienced mentors. That's where the 21 long-term inmates in the San Quentin Trust come in.

The San Quentin Trust, the first of its kind in California, was organized in 2003 by Dr. Garry Mendez, the president and founder of the Maryland-based National Trust for the Development of African American Men. Mendez has organized similar trusts -- Teaching Responsibility Utilizing Sociological Training -- in numerous New York state prisons.

Trust members are typically chosen from inmates serving long sentences. The goal is to establish Trust members as experienced, long-term mentors to the prison population, Mendez said.

In the past three years, Trust members have been through a series of workshops in subjects like anger management, male/female relationships, decision making, fatherhood and nutrition.

"It really all boils down to taking responsibility," Mendez said. "Once these guys develop a solid value system and counseling skills, they can transfer those things to other inmates. It's a train-the-trainer type thing."

For the past three years, the California Endowment Foundation has funded the development of the San Quentin Trust with grants of about $500,000. While the upfront cost is high, the long-term cost is low, said Mendez, whose organization continues to guide the Trust's activities. Once the members are thoroughly trained and have developed solid mentoring and organizational skills, the Trust will be able to operate with very little overhead.

"That's why we need the long-term guys, for infrastructure," Mendez said. "Eventually they won't need me except as an outside contact."

Trust member Tyrone Allen said it is important to have an organization of inmates who can offer a safe haven to other inmates who want to improve themselves.

"The support is critical because of the negative peer pressure among prisoners," Allen said. "We let these guys know that if they want to work on their issues before they get out, we have their back. We let them know they are not alone."

The Richmond Project represents the first time a prison trust has tried to reduce crime in a specific community, Mendez said. Richmond was chosen as the pilot city because the Richmond Improvement Association wanted to work with the San Quentin Trust, and because it's a small community with a high homicide rate in which results will be easy to track.

"We were going to start in Oakland but chose Richmond instead because everybody knows each other," Mendez said. "It will be easier to manage, and I hope that we will be able to demonstrate that these guys can be a positive force in community development."

In workshops with the Trust and Richmond Improvement Association representatives, the 17 inmates will examine the reasons they became criminals and develop ways to discourage young people from making the same decision, said Shumake.

The prison workshops will be videotaped so they can be shown to young people at schools, church programs and other community meetings. In addition, as the 17 inmates are released, they will be expected to volunteer as mentors to troubled youths.

"The main thing is that these guys understand the error of their ways: the ones who went to prison thinking they were gangsters, but once inside, have gone through a transformation," Shumake said. "We want these guys to speak directly to young people, and let them know they will end up in prison if they stay on the same path. Either in prison or dead."

The other advantage of the Richmond Project is the 17 inmates will have an established support system with the Richmond Improvement Association, Shumake said. The association churches will work with the inmates to help them find housing, job training and employment.

"Some of these guys will be released back into the community, and by allowing them to be part of this process to end the violence, they will come out with a stake in the community," Shumake said. "They will be received as having done something to help; as being part of the solution."

According to the California Department of Corrections' Web site, about 60 percent of men paroled from state prisons end up returning for new crimes or parole violations. Any support Richmond's faith-based community can provide to them could make the difference, Shumake said.

San Quentin Trust Chairman Rahman Green, who has spent the past 25 years in San Quentin, said the most important factor in a parolee's ability to stay out of prison is a fundamental character change. "The best thing they can do to stay outside is to get this right first," he said, tapping his heart. click to see editorial

Contact John Geluardi at 510-262-2787 or at jgeluardi@cctimes.com