Published: August 01, 2008 12:45 pm      

Learning life skills

Prison inmates give back to the community in art show

BUNKER HILL — The Miami Correctional Facility is sponsoring its first Offender Arts and Crafts show on Tuesday at the old Peru Fire House.

The show is part of an effort by the Indiana Department of Corrections to equip offenders with the necessary tools to become more productive members of society on their release from prison.

More than 200 men are in a program at the facility called Indiana Purposeful Living Units Serve — a faith and character-based re-entry initiative. It is now held in nine facilities throughout the state.

PLUS is a 16-month program that began in January 2006 at the Miami County jail. It provides an opportunity for offenders to explore alternatives to criminal behavior through an emphasis on spiritual, moral and character development.

The program requires the offenders to serve 320 hours of community service at the housing unit or in the community. The criteria to get into PLUS includes having no recent disciplinary problems and reading at an eighth grade level.

Since 2006, the men in the program have raised $13,000 for Hurricane Katrina victims, the American Cancer Society, Bunker Hill Fire Department, Kokomo Urban Food Bank, Indiana Wesleyan scholarship fund and the new PLUS program at the Logansport juvenile facility.

The coming arts and crafts show will feature a silent auction with proceeds going to the Miami County YMCA youth fitness program, which was chosen by offenders in the unit. More than 30 men from PLUS will be contributing to the art show.

Ann Hubbard, public information officer, said the group decided to put on the art show to display the men’s talents and give back to the community.

“It’s a win-win,” she said.

For the auction, inmate Rockman York drew a portrait of a soldier praying. The drawing, York says, honors the people fighting for the country’s freedom, but also has a deeper meaning for him.

“Even though I’m in prison, there are people who’ve got it so much worse — who have no clean sheets, nobody visiting them,” he said.

He also drew a detailed portrait of his brother who was shot to death.

“It was the hardest loss I’ve ever been through,” he said. “He was my best friend.”

He said drawing the portrait helped him to get through some of the pain he was feeling.

Opening an art gallery may be in York’s future. He has been drawing for most of his life.

“I use artwork to express who I am,” he said. “Things that bring you down, it helps give you inspiration. A lot of times, you can’t show your feelings, but this program gives you that. It’s really therapeutic for me.”

He said the program helped to lift the inmates’ self-esteem.

“A lot of people here feel like they’re worthless,” he said.

Many of the offenders have found their niche with the program, he said, talents they didn’t realize they had.

Inmate Brandon McAllister said the program was time well spent for the offenders. While working on a piece of artwork for the show, he realized that he would have an opportunity to succeed after leaving Miami Correctional Facility.

“I can do this when I get home rather than selling dope,” he said.

Inmate Steven Massutti was able to use his experience in construction to build a church using ceramics, popsicle sticks and cedar squares. The materials used for the art show were found outside or purchased by the inmates.

“It’s a good stress reliever,” Massutti said. “There are some things here that you can’t control, but this gets your mind focused on something else while you learn to deal with certain things.”

Massutti said if he doesn’t donate the church to the silent auction, he’ll give it to his 10-year-old daughter.

“I think she would like it a lot,” he said.

Other men made bags with beads embroidered on them, as well as earrings, cedar boxes, crosses, embroidered pillows and keychains.

Inmate John Severit, who was also constructing a church, said the program allowed the men to bond.

“When you’re in prison, there’s so much negativity,” he said.

He plans on starting his own business after his sentence.

The PLUS program allows the men to take classes like conflict management, character education, transitional planning and renewing the mind.

In the other dorms in the facility, inmates are surrounded by white walls. In the PLUS dorm, inspirational sayings like “He who angers you, controls you” and “Change is an inside job” take up the space.

Juan Manzano drew a portrait of his mother for the show.

“She was a very influential lady in my life,” he said. “She’s passed now, but a lot of what she taught me came back to me after I got in this place.”

Growing up in Santa Paula, Calif., it wasn’t realistic to pursue an art career. Now, he’s able to pursue the passion.

“It allows you to get in touch with your innermost feelings,” he said.

Michael Hendricks drew an angel to donate for a suicide prevention coalition program in Elkhart County.

“If I can help someone else, I want to do it,” he said. “Hopefully when they see it, it helps them keep their head up.”

Larry Dahms is also donating a piece of artwork to the suicide prevention program. Dahms has lost four friends to suicide.

He says he hopes the poem he wrote encouraging individuals to put everything in God’s hands will give someone inspiration and encouragement.

Sally Stevenson, assistant superintendent of re-entry at the facility, says although there aren’t concrete statistics because the program is so new, staff members have already seen many positives in the inmates.

“They are different when they come in,” she said. “A lot of them have anger issues. They think everyone in the world is out to get them. They get self-worth out of this. In most cases, they’ve never been told that they’re doing a great job.”

Constance Iddings, case work manager, says the men have learned that they can make money from little resources through their art projects.

“You see their sense of accomplishment, and you see that they can be a valuable part of the community,” she said. “When you look at these guys, you can see that they work together.”

Chaplain William Babb has worked as a chaplain in prisons for 24 years, and he says he’s never seen anything like the PLUS program before.

“It’s a new philosophy,” he said. “Before, it was all punishment. Now they’re rehabilitating and reconciling. They’re facing the past. It’s a step in the right direction.”

Iddings says the program requires more effort from both the inmates and the staff.

“When you see the changes in them, that’s what makes it all worth it,” she said.

Melissa Soria may be reached at (574) 732-5143 or via e-mail at melissa.soria@pharostribune.com



Want to go?

What: Offender Arts and Crafts show

Where: Old Peru Fire House, 12 Miami St., Peru

When: 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday