Mat-Su

New prisoner re-entry center in the works for Mat-Su

PALMER -- Prison inmates released in the Valley with nowhere else to go are bused to the Mat-Su Pretrial Facility and dropped off in the parking lot at 7 a.m.

From there, they filter into the streets of Palmer, carrying all their belongings in a cardboard box or a garbage bag slung over their shoulders.

Nothing is open yet, or it's not in easy walking distance. No job centers, no place to check on food stamps or housing -- no place to start the process of returning to life on the outside.

Inmates released from the Anchorage jail can walk to the homeless shelter and the soup kitchen or get other services like housing vouchers, job counseling and food stamps. They can walk to a prisoner re-entry center operated by Partners for Progress, where they can get help navigating life outside a cell.

Now a similar program is in the works for the Valley: Re-Entry Center of Mat-Su.

"The goal is they stay out and are independent, successful citizens for the rest of their life," said Dave Rose, coordinator of the Mat-Su Coalition on Housing and Homelessness, the organization helping spearhead the new center.

Battling recidivism

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough is home to the largest prison in the state: Goose Creek Correctional Center. As of mid-May, the medium-security facility housed about 1,650 people. Goose Creek releases up to 100 inmates a month, though not all of them necessarily in the Valley.

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If they track with Alaska's average at this point, two out of three will be back.

Alaska's recidivism rate is just over 63 percent, according to Ron Taylor, commissioner of the state Department of Corrections.

Tackling re-entry in places like Mat-Su is part of an ongoing push by Corrections to reduce that high recidivism rate compared to other states, Taylor said. Statewide, correctional facilities are at 97 percent of capacity. Swelling ranks of pre-sentencing inmates are a part of that, but so are probation and parole violators and re-offenders.

"If we kept going with the direction that we were going on, we'd have to build a new prison," he said.

Corrections developed a 5-year re-entry plan in 2011 to reduce the social and financial costs of the state's recidivism problem. Among many other strategies, the department is trying to work with five community coalitions around the state, including the one in Mat-Su, to connect inmates with resources before they release, Taylor said.

"So that at 7 o'clock in the morning, there's already a plan: OK, this is where you're going today," Taylor said.

Transportation woes

The Re-entry Center of Mat-Su is still in the early stages, according to Rose. The housing coalition formed a task force that meets regularly. The group just applied for a grant from the Mat-Su Health Foundation. Its center offices will probably be in Palmer but various facilities will provide services instead of putting them all under one roof, like they are in Anchorage.

The goal is helping recently released people find work and housing and connect with family, friends or other support networks such as substance abuse treatment, supporters say.

Getting from one place to another will be tricky. A Friday tour coordinated by the coalition traced the hypothetical path of a recently released inmate -- or "returning citizen," as Rose likes to say -- seeking housing, clothing, food, and work.

Participants visited the state probation office, the Salvation Army and Bishop's Attic in Palmer, the Set Free Alaska outpatient substance abuse treatment center, Frontline Mission in Wasilla during a meal, the Knik House transitional housing, a food bank, Faith Recovery Fellowship for spiritual mentorship, the Division of Public Assistance for food stamps and the Wasilla veterans center.

They didn't do much walking.

Perhaps the biggest hurdle for inmate re-entry programs in the Valley is geography and transportation, Rose told Friday's tour participants. The Mat-Su is the size of West Virginia and buses run regular routes but sometimes don't return for hours. Some services are in Palmer but many, including a state jobs center, are in Wasilla. Many of the jobs are in Wasilla, too.

The lack of transportation options in the Valley is a "huge obstacle" to the re-entry mission, Mat-Valley Community Charities Agency CEO John Rozzi said at a re-entry center task force meeting earlier this month.

"It's huge," Rozzi said. "It doesn't matter how many people we get to help folks in that center. If they can't get to housing, if they can't get to jobs, they're still not going to be successful."

Family bonds

There is also no true halfway house in the Mat-Su and only one state-certified residential substance abuse treatment facility, at Nugen's Ranch on Point MacKenzie.

But services are improving here, Kelly McDonald, a supervisor at the Palmer probation office, told the tour group. There are new options coming on line for substance abuse treatment, which is important given the heroin addiction plaguing the Valley, McDonald said.

Friday's tour group mostly consisted of Mat-Su teachers, nurses and counselors attending a University of Alaska Anchorage course on engaging parents and professionals in the development of children with incarcerated parents.

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The state contracted their instructor, criminologist Sue Magestro, to work with incarcerated parents on reconnecting with their children at five facilities including Goose Creek. Magestro estimates that Alaska has more than 20,000 children of parents either incarcerated or on probation and parole.

"The number one thing on re-entry is they want to connect with the families," she said.

Zaz Hollander

Zaz Hollander is a veteran journalist based in the Mat-Su and is currently an ADN local news editor and reporter. She covers breaking news, the Mat-Su region, aviation and general assignments. Contact her at zhollander@adn.com.

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