Bernard Thomas, reentry program originator, speaks on Wednesday.

FOUR CORNERS — St. Mary, Iberia, St. Martin and Vermilion parishes are merging their efforts to advocate for inmates reentry into society.

Collectively they will unite in A new Chapter/Push Transitional Mentoring Program. Its mission will be help those who are being released from incarceration to reenter society.

Representatives from three of the parishes met Wednesday at the West St. Mary Civic Center,  an inaugural meeting to learn how to organize as well as to gain input from members of Reentry Alliance for Louisiana, a statewide nonprofit 501c3, whose mission is to educate Louisiana residents on every aspect of reentry, and to support regional coalitions, among other things.

The Rev. Craig Mathews, a St. Mary Parish Council member, was the first to speak.

 “We’re working with real people who are in dire situations, and unless there is a strategic avenue for them to follow, they will fall back again,” Mathews said.

“But we also need to let folks now that we don’t hand out get out of jail for free cards. We’re all about second chances,” he said.

The Rev. James Broussard, pastor of Philadelphia Church in New Iberia, will serve as president of the organization, and the Rev. Wilfred Johnson, pastor of the Little Zorah Baptist Church in Olivier, will serve as vice-president of the organization.

Broussard said the group must advocate second changes, explaining that when folks see someone who has been released from prison, “their first inclination is to embrace the old you.”

Johnson encouraged many of the clergy who were in the room to “leave your churches and get into your streets. Our job is to parent these individuals if you will, so that they will not make the same mistake again.”

Iberia Parish President Larry Richard told the group to find as much availabilities as possible for men and women who are reentering society after being in a prison environment.

Ann Zanders of Reentry Alliance for Louisiana asked the members, “Who do you want to be?”

Then she chided them with, “Don’t allow your meetings to become deadwood. Stay focused on reentry.”

Zanders said eight principles that must be enforced when intervening with those who are reentering society: access their risks and needs; enchance and motivate them; target any problems; find skill training opportunities; increase positive reinforcement; engage ongoing support in the offender’s community; measure relevant processes and practices, and to provide some sort of measurement feedback.

She said each parish should focus on: housing; employment; health and wellness; transportation; education; and special interests.

She offered 2017 statistics that showed the state housing 33,739 adult inmates. Of that number, 31,782 were men, 1,957 were women and 4,824 were in prison for life. Also there were 293 youths who were housed in 2017.

James Edwards, another member of Reentry Alliance for Louisiana, said in East Baton Rouge Parish alone last year, 20,000 persons passed through that jail and of that amount 27 percent had been arrested more than 10 times.

“That’s why it is so critical to work with those who are reentering society. We want people to come out, and stay out,” he said.

Renard Thomas of New Orleans, who wrote the original idea for a reentry program to be created in the state, was the guest speaker. 

Thomas created a temporary employment agency for offenders, in order for them to get a job.

“Everyone deserves a second chance,” he said.

For more information on Reentry Alliance for Louisiana, visit their website at www.reentryalliancela.com.