A group of inmates at the Eastern Correctional Institution graduated with certificates from a nationally recognized culinary program this week.. Delmarva Public Media's Kevin Diaz captures the sounds of the ceremony.
Kevin Diaz:
The menu in the cafeteria at the Eastern Correctional Institute today has wings baked mac’n’cheese, Philly cheese steak, and a celebratory cake. The 17 inmates enjoying this feast say it's far better than the usual prison fair. But they might say that, since they made it themselves.
Inmates, prisoners, incarcerated individuals, call them what you want. But now they're also cooks. And they're here to receive certificates, preparing them for jobs in food and restaurant work.
John Prattis:
I loved it. I loved it. It's very, very amazing.
Kevin Diaz:
That's John Prattis. An inmate from Federalsburg.
Prattis:
I invite anybody that's wanting to get into cooking, or any type of restaurant business. It taught me a lot.
Kevin Diaz:
The program is called In2Work. It aims to break the cycle of incarceration and reduce recidivism through education and employment. The company that runs it, Aramark Correctional Services, has graduated more than 20,000 inmates around the country. This class at a minimum security facility in Westover, Maryland, earned one of the highest average test scores in the state.
To Edward Crowe, an inmate from Oxen Hill, it represents a fresh start.
Edward Crowe:
Oh, a hundred percent. See, I cooked in the kitchen. I cooked for my family. Mom did not cook. I was the one who cooked all the time, so this just taught a lot more. I never worked at a restaurant, but this would open me to work one, or own one or have one. I thought about having a food truck or something like that as well. So yeah.
Kevin Diaz:
Warden Monica Brittingham said it's about launching men back into the larger world.
Monica Brittingham:
This is about reentry and about reducing recidivism. We don't want them to come back. We want to give them the tools and the resources to go out, get jobs, be better family members, be better sons, be better fathers so they can be successful citizens. They're going to be our neighbors one day. A lot of these guys are not serving life sentences. They have release dates. I feel like it's our job and our duty to prepare them when they leave this institution.
Kevin Diaz:
For some of the inmates, the certificate is the first job credential in their lives.
James White:
This is a great tool to have in your belt when you leave out of here.
Kevin Diaz:
That's James White, a regional dietary manager in the Department of Corrections.
White:
Job opportunities really look at you with this degree, behind this certificate, behind your name. When you apply, when you put on in application, [they] look at you a little bit differently because they know that you've been taught in-depth food service.
Kevin Diaz:
Like any graduation, there are speeches, encouragement, and applause. When John Prattis is called up to get his certificate, he's overcome.
Prattis:
Yeah! Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Congratulations!
Kevin Diaz
The journey doesn't necessarily end here. The certificates also qualified the inmates and their families for scholarships in Aramark In2Work job readiness programs on the outside. Aramark’s Gaia Di Giacomo explains.
Gaia Di Giacomo:
After they graduate, they can apply for our scholarships. If they're incarcerated, it's $2,500. They can apply every year for up to four years. And not just for them, but also for their loved ones. So also the family members can apply for scholarships. It doesn't have to be food-related but can be any trades they are interested into. Anything they would like.
Kevin Diaz:
While the course won't shorten these men's sentences it's a light at the end of the tunnel. Here's inmate Manreet Singh.
Manreet Singh:
It doesn't really give us good credit, per se, but it gives us something to look forward to if you don't have anything outside. So for those people, it gives you something to look forward to. I would say.
Kevin Diaz:
For Delmarva Public Media, this is Kevin Diaz at the Eastern Correctional Institution in Westover, Maryland.
