{"id":783,"date":"2016-03-03T17:53:02","date_gmt":"2016-03-03T17:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hopeserviceshawaii.org\/?p=783"},"modified":"2016-03-03T17:53:02","modified_gmt":"2016-03-03T17:53:02","slug":"program-helps-released-inmates-get-back-on-track","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hopeserviceshawaii.org\/program-helps-released-inmates-get-back-on-track\/","title":{"rendered":"Program helps released inmates get back on track"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Steven<\/a><\/p>\n

Hope Services prisoner mentoring program coordinator Steven “Happy” Stachursk.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

January 15, 2016 – Hawaii Tribune Herald\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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By IVY ASHE Hawaii Tribune-Herald<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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What happens after prison? Recently released inmates face a number of challenges as they work to reintegrate with their communities, from getting a new driver\u2019s license to finding the stability they need to stay on a positive track.<\/p>\n

Hope Services Hawaii is working to make the transition easier.<\/p>\n

Last spring, the nonprofit launched a pilot program to help recently released prisoners by partnering them with volunteer mentors. The program focuses on inmates at Hawaii Community Correctional Center (Hale Nani) who are transitioning to extended furlough and are due to be paroled within the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a nutshell, what mentoring is all about is to help and support,\u201d Hope Services mentor program coordinator Steven \u201cHappy\u201d Stachurski said Thursday morning during an informational session co-hosted by the Hawaii Island Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n

The pilot program\u2019s stated goal is helping 50 inmates, male and female, with the adjustment process.<\/p>\n

Stachurski said he currently has 20 people waiting to be matched with a mentor.<\/p>\n

Former inmates receive workforce training while they are on extended furlough. Their top priority, Stachurski said, is finding a new job, which means efforts to focus on fully integrating with the community can fall by the wayside.<\/p>\n

The process can be overwhelming.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe internal pressure they have to get out and get employed supersedes everything,\u201d Stachurski said.<\/p>\n

Hope Services\u2019 program provides a support system not geared exclusively toward work.<\/p>\n

Mentors are trained to be effective listeners.<\/p>\n

They help people learn to manage emotions and develop trust and belief in their own progress.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou encourage new thinking patterns,\u201d said volunteer Diane Logan, whose husband, Dave, also is a mentor.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really want to give back,\u201d Dave Logan said.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Logan\u2019s mentee was in prison for 20 years; when he got out, he had to learn about things such as cellphones.<\/div>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all brand new,\u201d Logan said. The role of a mentor is to \u201cencourage and challenge,\u201d he said. It\u2019s a way to remind former inmates that they can still be part of the community.<\/p>\n

The value of the mentor program comes from its volunteer nature.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re there because we want to be there,\u201d Stachurski said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe as mentors, we need to have compassion, understanding, heart,\u201d said Patrick Kahele, who works with young offenders at Kulani Correctional Facility. Kahele said he himself served a total of 44 years in prison and has been out for the past 9 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I have to offer is my life experience,\u201d Kahele said. He\u2019s able to remind his mentees that they can still build lives for themselves.<\/p>\n

Mentors and mentees meet weekly for at least an hour.<\/p>\n

Stachurski spoke of the personal rewards stemming from \u201cbeing there for somebody.\u201d Because of the weekly meetings, he said, \u201cmore and more and more trust develops.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mentors themselves receive support from a monthly group meeting.<\/p>\n

The program is funded by a two-year grant from the state Department of Public Safety.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe developed the program from our experience with Second Chance mentoring, which was federal funding,\u201d Stachurski said (the U.S. Department of Justice\u2019s Second Chance grants also support transitional mentoring).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know the program works,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re finally at a place where we can take off.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information about the Hope Services mentoring program, contact Stachurski at 443-4717 or sstachurski@hopeserviceshawaii.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Email Ivy Ashe at iashe@hawaiitribune-herald.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hope Services prisoner mentoring program coordinator Steven “Happy” Stachursk.   January 15, 2016 – Hawaii Tribune Herald\u00a0 By IVY ASHE Hawaii Tribune-Herald What happens after prison? Recently released inmates face a number of challenges as they work to reintegrate with their communities, from getting a new driver\u2019s license to finding the stability they need to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hopeserviceshawaii.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/783"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hopeserviceshawaii.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hopeserviceshawaii.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hopeserviceshawaii.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hopeserviceshawaii.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hopeserviceshawaii.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/783\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hopeserviceshawaii.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hopeserviceshawaii.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hopeserviceshawaii.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}