MANCI honors volunteers for helping to change lives

Volunteers are the hands and feet of hope, Mansfield Correctional Institution's chaplain Eric Harmon said Monday night at the prison's annual Volunteers Appreciation Banquet.

"Where is hope? Right here in front of us and I thank you for giving our men reason to hope and remind them that they are not forgotten," Harmon said.

"They often say the hardest part of prison volunteering is getting in the door, you all know what that is like with gate passes and things like that. But you come each week. Some of you we have to hold back because you want to be here so much. But why, in a place where the world says you're going to find the worst? You folks have found the best in our men here by loving them," Harmon said.

He added he has never seen a more committed group of volunteers.

Kiera Brinley, volunteer coordinator, said six inmates talked about the numerous programs volunteers bring to the prison, from religious services to recovery services and programs preparing for reentry into society.

Some MANCI volunteers are former inmates

She said for people who are incarcerated, the volunteers give support.

"Some of our volunteers are actually former offenders," she said.

To become a volunteer, Brinley said anyone can go online at Ohio.gov for information on who to contact for volunteering.

Richland County Dog Warden Missy Houghton said she came to MANCI when she previously was with the Humane Society of Richland County, and now the dog warden's office has been involved for three years with the MANCI cell dog program, also called Tender Loving Dog Care Program.

The prison also offers the program WAGES-4-Kids, where inmates train service dogs for kids who are autistic or with other special needs.

"They help us a lot and it helps them grow talents and the ability and the difference they can make in another's life," Houghton said. "They've been life-changing for several of the dogs we've had in our facility. We've had a few, we were very concerned we were not going to be able to place them for adoption, and we sent them out here and they have made a night and day difference with the dogs. I am forever grateful for their program."

Goal is to offer positive reinforcement

Warden Tim McConahay said the goal is to have positive reinforcement offered inside the prison, which helps whether inmates remain in prison or go out into society.

"I'm a firm believer that you give people something to do or they find something. A lot of our influences in here are not the most positive," McConahay said. He told the volunteers they are changing lives and he wanted them to know just how important they are in donating their time to change people's lives.

"Volunteers create a sense of hope," he said. "You give them a sense of hope for tomorrow."

Volunteer Kent Money has been coming to seven prisons in Ohio for 25 years and logs 600 miles a week. He comes weekly to MANCI to focus on gang leaders.

"If you're not a gang leader, you're not in my class," Money said.

"My wife (Christine) used to be a warden in Ohio, at Marion and the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville," he said. His wife for the past 10 years has operated a reentry program called Kind Way Embark. "Of the 177 men and women who have left prison, only two have gone back. Her recidivism rate is like 1.5%. The national average is 50% and the state of Ohio is like 33(%)," he added.

"I do it because I'm in a unique position because of my wife and being around corrections for 30 years I've got a little bit different understanding of corrections and volunteers. It's about the love of Christ. God's put me in a unique position and while I'm able, I'm going to do what I'm doing."

Inmate Kyle Strong said working with service dogs in the WAGS-4-Kids program has gotten him through some tough times inside the prison.

Inmate Shaun Cleland talked about religious services volunteers and a couple new priests whose vibrancy in giving the word have grown the congregation to 30 to 35 people.

"We have 20 people who are trying to come into the church this year. In the past five years we had maybe six. That's what our volunteers have done for us," he said.

lwhitmir@gannett.com

419-521-7223

Twitter: @LWhitmir

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Volunteers 'hands and feet of hope' says MANCI Chaplain Eric Harmon