Turning a NC prison into a trade school? A Charlotte nonprofit strives to be first to try

A decade ago, one afternoon at the Brown Creek Correctional Institute, around a dozen children ran into the arms of their fathers who had been incarcerated at the facility in Polkton, N.C., an hour southeast of Charlotte. As pent-up tears and long-awaited reunions marked the day, fathers washed the feet of their children to symbolize asking for their forgiveness and new beginnings.

This program — called Forgive Me, Dear — is run by the Charlotte-based nonprofit Proverbs226. Working with prisons throughout the country, this nonprofit supports children who are impacted by parental incarceration.

While the nonprofit has expanded far beyond its birth in the Carolinas, it is now primed to transform a neighboring Polkton prison facility — that has been sitting empty since 2009 — into a trade school. Something like this has never been done before in the U.S.

“There is less of a precedent for these children to know that they need to prioritize their education,” says Proverbs226 founder Cyril Prabhu. “It’s going to be an uphill battle. Not to teach them trade skills, but to change their mindset.”

With a commitment to break the cycle of intergenerational incarceration, Prabhu wants to embrace his nonprofit’s namesake. The Bible verse Proverbs 22:6 reads: “Train up a child the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

A quarter of all kids with incarcerated parents do not finish high school, and dropouts are six times more likely to go to prison than graduates in North Carolina, according to data found the Proverbs226 website. But by mentoring kids through high school and building a trade school, Proverbs aims to steer these children onto the right path, Prabhu says.

However, his plans for the trade school — potentially a $10 million project — are in a holding pattern. The North Carolina state budget has yet to pass, and only once it does will Prabhu officially take control of the prison property.

Waiting for the state budget to pass

A section of the North Carolina state budget bill would allow Proverbs226 to acquire for $1 a roughly 23 acre-parcel where the former state-owned Anson Correctional Center once operated.

The bill — formally known as the 2023 Appropriations Act — passed the Senate and the House, but it’s held up because of negotiations over the differences in the versions that each chamber passed. The nonprofit’s ownership relies on state lawmakers approving a compromise bill that includes the purchase provision— and that may not happen until September, according to the House’s top leader.

Anson Correctional Center consolidated into Brown Creek Correctional Institute, another prison in Polkton, in December 2009. Then in 2016, the Brown Creek facility merged with Lanesboro Correctional Institute, and they currently function under the name Anson Correctional Institute, as it’s located in Anson County.

Prabhu faced challenges selling his vision to state legislators — simply because there is no precedent. Trade schools can be established anywhere, but Prabhu wanted to make a statement by building one inside a prison, he says.

He chose the name 5 and 2 Trade School for the new facility, again drawing from the Bible. This time, Prabhu chose the story in John 6:1-14 of a boy giving Jesus five loaves of bread and two fish, which Christ increased to feed 5,000 followers.

“The students coming to this trade school may not yet have their life together,” Prabhu says. “But if you give what you have in your hands, God will multiply.”

Building plans for the trade school

Construction and renovations are estimated to cost $10 million, according to Prabhu. 5 and 2 Trade School developers plan to renovate 100% of the existing buildings at the prison facility and will add structures to enrich the campus.

The four buildings used as inmate housing at Anson Correctional Center will be converted into classrooms and work spaces. A new multi-story dormitory will house approximately 150 students at a time, and a new multi-purpose building will include a church, gathering space and medical center. Full facility plans and a 3D visualization may be viewed here.

The 5 and 2 Trade School is set to have the following programs of study: culinary arts, digital arts, automotive mechanics, agriculture, plumbing and construction. The agriculture program will focus on vertical farming. The culinary program will be taught in the prison’s standing kitchen facility, with renovated appliances.

Joe Gibbs — an owner of some of the most successful teams in NASCAR — has committed to supporting the automotive program that will rebuild cars. Two of the previous inmate housing buildings will be dedicated to the course of study, dubbed the Joe Gibbs Auto Shop.

“It’s fantastic to be a part of Cyril’s dream — turning a prison into a boarding school and trade school — so that all of us can help children of the incarcerated,” Gibbs said in a video statement.

After the state budget passes, it will take around two months to clear out the prison buildings before approximately one year of construction, Prabhu predicts. 5 and 2 Trade School hopes to open their doors by Fall 2024.

Reconciling relationships

While the Charlotte nonprofit is built upon biblical principles, inmates and their children do not need to be Christian to participate in Proverbs226 programming or to enroll in 5 and 2 Trade School.

“We’re not preaching to the kids to become a Christian,” Prabhu says. “It’s all about helping them to reconcile their relationship with their fathers and mothers.

It’s up to the incarcerated parents to sign their child up for the program so they can engage with the prison events and educational mentorship. For a lot of kids, that first outreach from their father or mother sparks the rekindling of their relationship.

“The fact that my dad made the effort to sign me up for Proverbs226 showed me that he was changing and wanted to see me grow. That connected us again,” says Lonnie Gasque, who participated in the program during his senior year of high school before graduating in 2015.

“Proverbs226 definitely brought our relationship back. It gave us something to work on together. It showed me that he cared.”

And these relationships are correlated to lower rates of recidivism and ending a cycle of intergenerational incarceration.

As of May, the rate of recidivism in the United States is one of the highest in the world, with 44% of those released from prison returning within a year, according to World Population Review. For mothers involved with the Proverbs226 program, the recidivism rate is nonexistent, according to the nonprofit’s website. A study from the Prison Policy Initiative found that 32% of current incarcerated parents grew up with either their mother or father in prison at some point.

The work Proverbs226 does is helping to close prisons and breaking the cycle of intergenerational incarceration. The nonprofit’s mission is to prevent 1,000,000 kids from going to prison — by way of reconnecting incarcerated parents with their children and by facilitating a supportive educational environment.

“What these kids need is not sympathy, not pity, not handouts. What they need is direction. What they need is a hand that will pull them to a place where they feel safer,” Prabhu said on the ”All Things Judicial” podcast.

That’s exactly what the nonprofit is doing, in seven states across the U.S. including North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Texas, South Dakota, Ohio and Oregon.

Setting a new precedent

Nearly three years ago, Prabhu began formulating the plans to renovate a closed North Carolina prison into a trade school run by his nonprofit.

Because 5 and 2 Trade School will be privately owned, it is ineligible for state funding and academic resources. So, raising the $10 million in construction costs is another challenge for it.

Spreading the word of the nonprofit and their mission with the trade school is the best way to raise awareness and funds, says Prabhu.

And Proverbs226 is coming out with a film — in partnership with JCFilms Studios — that aims to do just that. “Break the Cycle” is based on the true story of the genesis of the nonprofit and how children are rebuilding relationships with their incarcerated parents. The film premieres Aug 11 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Prabhu hopes that 5 and 2 Trade School becomes a model for closed facilities across the country: keeping recidivism rates low and prioritizing education for the younger generation, while having the potential to bring long-term, nation-wide social change.