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Since its opening in April 2022, the Perry County Parole and Probation Reentry Education and Employment Program Center has welcomed nearly 300 graduates through its programs.
On Friday, The Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles partnered with J.F. Ingram State Technical College, state legislators and representatives from the Perry County commission to welcome more than 60 new graduates.
Assistant Director for Reentry, Rebecca Bensema, opened the ceremony by thanking everyone who supported the graduates, from family members to staff at the Perry County facility.
“You are my neighbors. We are going to be in the grocery store together. We’re going to be getting gas together. We’re going to be complaining about prices together. You are going to be in the community with me. You are a part of the community, and you are an important part of Alabama,” said Bensema. “Don’t forget about your voting rights, and do not go back. Here is 61 reasons why parole works in the state of Alabama.”
Alabama State Senator Robert Stewart also spoke to graduates about the importance of their growth and the challenges they accepted within this program. Senator Stewart currently sits on the Reentry Commission that’s working to reduce recidivism in the state by half by 2030.
“This is just one chapter of a much longer book of your life,” said Stewart. “You are greater than the worst thing you’ve ever done. Your growth is what makes our state a better place.”
ABPP Director Cam Ward and Chair of the Reentry Commission gave closing remarks at the PREP Center graduation ceremony. Ward is a verbal advocate of providing individuals who were previously incarcerated with necessary provisions to succeed.
“Life will try to knock you down, but you have to get back up,” said Ward. “Today’s graduation symbolizes that each of you got back up.”
The Perry County PREP Center is currently the only inmate rehabilitative center of it’s kind in Alabama. GEO Reentry provides substance use and mental health counseling and career technical training is provided through J.F. Ingram State Technical College.
