NAMPA, Idaho — The goal for the folks at the Nampa Community Reentry Center is to help former inmates bridge the gap between a dark past and a bright future.
Reis Lowe is a resident at N.C.R.C. and told Idaho News 6 Senior Reporter Don Nelson, "We're people too, right, like we matter. A lot of us are on paths to change our lives."
Lowe explained that he has struggled with drug addiction and was previously charged with trafficking in 2017. "I got convicted in 2018, ten years fixed, and ten years indeterminate," added Lowe.
See how reentry programs help former inmates successfully rejoin society
Correctional Manager Art Lechuga told Idaho News 6 about how the process of reentry works for inmates. "We have residents coming from our south complex, more of our traditional prisons," said Lechuga. "So, they're working their way down in the system as they're getting closer to release, so they're about 18-24 months from going home, so they've earned their way into a reentry center— obviously with the screening process as well."
The Center works with local employers, offering residents a chance to earn an honest wage. That ability to generate income allows residents to get a foothold back in society, all with a focus on reducing recidivism.
Reis Lowe now works as a car salesman.
Idaho News 6 spoke to Idaho Department of Corrections Deputy Director Bree Derrick about the topic of reentry last week.
"We know that we're trying to get people connected to the services they're going to need to successfully have a job, pay for their families, take care of their kids— to do all the things we want them to do when they get out," said Derrick regarding the importance of reentry programs.
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Idaho News 6 asked Lechuga how important it is for a human being to be valued. "100 percent important, 150 percent important to be valued, right, and I think that's why we do what we do here in Nampa and what we do at the Department of Corrections. We want them to be valued; we want them to feel important."
Lowe added if you want to change, you have to work at it.
"You have to want the change in order to have any kind of change to happen for you. You can't fake it," finished Lowe.
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