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Foundation for success

Eagle-Tribune - 4/21/2019

April 21-- Apr. 21--LAWRENCE -- If officials had any doubt what the inmates had learned, all they had to do was look at the hardscaped patio they gathered on.

"I am in awe," said Essex County Sheriff Kevin Coppinger during the recent inmate graduation ceremony at the Correctional Alternative Center in Lawrence.

Standing on the newly constructed patio inside the CAC, which is nicknamed "The Farm" at 165 Marston St., Coppinger praised the inmates for their work completing the eight-week Hardscaping Program with the sheriff's department.

The program is designed to teach inmates real-life labor skills they can draw on once they leave custody.

"This is awesome. It truly is. You guys did a lot of good work here, so congratulations, ... The key to the program is to give you gentlemen a lifetime skill," Copper told the group of inmates, who stood in a semi-circle on the patio during the graduation ceremony.

The hardscaping program is the first of its kind in "pre-release and re-entry" programs for county inmates. The men embark on academic field work and classwork which results in the "attainment of an industry-recognized credential" from the New England Concrete Manufacturers Association.

Coppinger and other officials noted graduating from the program makes the inmates marketable when they finish their sentences and re-enter society.

"By creating opportunities for well paying jobs for our graduates, we hope to break the cycle of recidivism, making families and communities more secure and safer," Coppinger said.

The Hardscaping Program was funded through a Perkins Vocational and Technical Education grant, earmarked for people who are incarcerated.

To launch the program, the sheriff's department partnered with Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical High School, the concrete manufacturer's association and other industry professionals who provided tools, materials, supplies and more to support the program.

"We had the grant money but we needed their expertise," Coppinger explained.

Three more eight-week sessions of the program already are planned for inmates.

David Collins, the hardscape instructor, said the program is "exactly what's needed" to provide the inmates a skill of their own in a tight labor market. He said it was a pleasure to work with the group who "gave 110 percent every day."

At the graduation ceremony, one inmate said before he was incarcerated he worked in the medical field. He may go back to that profession, he said, but he will be able to draw on his hardscaping skills when he achieves his dream of owning his own home one day.

Coppinger wished all of the inmates well, encouraging them to "reunite with your families and also be productive members of society."

"And gentlemen, don't take this the wrong way, but I never want to see you again," the sheriff quipped.

Follow staff reporter Jill Harmacinski on Twitter @EagleTribJill.

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(c)2019 The Eagle-Tribune (North Andover, Mass.)

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