LEXINGTON, Va. – More than half a million dollars will give inmates a second chance.
Nearly 80% of those at the Rockbridge Regional Jail end up coming back.
Now, a partnership through TAP is going to offer support to find work, housing and transportation once they are out of jail.
This is the first time leaders have done this.
“This is our first shot at actually making a positive impact in this particular area and if we do that, I feel confident that we will have positive results,” said Derek Alamarode, superintendent of Rockbridge Regional Jail.
“I think a lot of times the rural areas are forgotten when funding comes out and projects come out and this was the first time we had seen funding director to rural areas to deal with reentry issues,” said Jo Nelson, Director of TAP.
TAP will hire three workers. Right now, there’s one person that sees around 25 people a year.
In that test program, only 3% of people who completed it returned to jail.