Thirty-seven former inmates celebrated a new phase in their lives with their recent graduation from a new state program for high-risk drug offenders.
“You’ve all made mistakes; that doesn’t mean you’re a mistake,” Chris Hansen, Solano County probation chief, told the graduates at a January ceremony, according to Jessica Rogness of the Vacaville Reporter.
Representatives for California State Sen. Lois Wolk and Assemblyman Jim Frazier presented the recipients with certificates from the state Legislature for completing the Solano County Center for Positive Change (CPC) program.
CPC was implemented in response to Assembly Bill 109 to serve high-risk offenders under the Solano County Probation Department.
Hanson said some of the graduates might have come into the program “kicking and screaming, but you reached out, and that took a lot.”
Robert Muller, a CPC graduate attending the ceremony, presented his own success story.
Michael’s Transportation in Vallejo paid $5,000 to send Muller to bus-driving school. He was eventually hired as one of four full-time bus drivers for a company in San Francisco.
“The encouragement I got from there was incredible. They didn’t ask me about my past; they asked me about my future,” said Muller.
Amy Ingles was the first woman to attend the CPC program.
A former drug addict and victim of domestic abuse, Ingles went to prison five times. As a mother of three children, she is now married and attends Narcotics Anonymous.
“They didn’t think I was going to do it,” said Ingles concerning her attendance and completion of the CPC program.
In fact, both Ingles and Muller were among recipients who exceeded expectations. As such, they were awarded an additional certificate to commemorate their special effort in completing the program and changing their lives.
The CPC has two centers, in Fairfield and Vallejo, which have been described as a “one-stop shop” due to the variety of professional programs they house under one roof.
Services include health and social services, employment counselors and counseling for both mental health and substance abuse.
The CPC has around 300 offenders referred to their services. Each client’s programs differ according to their individual needs. The process normally takes between eight to nine months to complete.
The program is very effective compared to how probation officers used to send clients to several different offices for different needs, said Ruben Vang, CPC supervising deputy probation officer.
CPC’s goal is to produce two graduating classes each year.
