In a ceremony at San Quentin State Prison, two local charitable organizations received $32,350.91 from a victim compensation fund.
California Prison Industry Authority oversees the Joint Venture program, in which Labcon workers earn the local minimum wage of $9 per hour.
Even though the inmates do not get all their earnings because of various deductions, including court-ordered restitution and fines, very few inmates earn the kind of money that workers for Labcon do.
The deductions after tax are:
20 percent of inmate income is provided to the state for room and board
20 percent is allocated to the inmate’s trust account for commissary and other expenses
20 percent goes to a family support program
20 percent goes to a mandatory savings account
20 percent goes to the victim compensation fund or court ordered restitution and fines.
Some of the inmates said they were happy to help worthy causes.
Half the money went to Community Violence Solutions (CVS), the other half to Sunny Hills Services.
“That’s great!” said Deanna Schlau of CVS, “the funds will help a lot of people.” Schlau is sexual assault response and volunteer coordinator with CVS. “Our services save lives,” Schlau said.
Schlau and co-worker Andrees Montilliano, executive director, participated in the ceremony to receive the funds.
It was “a really big check,” said an inmate worker. In fact, the check was about 2 feet wide by 4 feet long.
CVS has an office in Marin, where it provides counseling services for victims of rape and abuse, along with other services.
Speaking to the men, Montilliano said, “I want you to know that your hard work will help women and children.” Schlau said, “We provide advisory services from housing to mediation.” When counseling abuse victims, one important aspect is empowerment of the victim, indicated Schlau. She said, “We talk about taking control of their lives.” CVS maintains a 24-hour crisis center and receives calls night and day, seven days a week.
Montilliano said that CVS serves several Marin communities and receives referrals from a number of other organizations. CVS works with agencies such as law enforcement and children’s services.
“It’s a full-time job helping victims find medical attention, housing or counselors,” said Montilliano. Speaking of the many people who benefit from their services, Montilliano said, “We provide services of one type or another to over 1,000 people every year.” According to Schlau, CVS also has a number of volunteers who assist in their work.
The other recipient, Sunny Hills Services, operates Sunny Hills Children’s Center.
“What you’re doing is a really great thing — giving back to the community,” said Karen Bischoff of Sunny Hills to the gathered men.
Although the center’s focus is on children, it also provides services to adults. Bischoff said most of their contact is with women, and there is “hardly any domestic violence support for men.” However, according to Rusty Bechtold, administrator of the Inmate Employability Program, “You never know, some time you [men] may need that help.”
According to inmates, the ceremony was bittersweet because Labcon is closing its Joint Venture program at San Quentin. The packaging of “tipetts” and “culture tubes” done by Labcon workers is now going to be performed by a robot. Therefore, affected inmates will soon be losing their income and losing what some say is the best job at San Quentin.
According to Aly Tamboura, “It’s nice to have a nest egg when you get out.” He said that although he has some money saved for when he leaves prison, he would prefer that Labcon not close. Commenting on the financial state of most paroling inmates, Tamboura said, “When the state gives someone $200 at the gate, how do they expect them to survive?”
Tamboura was on a waiting list for about 18 months before he could get his Labcon job. Although he has saved some money, “It would be better to have a little more.” He said that the $200 given to newly released prisoners might be one night in a hotel and a meal – and asked, “What do they expect a person to do after that?”
Inmate Labcon worker Al Garner said, “I’d loved to have stayed for the 16 months I have left, but at least I have some savings for parole.” Speaking about Labcon he said, “The opportunity is – well there’s none like it. I’m going from $9 an hour to about 30 cents an hour,” he said referring to finding a prison job after Labcon is closed.
All the inmates are feeling a little bit at a loss, said Bruley Overda. “I’m proud that we gave all that money to people needing financial help,” he said. “We had a good thing.”
