Resident-led rehabilitation groups lead to 30% drop in disciplinary reports
The mood in the Education Complex’s B-Building appeared positively giddy. Residents mingled with officers. The San Quentin Color Guard practiced their ceremonial entrance. A captain nodded vigorously as a new arrival explained to her his rehabilitation goals. A lieutenant smiled broadly into the expansive room with the kind of contented smile that indicated a job well done.
Lt. T. S. Reynolds had every reason to feel content. Over 100 residents would soon receive their certificates of completion of a groundbreaking, innovative program that had originated in North Block, his building.
“North Block was a s— show,” Lt. Reynolds said in his speech. “115s were off the hook. I wanted to change the dynamics of the building, get these guys off the tiers and into groups. We have six groups in North Block now…” — loud cheers and applause momentarily halted the lieutenant’s speech — “and 115s went down by about 30%.”
The audience listened attentively. Everyone had completed at least one program from a selection of anger management, criminal thinking, denial management, understanding domestic violence, Alcoholics Anonymous, and Narcotics Anonymous. The curriculums enjoyed such popularity that some residents received certificates for more than one.
Captain A. Maxfield echoed the sentiments: “You are not here to please Lt. Reynolds and you are not here to please me. We are here to support each other in a direction of positive change. Thank you each and every one of you for your creativity.”
The captain acknowledged the creators of the groups as a resourceful quintet of facilitators who started the programs: Rodney Baylis, John Czub, Alex Ross, Hieu Thai, and Marcus O. Washington. The captain said they all reside in North Block, where they identified a need, devised a pragmatic solution, and then implemented it. An article in the May edition of the San Quentin News explained their roles in detail.
Facilitator Baylis said he and his co-facilitators, all employed in the Peer Literacy Mentor Program known as PLMP, relied on their supervisor A. Sufi for academic support for the program. Facilitator Washington said he had received extensive training to work as a facilitator: 1,100 hours over one year.
The Compassion Prison Project, under the direction of Fritzi Horstman, had sent training materials for the programs, facilitator Baylis said. Horstman’s organization mainly worked with identification of trauma, he added.
The dynamics of San Quentin changed, said Lt. Reynolds, a 33-year veteran of the CDCR. He began his career in corrections at age 21, he said. “Back then, one did not just talk to an inmate; if an officer did that, then the inmate was done for.”
Trevor Eugene Burchard, a participant who expected to go home next year, said the program helped him to think better about what he would do not to reoffend. “I have my son to take care of and this class helped me to make myself a better person, helped me to think not to be a criminal.”
SQ resident Darren Lee said he enjoyed the program. The facilitators impressed him greatly. “They did a good job; its not every day that one sees guys in blue do so well,” Lee said.
Lee also attested to the groups’ popularity and inclusivity: “They had 30 guys in the class, but they let me in. So many guys tried to get in.”
Facilitator Thai said, “Right now, we have over 100 residents on the list for the next program. We want to accommodate everybody to keep them out of trouble. We will not turn anyone away; nobody should have to wait for help. We wish we could do more.”
“We just gotta keep it going,” said Lt. Reynolds
