by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
As he rolled a fresh layer of white paint over the dull gray walls of the Jacksonville Children’s Center, 22-year-old Willie Jackson thought about his future.
In less than two weeks, Jackson will be released from the Community Corrections Division. He knows the difficulties of life on the outside. He hopes this time he’s equipped to deal with them.
Jackson likes to paint. Working with his hands is satisfying he says, because his effort produces something tangible. He’s spent the last seven months studying. He says he’s sure his reward will be a GED.
Jackson is part of Youthbuild, a six-year-old program that offers Duval County Jail inmates a chance to earn work experience and their GEDs. Funded by a $700,000 Housing and Urban Development grant, the group tallies nearly 15,000 annual work hours to the City at minimum cost. In the process, youthbuilders learn the construction trade and earn their equivalency diplomas. Program Manager Patrick Gaughan said those are the minimum requirements for outside survival.
“We create an environment here that motivates these guys, gives them at least an opportunity to succeed,” said Gaughan. “If they don’t have the hope for anything better, they are going to continue on the same track.”
Most of his charges are hungry for opportunity. Although most of them struggled in their first academic go-round, Gaughan reports a near-90 percent success rate in getting his students GEDs. This year, 24 students will enter the program. Gaughan estimated 21 of them will succeed.
With a GED in hand, the students are far less likely to return to prison. Gaughan said 75 percent of inmates, once released, will return to prison. Only three in 10 graduates from Gaughan’s program have been jailed again.
Gaughan’s program is unique in that it focuses on inmates.Gaughan’s 23 years of work with the Florida state prisons helped create the program.
“I saw these guys with 50, 60, 70-year sentences,” said Gaughan. “If it was possible I wanted to get to these guys earlier, keep them from ending up here doing big time.”
To do that, Gaughan said inmates must be presented with alternatives. He said options are limited for people carrying criminal records.
“It’s tough out there for convicted felons. They deserve their punishments but at some point you have to forgive and forget and let them start over. We might as well lock them up and throw away the key if we’re not going to give them options.”
In their City Hall classroom Tuesday morning, Educational Director Curtis McGriff is preparing his latest class for the upcoming GED exam. The subject is math — a trouble spot for most in the class. McGriff reads through the correct answers until a trick question sends four hands into the air.
McGriff directs the students to the question. Don’t be confused, he said. Figure out what is being asked, then answer it.
“When I teach, the classroom is about here and now; it’s about getting their full focus and attention on the task at hand,” said McGriff.
The daily routine keeps the students focused. Many of them say is the difference between current success and prior failure.
“I realize now, I need to get my GED, I need my education if I’m going to improve the rest of my life,” said Desi Murray, 22. Murray failed the program before, but said he now appreciates his opportunity.
“My only focus is on the test,” said Murray. “It’s not on the people around me or my situation. If I want a high-paying job, this is how I’m going to get it.”