WAYNESBORO – Waynesboro Rotarians learned about the Franklin Together Reentry Coalition, which helps previously incarcerated people make a successful return to society. The program was presented by Waynesboro Rotarian Kim Eaton, who in addition to serving as executive director of the Waynesboro YMCA, is involved with Franklin Together.
Although the United States has only 5 percent of the world’s population, it has 25 percent of the world’s imprisoned persons, Eaton said.
She explained a variety of issues have contributed to this, including bias in sentencing, a variety of social problems, privatization of prisons and the increase in opiate addiction, which resulted in more women in the prison system.
Common characteristics that land people in prison are criminal history, antisocial personality, antisocial peers and family conflict issues, Eaton said.
The Franklin Reentry Coalition, formed in 2015 at the behest of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, attempts to get at the core of these problems and prevent recidivism.
The group offers programs such as Home Start, which provides clients with housing options; Suds Up, which provides basic personal hygiene products and clothing; Gear for Careers, which provides apparel and equipment needed for work; and Moving Forward, a local support group the offers lessons and training for recently incarcerated persons.
While the recidivism rate for all county prisoners is about 50 percent, it’s only 2 percent for persons who have participated in Moving Forward, a program developed under Eaton’s leadership.
