| A.S.T.A.R Is Born; Offenders Are Reborn
Tamica Payton
From left to right, front row: Rayfield Hutchinson, Regina Dixon, and PiAnkhi Meri Amen Ra; back row: Kevin Ellis, Abdur Rauf Rashid, and Jim Bolden. |
A.S.T.A.R. participants at work. |
Regina Dixon got involved with drinking, using and selling
drugs, and prostitution and soon got herself in prison. But
then she realized that if she wanted a different life, she
would have to act on it because no one would give it to her.
She changed for herself, but most of all for her children and
family.
Dixon recently completed the Adult Service/Training Administered
for Re-Entry (A.S.T.A.R) program of Dayton, OH, a two-phased
program for people who have been incarcerated but who want
to redirect their lives.
"All I had to do was want to change," said Dixon,
who is now employed.
A.S.T.A.R, which is strictly voluntary, started as an initiative
of Dayton's Northwest Weed and Seed in November 2004.
Phase I of the program, which begins after the program's
outreach efforts in the corrections system and once ex-offenders
have been released, deals with anger management, domestic violence,
and employment issues (e.g., job etiquette; preparation of
résumés, cover letters, and letters of application;
mock interviews). The program has a clinical nurse specialist
of psychology who talks to the ex-offenders about stress, anxiety,
health, and wellness.
Phase II is similar to phase I except that in phase II, A.S.T.A.R
program coordinators take participants on job interviews and
help them prepare for an effective job search. Phase II also
deals with the ex-offenders on a more personal level, allowing
ex-offenders to interact more with the community.
A.S.T.A.R has an 80-percent job placement rate. Kevin Ellis,
a current student, said he feels that A.S.T.A.R is a very effective
program—better than others he's tried—and
that it teaches self-control in more ways than one.
"When you're in prison you are in a controlled
environment, and not to mention the fear of being put in the
hole for whatever reason you're in there for. You have
no other choice but to do what you have to do," he said. "I
took a step back and looked at my life, and now I can see that
life is the same everywhere I go. No matter what I do, I will
always have to follow rules and regulations in life."
Part of the reason that Abdur R. Rashid started the program
was that he was imprisoned himself for 13 years. Asked about
the impact the program is making on the community, Rashid said
it was therapeutic for him to give back to the community. "The
fact that it is voluntary makes me feel great knowing that
people want the help," he said.
Although Rashid has a working relationship with the Dayton
Weekly News, he said that the best way to tell people
about the program is by word of mouth. He is proud of the
sustainability of the program and how people stay involved.
"At A.S.T.A.R. we're like a family. Even
once [ex-offenders] graduate and go on with their jobs and
life, we still stay in contact and they still come out and
support the program and help the community," he said.
Rayfield Hutchinson, a graduate of the program, said the program
allowed him to repent for all the wrong that he'd done. "I
thank God for coming into my life and changing me into the
man that I have become. I am trying to make a change in my
community as are the others in the program. This is my way
of making up for lost time in my community," he said.
Hutchinson and others go to correctional facilities and speak
to the inmates to let them know that they need to change. "We
advise them that they need to evaluate their lives and themselves," he
said.
Rashid said he knew that the program was really working when
one of the participants noted that A.S.T.A.R. may be a program,
but the participants aren't "being programmed." "We
have to realize that reentry is a process and not an 8 hour-a-day
job," he said. "It takes the efforts of the whole
community to help."
Tamica Payton is one of three summer interns at
CCDO.
For further information, contact:
Abdur
R. Rashid
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