The creation of Bill’s Place is the culmination of 30 years of substance abuse education and personal development in a world where business as usual is anything but — brought forward to generate transformation in the face of no possibility.
Imagine if you will — after serving 13 years behind bars, you finally get to go beyond the four rows of upper and lower razor wire you have seen day in and day out — nothing different but the weather. Even the faces begin to look the same. You get processed with a new ID card, issued khaki pants, a white shirt, socks and tennis shoes, followed by being placed in a protective holding cell pending release now just hours away ...
After the mid-morning head count, you are called to take that long walk up the asphalt driveway just ahead. Another set of gates must be opened before you are released. The guard on watch is called to open it and your name is called ...
Freedom is in the air. You can taste it with eager anticipation. The clang of the heavy electronic gates is now in rear view. You are carrying everything you own in a trash bag. You have a $25.00 voucher. You are free at last!
Then reality sets in...
"Will anyone be there for me? I am alone.
I am homeless, unemployed and uneducated.
I have no skills or prospects for anything different.
Where do I go?
What do I do?
Where am I going to sleep tonight?
I am a felon on parole with $25.00 in my pocket.
Now what?"
The above scenario is what’s so as an offender leaves prison. He has few options, and most return to the only world they have known for much of their adult lives. One in eight citizens in the State of Georgia are on probation, parole or other jurisdiction requiring an expenditure of taxpayers' dollars. The jails are so overcrowded that bunk beds are now being installed three high. Seventy percent of every offender returns to prison due to drugs and alcohol. Most non-violent offenders could go into treatment, a far cheaper alternative than locking them up. They can be taught skills that make them employable, tax-paying citizens. They can get their GEDs and diplomas, raising the bar of opportunity even higher. They can reside in a structured environment, learning to become productive members of society again. They can be taught how to live clean, sober and crime-free lives without one dime of our tax dollars.
As new citizens, capable of being responsible providers for yourselves and the families you left behind — contribute to society in powerful new ways. No more handouts. No free lunches. Pay now or pay later. It’s your choice!
Recidivism can be a thing of the past, but it will take a serious commitment to shift the conversation of “once an offender, always an offender.”
By creating a plan for parolees statewide to transition into society with an education, skills, training and personal development, character building, mentoring and treatment for drug and alcohol dependency, recidivism is nipped in the bud.