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By Julie Ball
RIVERVIEW — Not many are aware that nestled right off US 301 between Riverview and Sun City Center lies a high security prison. However, this prison is nothing to be alarmed about, in fact, many people from the community praise and even volunteer with the inmates held here.
This Hillsborough Correctional Institution (HCI) is the only women’s faith/character based prison in the United States and so far results have been beyond successful.
Warden Rhodene Mathis is running the prison for the second year in a row. She operates in a new building recently built outside of the prison gates. This enables her to operate normally if there are any security issues.
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| Julie Ball photo
Toys made by inmates at HCI will be donated to groups such as Hope Children’s Home and Good Samaritan, Wimauma. |
“I have been working with prisoners for over 30 years. At first I was working at a men’s facility,” said Mathis. “I found HCI to be phenomenal. The way the community has embraced these women really makes a difference in the lives of both parties involved.”
She describes this prison as a totally different environment from most she has worked at. HCI reopened in 2004 as a women’s faith based prison after being a men’s facility for years.
Faith based does not mean they try to force religion into the women. They do encourage it and only preach character change and personal improvement. She says the job has bettered her too. “I have become more patient and found more solace,” said Mathis.
Working in the prison system, Warden Mathis realized it isn’t possible to change everyone. “You will be disappointed if you expect that. However, these ladies get to come here with good behavior elsewhere so they have better attitudes and much more self respect,” Mathis said proudly.
One major goal of prisons today is rehabilitation efforts. HCI is no different. They have many programs in place so that when the women are nearing the end of their sentence, they are able to reenter society positively and successfully.
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| Julie Ball photo
Carpentry Instructor, Jack Cardwell stands next to this year’s lot of toys being donated to groups such as Hope Children’s Home and Good Samaritan Wimauma. The toys were made completely by the inmates. |
Nancy Williams, a volunteer from the Sun City Center community, gives her time weekly to the women at HCI by helping teach an anger management class.
“When Governor Jeb Bush made it the first in the Nation Women’s Faith Based/Character Building facility in spring of 2004, Dr. B (Ken Barringer) needed a female in the classroom with him. I agreed and that was the beginning of my passion for encouraging and changing these ladies lives for positive re-entry into society,” said Williams.
The prison offers vocational programs such as culinary arts and carpentry certifications as well as a cosmetology program. There are also computer, sewing, art and drama classes.
Every year the carpentry class builds their own toys to donate to Toys for Tots and the local community around Christmas time. They make hundreds of toys which include everything from chess boards, see-saws and puzzles to trains and play kitchens.
The day I visited the prison was a day the entire facility commemorated a volunteer with over 20 years with HCI. Hugh Burns has been there since the beginning. The inmates built him a rose garden, painted a mural and the carpentry class completed benches and a trellis for the garden.
With roses donated by the University of Florida Gulf Coast Research Center, the garden will bring quiet, peace and solace to the inmates.
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| Julie Ball photo
Warden Rhodene Mathis and Hugh Burns open the memorial rose garden with an official ribbon cutting. |
“The women liked the idea of the rose because they are beautiful but also have thorns,” said Burns. “They remind us that life is not always pretty and easy.”
While many see the women in this prison in a bad light, others in the community feel differently. “Everyone should have a second chance. It’s about using faith to strengthen an individual to do good, be kind to one another and get out of a self-centered world. We care for them as people who are worth saving,” said volunteer Nancy Williams.
Right now there is a nation wide push for criminals to begin new lives and really change while in prison. With more prisons based off of character change and faith, maybe the system would see less repeat offenders and work better in the long run.
What follows is a public comments section. This is not from the Observer News staff - it comes from other people and contains their opinions and theirs alone. The Observer News does not control the material that follows. We do, however, reserve the right to remove objectionable material at our discretion. By that we mean that we will edit or delete any content that we deem is inappropriate. By posting your comments, you are stating that you agree to these terms.
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Comments
Alan
16 Dec 2009, 09:51
Unfortunately, there are those that would like to see these facilities go away. The Council for Secular Humanism has filed a lawsuit challenging faith based prisons. While I'm not religious, I can certainly see the benefits of bringing a focus to these troubled people's lives.
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