The Blair County Prison Society is working with its counterpart in Centre County to bring a prison re-entry program into Blair County Prison.

Go Reentry Specialists of Bellefonte this month launched a series of six weekly 1.5-hour classes on Wednesday evenings in the prison chapel for male inmates, to be followed by a similar series for female inmates, said John Grove, a member of the Blair County Prison Society and the Blair County Prison Re-entry Coalition.

Go Reentry founder and Executive Director Mark Frailey and certified addiction recovery specialist Justine Korn teach the Reentry Strategies course, which is faith-based and recovery- and trauma-oriented, according to Grove, who attended the first class Aug. 13.

Frailey has been a pastor and a policeman, and he’s been incarcerated, which helps give him credibility with inmates, Grove said. “He’s hitting it from a lot of different angles,” Grove said.

Thirteen Blair inmates attended the first class, according to Grove.

The inmates provided a bit of information on their backgrounds and the presenters discussed the importance of them having a place to go and a way to get there upon their release, according to Grove.

The course encourages them to think ahead, which most inmates tend not to do, Grove said.

Each inmate receives a free 90-page workbook that includes room for writing notes, he said, and they get homework.

There’s a checklist in the workbook that calls for them to know their Social Security numbers, to have an identification card and their birth certificate and to have a home plan, and a list of their medications, according to Blair Coalition Director Ken Dean.

The checklist includes references to job options and how inmates plan to obtain clothes, a cellphone and transportation when they’re out, Dean said.

It talks about ensuring they have the necessary “supports.”

“Things we all take for granted,” Dean said. “But things they’ll need, if they get out (and want to) survive.”

There’s a section for them to lay out their personal histories, including where they grew up, with family details, and there are personality test questions, Dean said.

The workbook talks about how to dress for a job interview, the importance of being on time, how to stand, how to interact with the interviewer and the importance of showing respect, Dean said.

There is similar advice on how to deal with court interactions.

And there is a section that invites inmates to plot out their own reentry strategy and to imagine “what success looks like,” Dean said.

The workbook also talks about the consequences of not paying fines, Grove said.

The course is “practically oriented,” Grove said.

It’s not necessary for course participants to have a definite release date, Grove said.

“I think most people can really benefit from something like this,” Dean said of the course.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.