Gibson County sees success with Orchard House program
MILAN, Tenn. — The Orchard House is having success transitioning men back into the workforce after being in jail.
In Gibson County, incarcerated and previously incarcerated men have the chance to gain employment and learn skills, and that makes re-entering the workforce easier.
Currently, 40 men live at the Orchard House.
Each paycheck, 25% of what they earn is applied towards whatever they may owe the court, whether that’s child support, court costs or fines.
“They get out of jail, they can’t keep up with what they owe the courts and they just get back in that cycle. Getting locked back up, a lot of it just for monetary reasons, so we try to pay those fines down for them,” said Gibson County Sheriff Paul Thomas.
Since the program began, nearly $100,000 has been collected.
Once a month, they are also able to send money home to their families. The sheriff says another $100,000 has been sent to support families.
When Sheriff Thomas took office in 2014, the Gibson County Correctional Complex had a recidivism rate of 70%.
Now with less financial burdens, he says they are able to transition into everyday life a lot easier.
“With the 200+ men and women that we’ve put through our work program, either from the jail or from here since this program started, we’ve cut that recidivism down with that group of people down to 12%,” Sheriff Thomas said.
Thomas says the program has successfully filled his expectations, but he hopes to continue to see results far after he leaves office.
“In hopes of helping that one man, he will pass that down to his children and it will keep them from following in those footsteps,” Sheriff Thomas said. “So what I hope to see happen, it’s not today, it’s not next year, it’s not even five years form now. I’m hoping generations change.”
Sheriff Thomas says the program is continuously growing. They are looking to better the facility and make the program safer.
They will also continue to help other counties around Tennessee with similar programs.
