Halfway house provides pluses for women
PETER GARTRELL Gillette News-Record | Posted: Monday, March 3, 2008 12:00 am
GILLETTE - You could be forgiven for stepping inside the blue-roofed building off Raymond Street and confusing it for a college dormitory.
The beds in Booth Hall are bunked, the commons room is packed, the cafeteria seating is in long benches and tables, and the halls are busy with residents walking from one place to another.
But this is no college dorm.
There are 126 convicted criminals, the vast majority of whom are felons, living in this halfway house operated by the Volunteers of America, a Christian nonprofit organization. They are still considered inmates by the prison system but are called "residents" at the facility, from which they commute to jobs around Campbell County each day.
New to Booth Hall in the last year is a women's program. Newer still is a facility on the building's north end that separates the program's 16 women from the more than 100 men who live and work there.
Coming from different prisons and jails from throughout Wyoming, the women at Booth Hall say the halfway house program will give them a better chance to succeed when they get out of the penitentiary system.
"Without this program, I wouldn't be clean today," Melissa Selfe said as she and other residents discussed their experience with the program.
Sitting in a lime green cloth couch in the commons room that every resident said was better than plastic furniture in jail or prison, Selfe, 33, of Gillette said the mix of freedom and structure has helped her move past a stage of her life in which she popped in and out of prison.
She expects to be out of the program and on probation by the end of March.
"I wouldn't have $10,000 in my account, I wouldn't be buying a house with my kids," she said.
The program allows the women, like the men, to seek out jobs at local businesses. They are required to budget the money they make, balancing restitution payments with personal expenses and rent to pay for their time at Booth Hall. Most see the move as a big plus.
All of a sudden, they don't have to wake up at 6 a.m.. They have personal choices to make. They aren't in handcuffs; they aren't in a cell. They are allowed to smoke cigarettes when they please, attend church and college classes, and, when they've earned the privilege, get free time outside Booth Hall and even overnights.
For many of the women, though, the biggest thing is that they get to see their children on a daily basis. Yet there are restrictions. There is a zero-tolerance drug and alcohol policy. Residents must earn their privileges and, depending on their case history, attend various classes or rehabilitation groups.
Mark Wilson, Booth Hall's program director, said the organization has tried to tailor the women's program to their specific needs and provide a "more relaxed environment." He and others involved believe that the women's program is something Wyoming has needed for a long time.
Tiffanie Larcroix agreed. After just three days in the program, she already has seen the benefits of its structure for her life. The 22-year-old hopes to be out before long.
"Everyone deserves a second chance," she said.