Uniontown PREP Center graduates 51 participants

The PREP Center in Uniontown graduated 51 participants on Sept. 20 during a ceremony where representatives from the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles, J.F. Ingram State Technical College and the Perry County Commission were present. 

“Our goal is to provide programs that prepare our participants for success in life – whether that means securing good-paying jobs or receiving effective treatments to tackle mental health or substance use issues,” Bureau Director Cam Ward said.

“Data indicates that good employment significantly lowers the chances of re-offending, and we want to ensure that anyone given a second chance in Alabama will do the most with that opportunity.”

The participants completed reentry programs that included mental health and substance use counseling and job training in CDL, fiber-optics installation and construction equipment operation over the past 90 days at the center. 

A press release from the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles 321 individuals on probation or parole have graduated from Bureau reentry programming by the PREP Center and Day Reporting Centers. 

Participants have completed approximately 2,000 hours of coursework related to life skills, career readiness, community service, GED attainment and vocational training and none have reoffended or returned to prison, the press release said.

“To the counselors: a special thank you to the lessons you taught us in moral recognition,” PREP graduate Joseph Goodwin said. “Without those lessons we would still be prisoners in our own prisons. The last 90 days have taught us how to rethink positively, how to express ourselves in a constructive manner, and we’ve received multiple skills such as fiber optics, skid-steer loader operations and core life skills.”