Expanding on the established Houghton in Buffalo program, Houghton will be partnering with Peaceprints of Western New York (PPWNY) to help released inmate transition back into society. The new program, starting this Fall, will provide ex-prisoners with an education that can lead to meaningful employment or transference to a four-year institution.
“Many of these people possess great potential and are still able to make a significant contribution to society,” stated Houghton’s description of the new program. Later it explained “The curriculum will be rich in the kind of coursework that will emphasize personal and intellectual growth while also providing courses geared toward workplace readiness. “
John McKeone is the director of the new program. He has experience with finance from his previous work in Westminster Economic Development Initiative, which also allowed him experience working with the communities of Buffalo’s West side. “The program was in development for approximately the last year,” explains McKeone. “I was hired June 1st of 2017 and began recruiting students. Our first class began this August. We started with six students, we now have five students who are doing well. We are working hard to enroll even more students in the Spring semester.”
The new program was inspired by Houghton College Buffalo, which “now in its third year, is proving to be an academic, cultural and financial success story, and one that can be replicated in other settings where marginalized people have been excluded from the economic opportunities that education offers” reports Houghton’s website. Located on Buffalo’s East Side at Peace Print’s Hope House transitional housing facility, the new Houghton College Buffalo/Peaceprints program, ex-prisoners will have the opportunity to similarly benefit from a curriculum specially tailored to benefit them in their situations.
“The primary goal is to provide a college education to a student who would not access it otherwise,” adds McKeone. “In the case of the Houghton Buffalo/Peace Prints partnership we are working with individuals who have been in prison, and are now on parole. Most of the individuals recognize the importance of higher education, but struggle to be good students. Our education practice supports the students helps the students overcome the obstacles they are presented with.”
It seeks to apply Houghton College Buffalo’s “model of affordable, small scale, cohort-based instruction, which is now working well with Buffalo’s refugee community,” to the similarly marginalized community that PPWNY works to serve.
Peaceprints reported on its website that “Almost 7,000 individuals are actively released under Community Supervision in Erie County each year. Without programming, recidivism rates stand at 65%. With programming by organizations like Peaceprints, that rate drops to 27%.”
McKeone also commented on the importance of programs for ex-convicts. “Education is essential to participating in our complex culture. Individuals who are not educated will face limited choices, and all that goes with being marginalized by society. Data indicates 42% of individuals on parole will reenter prison, when these people access higher education that number goes down to 4%. Considering it costs $60,000 to house one person for a year in a NYS prison, the investment in education is modest.”
While Houghton applies its established curriculum to a new audience, “PPWNY will market the program both inside correctional facilities and outside in the community through its established partnerships with DOCCS Parole Orientation, Erie County Reentry Task Force, Buffalo Employment and Training Center and the Department of Social Services.”
“We do extensive outreach (and in-reach) within the criminal justice system. Outreach means working with NYS and Federal parole, and other support organizations to get in front of potential students to create an awareness of what we do,” said McKeone. “This is a very important part of our program efforts, and we spend a great deal of time, doing this work and managing its success.”
In keeping with the specialized nature of the new program, Houghton announced “PPWNY will also identify and screen prospective students prior to admission, a process with will include a comprehensive needs assessment as well as a general evaluation.”
“Our educational goal will be to help create the kind of graduates who will qualify for meaningful jobs upon completion of the program or transfer to a four-year institution like Buffalo State College, a college that Houghton College Buffalo already works closely with.” Beyond the academics, Houghton hopes the new program will “create active, engaged citizens, people who understand themselves and their place in a thriving, inter-connected community.” McKeone emphasizes that “We are participating in the Christian challenge to be our brothers keepers.”