Pathways to Freedom

Walter E. Hussman Jr., publisher of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette has joined the Board of Pathways to Freedom (PTF), a Christian based prison ministry with a long history of success beginning with Chuck Colson and his Innerchange freedom initiative (IFI) in 1974.
This is extremely good news for Arkansas prisons which are struggling with recidivism, the high rate of released inmates to re-offend and end up back in prison. And it’s good news for Pathways to Freedom which was facing what could have been a terminal blow.
Large ads in support of Pathways to Freedom began appearing in the Democrat Gazette this month, and Hussman’s track record of success suggests that PTF will survive and carry out its mission of reducing current levels of recidivism.
The PTF pedigree
PTF has a great pedigree, and with Hussman on board, the ministry is more than ever likely to succeed.
A third-generation newspaperman, Hussman was born in Texarkana and grew up in Camden. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from North Carolina and an M.B.A. from Columbia University in New York.
I had worked for Hussman for two years in the early nineteen seventies as publisher of the News Times in El Dorado, Arkansas and can testify to his skill and competence.
In 1974, the Hussman family bought the Arkansas Democrat, the afternoon daily newspaper in Little Rock, and launched a battle with the established morning newspaper, the Arkansas Gazette. Hussman emerged the winner and bought the assets of the rival newspaper in 1991, creating the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Hussman was named Publisher of the Year in 2008 by Editor and Publisher magazine. He was a member of the board of directors of The Associated Press from 2000 to 2009 and C-Span from 1995 to 2003.
A $349 million price tag
The prison population in Arkansas is expected to reach 21,767 by 2020. Twenty years ago, corrections cost the state of Arkansas just $45 million; today the bill is nearly eight times higher, $349 million per year or 8 percent of the general fund.
Recidivism negatively affects everyone in Arkansas: families, communities, citizens, and government. Statewide, Arkansas has a recidivism rate (the percent of people who will re-offend and be incarcerated again) of 50 percent.
For those ex-offenders who completed the Pathway to Freedom (PTF) program, the recidivism rate is 15 percent. It costs the state of Arkansas’ taxpayers $23,000 a year to care for and house each prisoner.
The Arkansas Department of Correction (ADC) has contracted with PTF to provide prerelease and community integration services for inmates with the purpose of reducing recidivism by producing a positive life change and successful transition from incarceration to life in the community.
A Christ centered program
Through its Christ-centered program, PTF delivers values based educational, training, and support services to prisoners and ex-prisoners on a voluntary and non-compulsory basis. This intensive program stresses excellence, discipline, accountability and personal responsibility to ensure the proper growth and transformation of each individual.
PTF focuses on six core values which are based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ: integrity, responsibility, community, productivity, affirmation and restoration. While PTF is a Christian program, those of other faiths, or no faith, are welcome to participate.
All 200 men at the Wrightsville Hawkins Unit participate in the PTF program. At the end of each quarter, a new group of approximately 40 men is transferred to the unit to begin the program, while those who have completed the in-prison phases of the program either remain at the Hawkins Unit, transfer back to their prior unit, or enter a work release or some other program such as vo-tech. Some are released.
Three Phases
The first phase of the program is 12 months of intense study and work. The men are busy from early morning until lights out.
Classes in this phase deal with men’s issues, behavior issues, substance–abuse, education, anger management, correcting thinking processes, computer training, parenting, boundaries, character development, Christian worldview and victim impact.
The staff works closely with the members as a group and individually to monitor progress and address areas that need improvement. PTF also provides a library for the members.
The second phase is six months of preparation for a release and reintegration into society. Members learn how to handle finances, write a resume and go through the job-interview process, develop action plans and personal goals and learn the life skills they will need to succeed in the free world. Reentry staff conducts a transition interview with each member and matches him with a mentor, the mentor meets with the member on a weekly basis and helps him prepare for release.
The third phase is 12 months of mentoring and reentry assistance which is vital to the individual’s reintegration into and becoming a contributing member of society. PTF builds relationships with individuals, churches, community organizations and business to form a network of service providers to assist with employment, housing, clothing, managing finances and other services.
On a closing note
On a closing note, Larry Norris, a former director of the Arkansas Department of Correction, had this to say about the problem of recidivism in Arkansas prisons, “if you’re afraid of them, keep them locked up forever. If you’re just mad at them, get them straightened out and release them.”
The best solution to the recidivism problem, he said, is to lower sentences for inmates who have clearly been rehabilitated and prepare them well in advance for life on the outside.