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Gov. Riley refers to LIFE Tech Center as ‘great idea’
The LIFE (Life Skills Influenced by Freedom and Education) Tech Center was opened in April as a transition center for male parolees. It is located in the old mental health facility on Bashi Road in Thomasville. A similar tech center in Wetumpka was opened for female parolees in 2004. The goal of the transition centers is to help parolees make the transition from prison to society after undergoing extensive substance abuse and mental health treatments, along with completing certain vocational training and job preparation skills. "My Task Force on Prison Crowding has come up with some great ideas, and this is one of them," Riley said. "For the safety of our communities, it is imperative that we make sure those prisoners who are re-entering society are drug-free and have the right skills to get a job." The new administrative building was named in honor of Mayor Day whose leadership on the project was recognized but with a bit of gentle ribbing too. Alabama Southern Community College President John Johnson said, "We have a mayor who is as strong an advocate for his city as anyone can imagine…and sometimes tolerant." But he added, in dedicating the building to Day, "His advocacy for this project is what made it possible." Alabama Southern Community College provides all educational training for the LIFETech Institute. The LIFE Tech Institute trains parolees for successful entry into the world of work and helps reduce Alabama prison overcrowding. During his remarks Riley called Day, "tenacious" and jokingly added, "irritant comes to mind." He said Day "is one of, if not the best, mayors in the state of Alabama. He truly does want to do what is right" for Thomasville and the region. Other speakers included State Sen. Pat Lindsey, D-Butler; State Rep. Thomas Jackson, DThomasville; Mayor Day; Alabama Parole Board Chairman Sidney Williams and associate members Velinda Weatherly and Robert Longshore; Mental Health and Mental Retardation Commissioner John Houston; Department of Rehabilitation Services Commissioner Steve Shivers; and LIFE Tech Director Darrell Morgan, among others. Riley also toured the facilities at the center. He walked through a dormitory to see how residents lived, and toured computer labs and a welding shop to better understand how the educational process at the facility worked. There are currently 227 parolees living in dormitories at the center, which can house up to 300. The transition center has already graduated one class of 43 parolees, with another 38 set to graduate on Friday. The Department of Corrections will be delivering 75 parolees to the facility on December 18 to begin treatment and education classes.
"I hope what I’ve seen here today is a prelude of things to come in prison reform," Gov. Riley said as he left the center. "This is just common sense."
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