Nine Department of Corrections personnel from three shifts at Mid-Michigan Correctional Facility (STF),
St. Louis Correctional Facility (SLF) and Pine River Correctional Facility (SPR) got together and raised the roof recently.

The walls for the home were built by inmates at the Mid-Michigan Correctional facility in conjunction with the MDOC Prison Build Program. The corrections personnel along with community volunteers worked under the direction of St. Louis Correctional Facility Warden Paul Renico who is a licensed builder. The house was ready for plumbers and electricians by the end of the day.

Along with volunteering on the building site, Warden Renico serves on the board of directors for the Gratiot County Affiliate of Habitat for Humanity.

“This program is a win win for the department and the community,” said Warden Renico. “It provides excellent training for prisoners in the vocational program and it doesn’t cost the department a cent for material.”

Habitat for Humanity provides raw material to the prisons where inmates turn it into wall panels and cabinets for the homes.

According to Mike Green, administrator for the Prison Build Program, 18 facilities are involved in providing prebuilt wall panels, kitchen and bathroom cabinets, sheds and horticulture products for low-income families. Since the program’s inception in 1998, more than 400 homes have been built as a result of this nationally-recognized program.

“With the help of great corrections staff, we’re assisting inmates with job skills that will help them succeed when they are released,” said Green. “At the same time we’re helping to provide much needed low-income housing in the community.” Photos courtesy the Morning Sun Michigan

Department of Corrections, May 29, 2003