Jay Stuckey introduced our speaker, Bill Duff who is a former Rotarian who was a "four-diamond" Paul Harris Fellow.  He said he had forgotten about the fun and harassment at local Rotary Meetings.

 

He told a story about a young girl who at the age of 12 was addicted to methamphetamines by her mother.  Her father and brother were both already in jail on drug charges.  At the age of 14, she stole a care and ran into a police cruiser while on meth.  As a result, she ended up in Perryville for five years.  It actually turned out to be a blessing.  It got her away from her mother, and helped her get an education.  She got her GED.  At her graduation, she was to give a short talk, but she broke down in tears and someone else read her remarks.  She was approached by two women who asked why she was so upset.  She was terrified about being released from prison the following day.  She had grown up in prison and had no one on the outside to turn to.  She would be given $50 and directives as to where she had to live and places she had to go to with no means to get there.

 

Four years earlier two retired pastors, husband and wife, were doing their daily devotions and were reading Matthew 25:35-39 - paraphrased - "For I was hungry and you gave me food, thirsty and you gave me drink, naked and you clothed me, in prison and you visited me.  The last one stuck.  They acted on the words and a pen-pal ministry was born under the auspices of the Red Mountain United Methodist Church in Mesa.  The Arizona Department of Corrections allowed them into Perryville Prison in Goodyear.

 

Since its beginning, 322 women in Perryville have received letters filled with love and encouragement from 153 different friends on the outside.  For many inmates, these were the only letters they ever received.  

 

They learned that women in prison need more than just letters to make the transition from prison life to community life upon their release.  They needed education.  The ministry asked if they could provide funding for GED's while they were still in prison and it was approved.  From 2015 to 2018 $19,098 was provided for that program, helping 135 women.  Then the state took over the funding.

 

After the state took over the GED program, the ministry asked if they could provide funding for college courses and the request was approved.  Using an "incarcerated distance learning program" offered by Rio Salado College in Tempe, a new relationship was formed.  The school was already working with Perryville, so all the ministry provided was funding.  They have no say as to who receives the scholarships.  The decision is made between Rio and the Education Supervisor at Perryville.  The factors considered are

He shared some letters received by the ministry..

 

The sic curriculum choices which can lead to a Certificate or Associate's Degree are:

In 2023, sixteen inmates received an Associate Degree and fourteen received a Certificate.  With Matthew 25's funding of over $185,000 since 2017, over 1400 credit hours have been taken.  The courses have been taught through correspondence which means time is lost in mailing information back and forth.  Recently, the state has agreed to allow laptops into the prison so Rio Salado is revamping their program to internet learning.  This change will decrease the time for an inmate to finish their course of study.

 

The state is going to provide the computers, but the demand for courses will increase making more funding necessary.  The cost of the courses will also increase.

 

One of the largest areas of growth of the ministry is in support of juvenile offenders at Durango Correctional.  Currently 27 male students are enrolled in an introductory course to college.  They also serve inmates at the Pima-Maricopa Native American community.

 

They are now an ecumenical ministry opening the door for support for one church to a dozen plus many other like-minded organizations, but many more are needed.

 

The pen pals provide love, the education provides hope and capacity, but re-entry remains a very difficult hurdle.  Bridges Re-Entry and Project Safe Start are two partner programs Matthew 25 Ministries works with.  Since 2018, they have provided $52,000 to help women through these re-entry programs.

 

For more information about how to help, visit their website:  www.matthew25az.com.

 

During Q&A, it was learned that the national recidivism rate is 45%.  For those in the Matthew 25 programs, the rate is 4.6%

 

In expanding into offering services for male prisoners, he was clear to point out that there are no male/female programs - they are not a dating service.  He did have brochures available for those who wished to take them.