‘IGNITE’ Program sparks hope and change within Bonneville County Jail inmates
BONNEVILLE COUNTY, Idaho (KIFI) – A transformative new program is sparking hope and change within the Bonneville County Jail walls; It's called IGNITE, which stands for Inmate Growth Naturally and Intentionally Through Education.
The program was launched last September and is already showing promising signs of success.
It is designed for inmates who struggle with addiction to give them other avenues they can pour into including education, vocational training and life skills. If taken seriously, the program should help them successfully reintegrate into society upon release and avoid ending up back in jail.
Dustin Dennis and Justin Kovats are just two of many participating in the program. They have most recently been in jail for seven months, but have been in and out of it most of their lives. But Dennis says, "It's changed my life."
In the Bonneville County Jail, recidivism–a tendency for previously incarcerated individuals to return back to jail–is a challenge. "It's a mental addiction is what it is," Dennis says, highlighting this harsh reality.
Nationally, the Department of Justice reports that 43% of formerly incarcerated individuals end up back in jail within a year of their release, a cycle the Bonneville County Sheriff's Office is determined to break with IGNITE. Bonneville County Sheriff Sam Hulse says, "They're your neighbors, they're your friends, they're your family. We want them coming back to the community better than they came in."
Besides just equipping inmates with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed, IGNITE is instilling new-found hope among them, something that is often missing in their lives.
Although it is too early the develop statistics on the program's effectiveness, there are promising signs. Sheriff Hulse says, "Data is important, but when you come to a graduation and you watch the change in those individuals, that tells me everything I need to know."
Kovats is taking what he learned through IGNITE and says he is now looking forward to the future with new light. "I see sobriety, happiness and peace in life. And now I can get out there and go to college. I'm looking to look into some trade schools and to further my education. So it's a big step for me," he says.
This program is also fostering a relationship between the inmates and the Sheriff's Office, minimizing the "us versus them" mentality. "A lot of times all you got to do is be a pathfinder, show them the way and see if you can change your own life. It’s about hope," says Hulse.
As the IGNITE program continues to evolve, it brings optimism that proper education and support can break the cycle of incarceration. The Bonneville County Jail is not only a place of confinement, but now a place of new beginnings.
