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May 1, 2010 in City
Pine Lodge inmates cling to families
Cindy Knutsen shares time her granddaughter, Madyson at the Pine Lodge Corrections Center May 1, 2010 in Medical Lake, Wa. The corrections center held its Mother’s Day event for offenders and their families.
(Full-size photo)(All photos)
With 23 months left on her prison sentence for drug-related crimes, Saturday likely was the last time Chanel Trim will hold her 4-year-old daughter until her release.
Like all inmates housed at the Pine Lodge Corrections Center for Women in Medical Lake, Trim, 25, is being transferred to a Western Washington prison at the end of the month when the facility closes.
Those with children and families in Eastern Washington say the closure of the women’s prison leaves them without the support of their loved ones, an important factor in rehabilitation.
“My family won’t be able to make that trip often, if at all,” Trim said. “This facility provided me with a lot of options. Here, I feel like I’m not just a number. I don’t think I’m going to see that over there.”
With the closure looming, on Saturday Trim and other inmates enjoyed the facility’s last Mother’s Day celebration, an annual event where families come and enjoy a day of games, food and quality time.
Offenders and their children and families walked together in the yard, played football, made sidewalk chalk art, planted flowers, hugged and laughed. Children chased balloons, colored with their mothers or grandmothers, and made paper flowers or other crafts.
“It provides a bridge for them to get back into the family,” said Tawni Earlow, the Corrections Program Manager at Pine Lodge. “It’s also healthy for the children to be with their moms.”
Unlike other prisons, Pine Lodge doesn’t have cells, bars or other things that make it feel institutional, offenders and their families said. It’s an environment that seems less traumatic for their children.
“It’s comfortable here, and not scary; they (my kids) don’t ask as many questions,” said Roxanna Privett, 30, who is serving a 19-month sentence for drug-related crimes.
Privett’s mother and father, Chris and Steve Druce, travel from the Tri-Cities every other weekend so that Privett can see her two sons, ages 4 and 9. The Druces have temporary custody of the children.
“That has made an incredible impact on her success,” said Chris Druce. “We are all very upset by the closing. Seeing her boys has helped a lot, to have her family close and know we support her.”
Prison officials said they tried to keep the offenders with families in Eastern Washington at the facility as long as they could. So far, 27 women have been transferred to the other two facilities for women, both west of the Cascades, said Superintendent Walker B. Morton.
“That was our priority; that those from the East Side would be with their families as long as possible,” Morton said. The state Legislature ordered the Department of Corrections to shutter Pine Lodge to help fill a budget gap this year. Lawmakers say they will save nearly $55 million by closing or reducing state prisons.
The facility first opened in 1978 as an all-male, 80-bed medium/minimum-security prison, and morphed many times over the years before opening as an all-female facility in 2004.
Of the unique features available at prison for women is the Therapeutic Community, a 12-month intense behavioral and chemical dependency treatment program.
Unofficial data at one time showed that there was five percent or less recidivism rate for the women who participated in the program, said Helen Biddulph, Pine Lodge public information officer.
“It’s been very successful here,” she said. “The program gives them the tools they need to stay clean and sober; we want them to stay out and be successful.”
For security reasons, most of the offenders and their families don’t know where they will be at the end of the month, but there are only two options: the Mission Creek Corrections Center in Belfair, Wash., located in a remote area south of Bremerton; and the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor. The facility, also known as “Purdy,” is the intake site for female prisoners throughout the state.
“It’s going to be devastating,” said 21-year-old Kelsey Peone. Peone, a Spokane resident, enjoyed an emotional visit with her mother, Julie Peone, on Saturday. Kelsey Peone is serving an 18-month sentence for delivery of a controlled substance.
“I am trying to change my life,” she said, “and they are taking away my support network.”
Man dies following early Saturday accident 
Scoutster on May 01 at 10:12 p.m.
It is penny-wise and pound-foolish to close this facility and shut off the support system for these offenders.
Even if you feel prisoners have zero rights, as a matter of policy we should work to keep people from coming back to prison. Shutting them off lessens that chance, leading to even more costly and less productive incarceration.
Politically prudent, policy poor.
No_Forked_Tongues on May 02 at 3:26 a.m.
Scoutster, I concur. Could one imagine the hubrus if they closed Purdy and moved the inmates over to Pine Lodge?
That would save a lot of money.
Why “fix” something which is not broken and is actually one of the few things that our state government is doing well?
mebythesea on May 02 at 6:00 a.m.
I think of these women who would give anything to change the choices they made….I’m sure all of them would wish they could go back…start over. These visiting days are the days they and their families live for.
Such a shame that they now have to be separated from their loved ones ~ more broken hearts.
There’s more to be saved here than money.
dallison on May 02 at 4:48 p.m.
Our governor spent thousands on an outside firm to do a study on the viability of closing Pine lodge. The study came back to say they WOULD NOT recommend closing Pine lodge for many reasons!
So she wastes money on a study when she apparently already had her mind made up?
No wonder the states in the financial mess it is!! And its only going to get worse.
She keeps talking about the cost savings but what about all the hard working correctional staff that will soon be unemployed?
Little she does make sence. She’s either completly out of touch with common folk or just doesn’t care .
west on May 02 at 7:07 p.m.
Bad decisions in life will affect you….forever! Parents….you are your children’s teachers…don’t care? Well a lot of Pines Lodges are available that will teach them in ways you could not and cause you anguish!
rocketgirl on May 03 at 6:04 p.m.
The governor had her mind made up in December 2008, when she first announced that she was going to close the facility, two weeks after it was announced that it got the highest marks of any prison in the state in a national accreditation audit. Later, she ignored a half million dollar independent study that proved the facility to be productive. She’s right on target with the expectations she laid out in December 2008, close Pine Lodge in May 2010.
With the higher operating cost in the west side….there will be no savings. Just wait til they announce plans for a $76 million dollar minimum security female prison in the West side in FY 2012-14. It’s coming. The land is already picked out! So much for a deficit! The real question remains is why did she side with Secretary Vail in closing this prison in the first place. It probably has little to do with saving money. It has been proven time and time again that this is a low cost, well run facility.
One of the five Department of Corrections goals is successful offender re-entry which will “ultimately make communities safer”. The Department goes so far as to say that it is the “cornerstone” of the Department’s efforts to improve public safety. One of the most effective parts of successful re-entry is strong family ties and the Department acknowledges this. But the Secretary himself was recently on TV saying that yes, he understood that he is taking women away from their families, but “were under the gun to save money.” Strong family ties are especially crucial for women offenders.
If you want to release offenders the right way Governor Gregoire and Secretary Vail, do it the right way. Adhere to the goals of re-entry, not to a dangerous insurance policy that goes against re-entry and will ultimately fill prisons back up at the expense up public safety.
With 97% of offenders leaving the prison system eventually, I ask you this fellow citizens, do you want them to have every opportunity to have programs and services to become better citizens when they become your neighbors, bag your groceries, attend school or church with you, etc? I know I do.