200 Released From Sioux Falls Prison Each Month-Kingdom Boundaries Aftercare

This is Form. I'm John Michael's Public Affairs Radio Director since 1977. You're going to be talking to Kelly Schilling, office manager of Kingdom Boundaries and Tim Wentch chaplain at Kingdom Boundaries. First of all, who is Kingdom Boundaries? It is a halfway house for both men and women here in Sioux Falls. We have a capacity for 15 women. and approximately 18 men to get started. The aftercare at the penitentiary is a big thing that people are starting to, with a new penitentiary, you know, learn more about. Your board of directors is comprised of Christian men and women from Iowa and South Dakota. And you're somewhat of a church, too? There is a church that a lot of our guys go to, that is Freedom's Gate here in Sioux Falls. You know, according to the website, about 11 years, I think, is when you kind of got, you know, gelled together. Your vision is to lower recidivism by fostering Christian characters one person at a time. Reciditism is the return rate of inmates going back to prison. In other words, how many people go back to prison again after getting out? And, for example, if the rate 75%, that means out of 100 people that get released from prison 75, go back. But I think with your program, Tim and Kelly, that can go down to sometimes 15%. It can. Kingdom Boundaries has a very good success rate with recidivism that the men have been very successful, building a new life that they can be proud of. Well, Tim, the mentor program that actually went, well, I guess we can say you were in prison, you have that experience. Can you relate to people who, you know, like I say, if they've never been in prison, what does it like, I guess? And what did Kingdom boundaries in that mentoring program? You're now a chaplain with them. When did that start? Yeah, the mentorship is huge in any kind of... setting, really, you know, whether it be... high school graduates going into the workplace and having a mentor or even starting them out in a younger age. I know there's a lot of efforts moving on here in Sioux Falls concerning starting a mentorship program. Our former mayor is working on a project of that nature as well just to kind of hook up with some of the youth here in town to work on mentoring them. So it's kind of a big deal no matter where you go, but to have that available while you're incarcerated. It's a major...

opportunity for guys to really make some lasting changes and I experienced that myself being incarcerated for many years but having that mentorship available inside the prison and now with kingdom boundaries and other places too we see that mentorship continuing once they get out so it's kind of a bridge from prison to society and back into culture and then continuing that mentorship process. And we have a lot of interest in that now. We have a lot of retired business people that are becoming involved and those that are retired and from other trades and even from some of our education areas from some of the different schools here in town. a lot of men and women expressing a great deal of interest in continuing that mentorship once they get out of prison and back on into community. A lot of people, you know, like I say, when they watch the movies and they watch TV, they feel like prison, they learn a lot of criminal activities from other criminals, I guess, in a sense. This is a way of basically giving an alternate to that. website that he have, I'm going to read from it. This is one man explained it's like this. Going to prison is like going into exile. Exile is a situation in which you are forced to leave your country or home to live in a foreign land. Some men that go to prison may never see their families again. Family members die. Wives and children are sometimes starting new lives. And upon getting out, especially if there's no assistance, it's like going into exile and entering a foreign land over again. I think one comment you made Tim was that it was unusual not to have a plastic fork anymore. Yeah, exactly. What was it like? Was it a different world when you came out than when you went in? Somewhat, you know, I was incarcerated for 19 years, both in the federal system and the state system. And I don't know. You kind of keep up with what's going on if you have an interest of different things. But I know learning how to use a smartphone was quite an adventure for me. I had the opportunity because some of the different things I was involved in to include some. of course, there's some online courses for college courses and things like that. So I had access to some technology, and so that part wasn't so bad, but a lot of folks that come out that have never seen a phone that wasn't hooked to the wall type of thing, just communicating and doing the things you need to do to fill out a job application. Most of that is all online anymore, of course.

to sit down a man or a woman who's been incarcerated for many years, it's rather daunting. And it's quite a traumatic thing for him, actually. Well, you walk out the door, and some places you get, what, $50, I guess. Right, that is common. We see $50 checks, gate checks, they call them. You get a $50 check, but, okay, first of all, how do you cash that check? I mean, right off the bat, how do you, you know, get transportation? I know some agencies in town provide bicycles, that type of thing. So there's a lot going on here, but first of all, how do you cash a check, you know? Right, you know, and for those who would not be coming to kingdom boundaries, I don't know what the other processes are, but from the moment they walk in our door, they have support. They have support and direction as of to how to cash that check, how to get spending money. We have a bed for them. We have toilet trees for them. We have towels for them. It is just a safe place to land until they get their feet under them. Well, I know when I go to high V, $50 doesn't go very far. It does not. I mean, just a couple bags. And if you were homeless, what good would those couple bags of groceries do you? And so a lot of them fall back into crime as basically their only option. Now, I think you have, what, three buildings? Is that true? We do. On the nonprofit end of it, we have got the carpenter shop. and the House of Grace, and then we also have a small apartment building where the men go to after that first building of carpenter shop. Well, Tim, and thanks for, you know, your testimony in this, but as a pastor, it's good for them when they come out to have someone that they can relate to that can, I guess, speak their language. Yes, absolutely. And that's where Tim as a mentor and a chaplain can connect with them one-on-one with the experiences, with the trauma of being in prison, the trauma of coming out of prison. There are just so many... benefits to having someone on staff who has been there who has walked in their shoes. Without using any names, Tim, do you have any instances that makes this all worthwhile to you? I mean, this is your job right now. What makes it all worthwhile? Yeah, there's been a lot of success stories down through the years, and we just had one situation the other day where we had a man who

had not seen his daughter for seven years. And he, you know, he was doing everything that he could do, you know, while he was out, and that reconciliation and that reattachment just for a variety of reasons wasn't happening. And to see him light up when he got the news that... he was going to be able to meet with her and to see here, he was just ecstatic. And so when I see success stories like that where families are, you know, getting back together and moving forward, that's a big encouragement for all of us that work at Kingdom Boundaries and serve there. But yeah, he was extremely excited over that. And good stuff like that happens quite often. So those moments keep us going. Well, family is so important. If you read psychology 101, you know, the aspect of not being able to have much control when you're inside, I guess in a sense. One thing I see is the penitentiaries in Sioux Falls, while the women's wasn't pure, that's going to be, I guess, in Rapid City now. The new one? I am not. informed on that. Will the women's prison be in Rapid City now? Yes. I'm not sure what happens with the women's and peer, actually. I'd have to look. I'm not sure either. But they do have a facility in Rapid City now, which also has a lot from, I'm just trying to remember some of the things that we discussed about that. But from what I can recall, that also has opened up some programs for. the women who might be pregnant while they're going into prison and then coming out, having a place that they can be with the children. So there's a lot of extra efforts going on there that we haven't seen before. Some of this prison reform and the task force conversations that have been going on, there are some good things happening. And, you know, we talked about... Just real quick, we talked about, you know, the $50 being the only thing they have when they get out. But the state is doing a pretty good job of making sure that their snap cards are an option for them as far as for food. And then pretty much, well, I guess they'd be approved for Medicaid and that type of thing for a short period of time once they get out. So there's a lot of changes that have happened. I think they got, I think, the conversation of all just having $50 a month, I think that finally got them moving to do some different things. And so there's a lot of positive stuff going on here, and it's been interesting to watch that. And we're...

appreciative that there's some extra efforts being taken to lower recidivism rates throughout the entire state. Yeah, I think as the task force was planning the new prison, and it's coming here in Sioux Falls, is the recidivism, the after programs. How many people are you working with right now in the men and women? Currently, we have four women in the House of Grace with... three more accepted and waiting to see if they are granted parole. So we're hoping to get that building filled up with the 15 women in the next few months, if possible. And for the men, we have got only one empty bed, and so we have got about 16 men in the first steps. Where are you located? We are located at 417 South Summit Avenue here in Sioux Falls. That is where the main offices are for the men's ministry. And the Women's House of Grace is at 600 Duluth. Which is downtown, which is close to the court houses and other agencies that they can take, you know, not far from the banquet, I guess you might say. Right, yes. And other agencies that can help them. But the problem I was trying to get to was that being the penitentiaries in Sioux Falls, what if they come out and then they have a custody hearing in Rapid City? We have actually had one of our female residents had that issue. And we have done a variety of things for her. We, one of our... employees drove with her to Rapid City to attend one of those custody hearings for her with her and that showed great support for her and other times she has been able to take the bus back to Rapid City and we are really hoping and praying that she will be granted custody back next month. Well, there's the before release and there's the after release. The prior to release, again, I'm reading from your website here, is to identify individuals interested in having a mentor, assist individuals in getting the proper paperwork in place and ready, social security number or certificates, state-issued ID, gather certificates earned while in prison, identified job qualifications, experience and interest to meet the individuals at the gate. so that they've got everything in hand that they need when they walk out that door. Right. And even if they don't have it in hand, we assist them with that. We kind of pick up the process where the caseworkers on the inside were assisting them because sometimes they just can't get it all done inside because they're overwhelmed also. But on the outside, we have got staff that walks alongside them, whether it is still waiting for their...

SNAP benefits to come or we have to go down to the offices to register sex offenders or what have you. There is staff members to support them in every step of the way. How long do they stay with you in your facilities normally? The minimum requirement is 10 weeks for us to be able to mentor them and not only spiritually but even with general life skills again. Getting those phone hooked up for them and ready to roll and getting some job applications out there and not only job applications but also hopefully get a few paychecks under their belt so that they would be successful in launching from kingdom boundaries and House of Grace into their own apartment not only without debt but hopefully with a little bit of a savings account too. When you fill out an application, can employers legally ask if you're, if you've had a criminal background? I don't know that they are, they can straight out ask, but they are able to run background checks. So how do they get around that? Because a lot of places, when they see that, they just skip over it. How do they get around that? Well, we are there to help them build stamina against those nose. Most of our guys do receive... know on probably at least 75% of those first job applications that they fill out. We do have a list of employers in the area that should be Fallin-friendly. But again, you know, that still doesn't always work out. Well, people leaving the Sioux Falls Intertentary here in the South Court of Pinetary here in Sioux Falls. A lot of them, if they have parole officers, that's going to be mainly in Sioux Falls, right? So most of them are going to have to be in Sioux Falls. What is the parole officer and what do they have to do? Do they have to see them weekly, monthly, or how does that work? Sure. Parole officers, actually, I'm going to send that topic over to Tim to explain the role of parole officers. Who are they? How often do they have to be seen? Well, I would start with this. I think the parole services does an excellent job of what they've been tasked with. Having been experienced in that whole system, I would say 98% want nothing more than for us to succeed. I think we have a lot of positive... encouragement types of things going on there but it can be busy and it can be stressful for some of the guys especially if they just have never really been under the authority of anybody you know sometimes that's an issue type of a thing but there's meetings that they have to attend and i know that pro services will check residents and make sure that things are

on the up and up and that they aren't involved in things they shouldn't be involved in. There's a parole agreement that everyone signs when they leave, and that typically includes just a variety of no engagement of unlawful type things, and to include not partaking in alcohol, which is something legal, but for those on parole, it's usually something that they can't use. We have somewhat of a, oh, how would I say it, but the parole ease and parole services, you know, when we deal with things, when the cultural changes like legalizing marijuana as an example, that can be kind of a complicated road. You have some folks that think that that's okay and that it's a prescription. And then other folks who think that it's not. So it's kind of hard for some of the prolees to make the right choices with that situation. But been our experience that whether it's, you know, been legalized or not, marijuana does play a role for some in triggering them to use other substances. And if they have SUDs or substance abuse type disorders going on. marijuana sometimes is just the beginning for him. So it's somewhat difficult dealing with all that and prescription cards or not prescription cards. At Kingdom Boundaries, we choose to not make that an option and that we don't allow that there just for the sake of the other residents that are there and just to make sure we don't have. have any further usage of illegal substances that sometimes goes along with that. So a bit of a dilemma we deal with. How often do they have to see if a rural officer? They start off having to see them once a week usually, and then that just gradually moves to at some point where they might only meet once a month or... and just in a low supervision type rate type thing. But that's where most of the guys and gals are is they probably see their PO at least every two or three weeks, if not once a month. Now, the parole office, most of them are Sioux Falls, right? Yes, yes. So that limits, like I say, if they see once a week or a month or so, that limits how far they can be from Sioux Falls. So most of them will be in Sioux Falls. I remember Sheriff Milstead talking to me about there's kind of a pre-parole program where some inmates only spend maybe 30, 50% of their time. They get kind of a pre-release parole type of thing too. The thing is that Sioux Falls is going to be the host of many of the people that come through the penitentiary system. Right. How many are released, you know, in the penitentiary on an annual basis about? How many are released from the penitentiary here in Sioux Falls or here in the state? I think the number that's usually pretty averages anywhere from 250 to 300. Individuals are released from the prison system in South Dakota as far as...

And a good chunk of that, though, Sioux Falls is probably the largest percentage of where they might release to at Rapid City and other Aberdeen, those type of places. But Sioux Falls, I don't have a number on that for you. Not Sioux Falls specifically, but I think it's annually it was. Some of them are restricted as to where they can live. It can't be so far from a school, you know, other things like that. So there's really an uphill battle for them to want to be normal. I mean, how can you be normal when there's all these, you know, things that you've got to deal with? And that's, I think that's where your prison aftercare comes in. uh... it's not just helping him you know get a job but uh... i think him you know being a pastor uh... helping them find a christian church family is is important too Right. And there are limitations while they're on parole as far as traveling out of state or in-state overnight type things. But it's in place, though, with parole services to get permission for those people to, you know, make weekend trips or weekend passes, that type of thing. And there's a lot of freedom that can be had if everybody is doing what they need to be expected of from the parole services. and the parole officer, and they can approve or disapprove that, but it's been my experience that if you are in compliance with the things you need to do, that those types of opportunities are certainly available. But we're so close to Minnesota and Iowa and Nebraska borders, it would be kind of a hard problem for them to apply for a job in Laverne, say, for that instance, if they can't go across the state line. They would have to have parole. permission. But that's what you help with is all of these logistical things, yes. And like you said earlier, it's not just about a job. It is about building a Christian community for these men and women to... find support, you know, and they can support each other. Those who are doing it successfully for, say, the last six months are turning back and helping those who are just coming out. You know, they see them in church at Freedom's Gate or there's other churches that groups of our people go to also. So building that Christian community not only on Summit Avenue or at the House of Grace, but even past that. Well, you've done a lot, I mean, to establish, first of all, the land, the buildings. This is not easy, Tim. You've been through the women's building, I mean, took quite a few years.

The buildings, yeah. As far as... Yeah, the physical facilities. The physical facilities, how that process happened. Are you able to explain a little bit more how the property and all of that was purchased? Oh, okay. Interesting. Yeah, the first start of what we were doing, it began with putting a person released from prison in a motel room. That was the very beginning. That was the very beginning. And that didn't work so well. So there was need for more. So they tried to put a few more into the... into the motel building, and that didn't work either. And for the most part, because of the lack of accountability and someone to oversee what was going on there. And so the search was made for a building, and the first one that was acquired by Kingdom Boundaries was the property on 417 South Summit Avenue, and that was named the Carpenter Shop. And it just seemed like it just... As the years went by as we grew, the next apartment building that was night next to us on the property, that became available. That was purchased through fundraising efforts and whatnot. God providing for us, you know, the resources for that. And then as time went on, there was another building that was open up and something similar with the women's facility. It's just kind of around the corner from where. the Kingdom Boundaries got started. Now that building has come available and as well as Dakota apartments and all that. So it's been a gradual... acquiring of that property? Most of it's been fundraising, people donating, I guess is what I'm saying. We've got just a couple minutes left. If you have a wish list, what are things that maybe people can help and other things they can donate to you? Right. If you check our website, we have been trying to post every Wednesday, wishful Wednesday, and those are just small items that people need to... keep their lives going, whether it be toilet trees or toilet paper or backpacks or what have you, things like that. But on a larger scale, we love it after people have moved or what have you if they have got recliners or table and chairs, furniture that we can furnish our apartments with. And one thing that we continually need are refrigerators and stoves because everything that we have running in those apartments today are all used appliances. Well, we know the older appliances do run longer, but they don't run forever. So stoves and refrigerators are always a thing, but of course, cash flow, financial support is needed greatly. You know, think about...

All of the buildings we've got. So we have got a total of six buildings. And yes, the residents pay rent, so that helps with some of the upkeep and the maintenance. But the... cooling or heating of those buildings is very expensive because they're all old buildings. Are you looking for volunteers? Absolutely. There's always a room for volunteers, whether it's helping people drive to and from interviews, medical appointments, that first week at a job because they also do not have transportation coming out of prison. So there's volunteers who could help with maintenance on the buildings. There's volunteers needed for mentoring, both men and women. You name it. If you have a gift, we could probably find a place for you to mentor. If a church or service organization would want to get involved with you, oddly contact you. They can contact us right through the website, or on the website you will find my phone number or the phone number for House of Grace. All of the staff members are listed there if you know someone, or if you don't know somebody, just dial one of the numbers and they'll get you connected. Kingdomboundaries.org, even over the years that you've been involved with, if you had a reunion, you'd have quite a few people at that reunion. Yes, I think we're close to 500 people who have gone through kingdom boundaries as a whole. And mentors, are you looking for mentors? What kind of mentors are you looking for you? Mentors, of course, spiritually is one of our first priorities because if you can get that spiritual walk with the Lord going, that often will help everything else fall into place. Also financially. is a huge deal. You can do more with the money than just donations. Absolutely. Great our time is running out, but Kelly Shelling, office manager of Kingdom Boundaries, Tim Went to Chaplin at Kingdom Boundaries, prison aftercare, and the website is www.combeoundaries.org. I want to thank you very much for being with us on form. Thank you for the opportunity. Thank you.