Missouri Department of Corrections gardens offers second tattoo apprenticeship

Today's episode is sponsored by NerdWallet's Smart Money podcast. Personal finance can feel like a pop quiz you didn't study for. This podcast is your study guide. On NerdWallet's Smart Money podcast, you'll hear from trusted journalists who explain the why behind major financial decisions. You'll get research-backed insights and clear pros and cons, whether you're planning a big purchase or just want to grow your wealth. Make your next financial move with confidence. Follow NerdWallet's Smart Money podcast on your favorite podcast app. Outdated automation doesn't have to slow you down. Graybar helps you identify risks, modernize strategically, and minimize disruption every step of the way. Yep, Graybar does that. Hey, it's the sports junkies. If anybody knows about die-hard sports fans, it's us. We get to live and breathe the excitement of the season all year long. For advertisers, that passion matters. It's exactly why sports radio performs for brands. People who listen to sports on the radio via streaming or on sports podcasts are nearly three times more likely to consider a brand that supports their favorite team. If you're interested in reaching sports fans, we have the playbook for you. Check out our comprehensive e-book, state of audio, sports fandom. of Audio.com. Last year, Missouri Department of Corrections facility gardens grew and donated around 10 tons of fresh produce to local food banks and pantries. Almost all Missouri correctional facilities have restorative justice gardens, which inmates tend to as volunteer work. Another incentive of MODox is a second tattoo apprenticeship program now offered in Jefferson City. Our Jade Aubrey talks with Modox Communications Director. Karen Pogman to learn more about the gardens and the tattoo program. Garden program is available throughout the state. We have gardens at nearly every facility of our 19 facilities in Missouri. And through that program, people volunteer to grow fresh produce, fresh vegetables, and fresh fruits. throughout the growing season here in Missouri. And then those items are donated to local food banks and food pantries and other nonprofit organizations. The gardens in particular are a great way for people to give back. Last year, we donated about 10 tons of fresh produce to local food banks and food pantries. And I think we're on track to have it even better and bigger harvest this year. That was going to be one of my next questions was if these gardens produced a lot. I saw recently that in a Facebook post, the Restorative Justice Garden at Fulton harvested 80 pounds. And I was wondering if that's like a normal harvest or how much they usually put out during the summers. Well, that was an early harvest for the summer. They're getting bigger. I think we had one facility that just donated 300 pounds of fresh food to the food bank. So they're producing a lot, a lot this year. A lot of squashes, tomatoes, bikinis, cucumbers. So it's going pretty well. We probably won't really know the full scope of the harvest until October, November, when the growing season is over. Got it. And what do inmates get out of working with the gardens and giving back to the community?

So a lot of the times residents of our facilities are people who have faced student security themselves. While they're incarcerated, they're being fed three well-balanced meals a day, and they have the option to buy more food at the canteen if they want to. And some facilities, we even have gardens where the food can be purchased by the offenders in the canteen as well. But a lot of them grew up with food insecurity, so they want to be able to give back to their communities, the communities they came from. And then transitioning to tattooing, tell me about the new tattoo apprentice program at Algoa Correctional Center. Well, Missouri was actually the first state to start a tattoo and partnership program. We started one at Western Reception Diagnostic and Correctional Center in St. Joseph, Missouri. It's the brainchild of a staff member who is currently our deputy director for the department. He's been talking about it for years. He heard about a similar program in Canada that was really effective at helping to stop the spread of blood-borne diseases in their facilities. So the first tattoo partnership studio opened in St. Joseph in 2004, and it was pretty successful. And now we've gone on to open a second one at Algoa Correctional Center, and that's up and running now. There are a lot of benefits to the program. One, it gives people a path to career success after incarceration in the field where there's less stigma attached to having a criminal record. So people can come out of prison and have a license and have, you know, a job ready for them when they come out. We have one person who graduated from the program at St. Joseph. He was now, like, a license that two artists working in Springfield. He was winning, like, tons and tons of awards. And he started working immediately, you know, after release from incarceration. That's, you know, one example. And we're expecting many more to come. In addition to that, it reduces the spread of blood-borne pathogens caused by unsanctioned or unsanitary tattoo practices. So this helps to stop the spread of things like hepatitis without a throttle facility. It also reduces the risk of injury from non-sanctioned contraband tattoo tools. So it increases safety for residents as well as for staff who are doing searches and things like that. And it gives residents the option to cover up tattoos that no longer serve them. Some people come into prison. They have tattoos that might tie them to a certain gang or a certain ideology that no longer represents who they are. So this gives them a safe option for getting those tattoos covered up.

Another benefit is that incentivizes pro-social behaviors, both for the tattoo artist and for the people getting tattoos. You have to meet certain criteria to be accepted into the program. You also have to meet certain criteria to be able to get a tattoo from a licensed tattoo artist who is in the program. That is Jade Aubrey speaking with Modox Communications Director, Karen. Hold you a minute. Nerds! Today's episode is sponsored by NerdWallet's Smart Money podcast. Ever Google a money question and end up 12 tabs deep with 12 different answers? This podcast is your shortcut back to clarity. NerdWallet's Smart Money podcast breaks down financial decisions with a team of trusted journalists. They explain the why behind decisions like investing, home buying, and choosing credit cards with clear research-backed insights. No jargon, no misinformation. Make your next financial move with confidence. Follow NerdWallet's Smart Money podcast on your... favorite podcast app. Data centers don't wait, and neither should your supply chain. From power and connectivity to racks and critical power, Graybar brings the products and the experience data centers need now. And with deep inventory and logistics expertise, we keep projects moving from first delivery to final install. With hundreds of locations and a nationwide delivery fleet, we help you bring facilities online on time and on budget. Yep, Gray Bar does that. I'm Anna Garcia, host of True Crime News, the podcast. Every week we bring you in-depth coverage on cases making headlines, as well as those that go under the radar. Tune in for murders that defy explanation, mystery seeking exploration, and shocking secrets that will leave you breathless. Each week, we honor the victims by going beyond the salacious in our search for justice. Crime never stops, and neither do we. Listen to True Crime News available now on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your... podcasts.