(BOP) – This spring, more than a dozen inmates from the United States Penitentiary at Marion, IL, helped build local communities, one home at a time. Inmates and staff partnered with a local nonprofit organization to construct walls and trusses for homes for needy families in the community. The organization provides the material and USP Marion inmates provide the labor under the direction of staff in the Facilities Department. The inmates and staff have been participating in similar projects since 2010.
The project contributes to the Bureau's reentry mission by giving the inmates an opportunity to develop vocational training skills they can use upon release. Several inmates said the construction project helps them give families, who otherwise could not afford it, an opportunity to own a nice home. "Most of us who are working on this project have done things to destroy a community," said one inmate. "This project gives us the opportunity to give back."