With the cooperation of the San Benito County Sheriff’s
Department, the Hollister Downtown Association is receiving a
helping hand for its Lights On Celebration through a
work-alternative program for county jail inmates.
With the cooperation of the San Benito County Sheriff’s Department, the Hollister Downtown Association is receiving a helping hand for its Lights On Celebration through a work-alternative program for county jail inmates.
One such person is Larry. Called an “artist” by Carol Thomas of the HDA, Larry is making good use of his talents.
“He is a gifted trustee,” Thomas said. “This saves us. HDA volunteers have been doing the set-up for the Lights On Celebration for so long, they burned out. They need a break.”
Thomas added that Larry enjoys what he is doing and has been a big help in preparing for the holiday kick-off.
“He refurbished Santa’s Village display, made repairs for us and he just had a lot of good ideas on how to decorate,” she said.
Deputy Sgt. Ed Escamilla said the program is effective for a jail sentence, but inmates are only eligible for the program if their sentence is from one to 29 days.
On any given day, Escamilla said the number of inmates under commitment with some type of work schedule varies from four to 14 people a day on the program.
“Some of them are scheduled on the weekend and some through the week,” he said.
The most important requirement of the program is that the inmate’s offense must be non-violent misdemeanors.
“These guys are charged with very minor offenses from being drunk in public to drunk driving,” said Escamilla. “But it’s up to the judge. He determines who will be released into the program.”
Inmates in the work program work on a number of county projects, including projects Bolado Park and other county parks. Also, Caltrans frequently uses them to help with road clean-up.
“Our county road departments uses them, too,” Escamilla said. But not every organization can obtain the services of the inmates like the HDA.
“This is a one time thing where we help them out,” Escamilla said.
Because the inmates are doing a job, they must be covered by workman’s compensation insurance in case they are injured.
And Thomas said one inmate enjoyed helping out with the decorations that he committed to volunteer after his release.
“He came back to help us finish up,” she said.
