Ideally, prisons in America are conceived of as places where criminals are placed so that they can be “rehabilitated” for reentry as productive members of society after their terms of incarceration have ended. Unfortunately, the goal of rehabilitation has been superseded over the past several decades, or so, by the purely punitive aspect of incarceration. Unfortunately, this shift in prison mission focus has led to a situation in some states where recidivism rates now exceed 50 percent.

In New Mexico, where the recidivism rate hovers near 50 percent, a first-of-its-kind AmeriCorps program has been introduced in an effort to serve perhaps the most chronically underserved population in the country. Opportunities with AmeriCorps for Reentry Success (OARS) is a pioneer program that works in four prisons throughout the state of New Mexico with a goal of decreasing barriers to employment and education for persons with felony convictions.

From tutoring students so that they can get their GEDs and attend college to teaching financial literacy and cognitive behavior courses, OARS volunteers strive to reduce recidivism by helping to open the doors of economic opportunity to individuals who have often been considered to be irredeemable by society. Stopping the cycle of crime for just one individual can truly have an exponential impact not just on that person’s life, but also on the lives of his family, neighborhood and community.

In just the first six months of the program’s inaugural year, the dozen or so volunteers who serve throughout the state have counseled numerous inmates about vocational school and the college application process, helping 52 to complete applications for federal Pell Grants in the amount of $250,000 that they can use to attend college when they are released from prison.

Financial literacy courses—which cover a variety of subjects from banking to budgeting—have been taught to almost 150 inmates, providing them with the basic financial skills and tools necessary to manage their finances in the real world upon release.

Finally, almost 200 inmates have attended life skills workshops covering necessary and pertinent topics ranging from civics and voting rights to resume writing and job interview skills.

Through these and a number of other programs, OARS volunteers are cultivating an environment of rehabilitation in New Mexico prisons. Instead of being a place of intellectual and economic stagnation, OARS is doing its part to transform prison into a place where an economically disadvantaged person can turn his life around and return to society with a real chance at acquiring gainful employment, thereby becoming a positive and lasting influence to innumerable others in his family and community.