New program aims to help incarcerated veterans in New Mexico reintegrate into society
GRANTS, N.M. (KRQE) – A new program in New Mexico is looking to help veterans reintegrate back into society after incarceration. The New Mexico Corrections Department and Veterans Affairs recently launched the “Veterans Program” at the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility in Grants.
A total of 19 veterans at the facility are taking part in the program. “The program is really unique and wonderful because it brings in VA staff members into the facility once a month to meet with the veterans who are incarcerated,” said Brittany Roembach, public information officer for the New Mexico Corrections Department.
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The program participants will learn how to access financial aid and secure housing after incarceration, address their medical and emotional needs, and utilize other resources that Veterans Affairs provides. The goal is to reduce recidivism among veterans and set them up for success.
“It [the program] gives me hope because going out the door and hit the ground running when you have nothing out there, it’s kind of scary. So it gives you hope,” said Christopher Rounds, one of the incarcerated veterans who is part of the new program.
This program is the first of its kind for the New Mexico Corrections Department and officials chose to launch it at the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility for a specific reason.”That facility was a good starting point just because the main VA is located in Albuquerque and access to services, and housing, and care is just so much more easy coming into the Albuquerque area for them,” said Haven Scogin, deputy director of reentry for the New Mexico Corrections Department.
Based on inmate self-reporting data, there are about 273 veterans who are incarcerated in New Mexico. Officials hope to expand this new program to help benefit veterans at correctional facilities in the state. “We’re going to watch over this first few months to see how the veterans are doing, if they like the program, and see how that whole situation works,” Scogin explained.
The New Mexico Corrections Department said that they also provide similar resources to help the general inmate population transition out of prison. To learn more about the reentry division, click here.
