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Follow on Google News | Inmates at Suffolk County Correctional Facility Provide a Transformation at Camp Pa-Qua-TuckVocational Training Program Gives Those Who Are Incarcerated an Opportunity to Contribute to Society while Making Improvements at the Camp
By: Camp Pa-Qua-Tuck Suffolk County Sheriff Vincent DeMarco arranged to have a group of seven inmates from the Suffolk County Correctional Facility clean up Camp Pa-Qua-Tuck. They were brought to the camp when Bridget Costello, Director, Camp Pa-Qua-Tuck, came across a website describing the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Labor Assistance Program (S.L.A.P.) and put in a request to have a crew clean up debris after Hurricane Sandy. “I looked at the site, put in the request and got in touch with one of the officers at the program,” Ms. Costello said, adding she also needed approval from the camp’s Board of Directors, which she received. “The rest is history.” In addition to cleaning up debris from the campgrounds, the inmates have painted and installed new cabinets and ventilation systems inside the dining hall; fixed up the walls and floors in the recreational building; and refurbished the bathrooms and replaced the flooring inside the Fuoco dormitory. The inmates who participate in the program are non-violent offenders. Those who come to the camp are hand-picked. “Some are carpenters and some are plumbers,” said Sergeant Thomas Hoey of the Suffolk County Correctional Facility’s Vocational Training Unit. “They are a very talented group.” One of the inmates has been working at the camp for three months. “I think it’s great,” he said of the program. “The corrections officers treat us really well, plus it’s good community service and it’s an excellent work-training opportunity. It really gives us the opportunity to help the camp and the children it serves. Some of the guys have certain skills; other guys don’t have the training so we learn from each other.” The inmates will finish up on June 1 — just in time for the counselors to arrive from overseas and for the campers to check in later that month — and will return on September 1. Ms. Costello says, since they have been here, the inmates have formed a special bond with the camp. “Some of them said they would like to come back and help once they are released from prison,” she said. ”I hope this relationship can be forged into the future. The workmanship is superior; this is the ‘Extreme Makeover’ we never got. This will make believers out of the non-believers. It’s a win-win for all of us.” Camp Pa-Qua-Tuck is a resident summer camp designed for young people ages 6-21 with special needs (http://camppaquatuck.com/ For more information, call (631) 878-1070 or visit www.camppaquatuck.com. ### Camp Pa-Qua-Tuck (http://camppaquatuck.com/ End
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