Spiritual freedom emerging in confinement

Roger Pollard’s new living quarters are "the icing on the cake."

Even though he shares a dorm with about 100 men, it’s still the best place he’s lived in the past 26 years.

Roger Pollard lives at Calhoun State Prison, in a building surrounded by fences and wires and armed guards. He’s lived in prisons like this one for the last 26 years. But in this new place, he has found a spot where he can "let my guard down and relax."

Sherri Brown

A group of men pray in the faith and character based dorm at the Calhoun State Prison. The prison is one of six in Georgia that provides separate housing for inmates who want to openly practice their faiths. Bible study and prayer groups are not allowed in general population dorms at any of the state prisons.

Pollard lives in a "Faith and Character Based Dorm." The brainchild of James Donald, commission for the Georgia Department of Corrections, the new concept for prison dorms began July 1, 2004 in six state prisons – five men’s prisons and one women’s prison.

These dorms are filled with prisoners who apply for the opportunity. In order to be considered for housing in a faith based dorm, a prisoner has to have at least a year left on his sentence and there can be no disciplinary report within the previous 90 days.

The prisoners understand that it is a dorm where they may openly practice their faith, but also where they will be expected to live at a higher standard of expectations.

Chaplains at each prison work with state social workers to organize the activities and oversee the work.

"This dorm provides a place to change for guys who are willing and desire to confront their habits and behaviors," said Rodney Stamey, chaplain at Calhoun State Prison.

Stamey, who is endorsed as a chaplain by the North American Mission Board, was planning to retire when he learned of the new dorm concept. He delayed his retirement indefinitely in order to be a part of the project.

In faith based dorms, inmates are provided a variety of classes that helps prepare them either for life on the "outside" or to return to the general prison population as a better prisoner, Stamey said.

Sherri Brown

Rodney Stamey, right, Southern Baptist chaplain at Calhoun State Prison, talks with men in the faith based dorm. Stamey and a social worker oversee the programs provided for inmates.

"We provide classes that fit their needs," said Tameka Daniel, the faith based dorm counselor at Calhoun State Prison. "That includes classes on substance abuse, job training skills, GED classes, and fatherhood initiatives. We’ll also invite people for special interests. We had a banker who talked to the guys about how to write a check and how to manage money. We had a dentist who talked about oral hygiene."

They also have daily Bible study and prayer meetings. The dorms are not for prisoners who claim any one religion, but for prisoners who claim that faith is an important part of their lives.

"We accept all faiths. Right now we have guys who are Jehovah’s Witness, Muslim, Christian and others. This is a place to explore your faith and sometimes they find their faith-base here," Stamey said.

Inmates stay in the faith based dorms for one year and then are returned to the general population. The first group of graduates will leave this summer.

"They’re really in the spotlight," Stamey said. "They’re expected to be the best dorm and they are. We’ve had some problems. A few have been removed from the program, but overall this is working.

"I’ve never been more excited than now about making a difference in their lives. I love what I’m doing. It’s exciting to come to work."