Rooting for recovery: Inmates plant flowers as part of rehabilitation program

Inmates, through the Pennington County Sheriff's Office's IGNITE Program, started work on Friday, May 22. 

Amidst the fresh blooms, Andrew Fletcher pauses to wipe sweat from his brow, a wide smile on his lips. Dressed in a bright yellow shirt with IGNITE emblazoned across his back, Fletcher and his fellow inmates in the program aren't just turning soil, they're claiming their lives back by one step at a time. 

"It's actually a really good program," Fletcher said. "I enjoy coming out and working with the community. It's showing me a lot of different avenues for recovery and for what I'm gonna do when I get out." 

The IGNITE Program, which began in 2024, is an initiative to provide education and job skills training to incarcerated populations at the Pennington County Jail, Western South Dakota Juvenile Services Center and Care Campus.

IGNITE (Individual Growth Naturally and Intentionally Through Education) began in Genesee County, Michigan. Sheriff Christopher R. Swanson started the program, and now the National Sheriffs' Association helps other jails replicate it.

The program was launched in South Dakota in the spring of 2023.

This innovative initiative aims to offer the judicial system more flexibility in sentencing, allowing individuals initially facing 30 to 90 days in custody to maintain employment, develop valuable skills, pursue education and facilitate their entry into the workforce.

The program involves work assignments within and around city and county facilities. Successful completion of their sentences may lead to potential job offers with participating businesses.

On Friday, the sheriff's office partnered with the Rapid City Parks to get participants outside and make the city a beautiful place.

Jail corrections officer and IGNITE Coordinator Sherin Harris said the inmates are not only in charge of planting the flowers but also maintaining it through the summer. She said they're expected to be done with the project on Tuesday, May 26.

"We help them get their documents as far as IDs so they can get a job when they get out," Harris said. "We take them to different job sites two days a week, we do community service for the city two days a week, community service for the county and on the fifth day they have an education day." 

For Fletcher, he said this program has given him another chance to start anew and break the cycle.

"I want to get more involved in the community. I want to get clean," Fletcher said. "A lot of us in here are recovering addicts and we're looking for a better avenue and this helps us get involved with the community and to do something with our time."

Another participant, Cyril Black Spotted Horse, echoed Fletcher's thoughts, adding how excited he was to learn new things, such as CPR (he's certified).

"It feels good preparing yourself for a brighter future," Black Spotted Horse said. "It really opened my eyes in what a sober and clean life could be."