Pennington County, South Dakota Jail - Jail Programs

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Pennington County Jail
307 St. Joseph Street
Rapid City, SD 57701
605) 394-6116

E-mail Pennington County Jail

Male Work Release Visitation
703 Adams Street
Rapid City, SD 57701
(605)394-6485

Programs available for inmate enrichment at the Pennington County Jail:

• Alcoholics Anonymous
• AA Big Book
• Anger Management
• Drum Group
• Hope for New Life
• Law Library
• Life Skills - Women
• Relationship
• Safety Counts
• Tai Chai
• Talking Circle
• Wise Guys
• Women's Meditation
• Women's Yoga

If you are interested in volunteering to host a program, please print and fill out a Volunteer Application.  For more information, please use the on-line form or, if you have any questions or need further assistance, please contact Lt. Overholt at (605) 394-6116 extension 316.

Religious services are also offered including:

• Bible Studies
• Catholic Services
• Church Services
• Spanish Bible Study
• Gideon Ladies Bible Study and Church Service

Anger Management

Goal: Facilitate the development of cognitive and behavioral skills to decrease anger, aggression and the problems they cause in life.

Objectives:

1. Develop awareness of what one is doing and its consequences.
2. Accepting what one is doing and make a commitment to change.
3. Facilitate the finding, trying out and practicing of new alternatives for action that can be built into new habits.
4. Learn the cycle of anger and aggression. "Anger Warning Signs"

Methods:

1. Learn anger reduction skills.
2. Learn an understanding of how body relaxation helps reduce anger.
3. Learn the power of your thoughts thru explanation and practice exercises.
4. Learn and practice skills for avoiding and resolving conflict.

Hope for New Life

Goal:The goal of this program is to give women the means through God to have hope in there life either while incarcerated or for their new life once they are released. Hope for new life gives them the knowledge to sustain hope through God

Law Library

The Law Library in the Jail gives inmates the opportunity to do research. Non law-related material is also available.

Life Skills - Women's

In Women's Life Skills women will learn how to improve their life by changing attitudes, respecting themselves, becoming proactive, and identifying their strengths and weaknesses. In this program they will also learn how to write effective resumes, applications, and letters. Also covered will be networking skills, interview skills, and how to succeed in their career.

Tai Chi

Tai Chi (tie-chee) is an offshoot of Qigong (chee-gong), a branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine that dates back 4000 years. It is a series of slow motion movements with breathing and visualization exercises. The practice will reduce stress and increase immune function. Although Tai Chi can be used as a martial art, 95% of the people in the world today who practice it do so for its health effects and have no idea how to use it to fight. Tai Chi is one of the pillars of Chinese public health policy.

Time will be split into approximately thirds. One third will be a series of slow motion movements that will be the same every week so the participants can learn to use it in their cells. Another third will be a variety of other slow motion movements from some of the many Tai Chi and Qigong traditions. There are dozens of forms of Tai Chi and literally hundreds of forms of Qigong. This will keep the participants' interest and not make it too much of the same thing. The other third will be explaining the history, tradition, and philosophy of Tai Chi and Qigong using demonstrations and excerpts from video tapes.

Talking Circle

Goal:The Talking Circle program helps women balance themselves spiritually, physically and mentally threw the Native American religion. This program gives the women a comfortable place to pray for there concerns and talk about issues.

Wise Guys

Chapter 1: Values Clarification and Diversity

To be a successful member of society, each of us must be able to understand the difference between our personal values and the values of those with whom we interact. Our values give us meaning and direction in our lives. Values clarification activities generally strengthen people's beliefs in their own values, including their values regarding diversity. In our ever-changing world, it is important for young men to keep an open mind and learn to appreciate the diversity that exists in American society today. In this chapter, participants will:

• Examine their feelings and beliefs about a number of personal and societal issues including masculinity, sexual health, relationships, alcohol and other drugs, violence and anger, and life issues
• Learn methods to promote self-awareness and multicultural understanding, and to appreciate differences.

Chapter 2: Effective Communication and Listening Skills

Good communication involves mainly three components: communicating our feelings, learning to listen attentively, and knowing how and when to be assertive. When it comes to communicating feelings, this can arouse fear - especially in young men! In this chapter, participants will learn the skills to:

• Use effective verbal and nonverbal communication tools
• Understand and demonstrate the difference between aggressiveness and assertiveness

"Boys will be boys" is an example of just one of the many ways our culture repeatedly normalizes and excuses anti-social male behavior. In order to prevent sexual assault from occurring, we as a society must redefine what it mean to "be a man". In this chapter, participants will also:

• Understand what is consent to sexual activity
• Explore the difference between "flirting" and sexual harassment
• Understand how to develop a sense of empathy for those who have been assaulted

Chapter 3: Alcohol and Other Drugs

At the average high school in America, 10% of the student body is chemically dependent. Young adults develop all sorts of beliefs about alcohol and other drugs, much of which is incorrect or distorted. Few you men are equipped with the information and skills necessary to make informed decisions about the consequences of using alcohol and drugs. In this chapter, participants will:

• Learn about the signs and symptoms of alcohol abuse and dependence
• Dispel myths about marijuana, alcohol, tobacco and other drugs
• Critically examine advertisements for alcohol, tobacco and other drugs
• Learn of the effects of these substances on relationships, especially in the area of rape and violence

Chapter 4: Healthy and Unhealthy Relationships

Interpersonal relationships, especially dating relationships, can be sources of both great pleasure and great stress for young adult males. Very often, young adults define themselves in relation to the dating relationships in which they are involved. Young men are bombarded with images from popular culture that support violence in general and violence against women in particular. In this chapter, participant will:

• Have the opportunity to self-identify what their needs are in a relationship
• Learn to differentiate the myths from the facts regarding violence against women and domestic violence
• Learn good communication and problem solving skills which will assist them in developing and maintaining healthy dating relationships

Women's Meditation

Objective:

To teach a basic meditation technique that can be helpful in reducing stress, dealing with anger, moving to a state of calmness, and clearer understanding of self.

Content:

1. Introduction: An explanation of the goals for the group and the activities for this session.
2. Instruction of the basic techniques of meditation - this instruction will focus on awareness of the breath, dealing with distraction thoughts, and returning to the breath.
3. Sitting meditation - the techniques of posture, breathing and settling in.
4. Walking meditation may also be taught as another way to use meditation practice.
5. Discussion time: A time to focus on the experience or the ideas presented. Emphasis is on the practical application of information to daily jail routine.

Women's Yoga

Goal:Yoga is a Hindu discipline that promotes spiritual unity with a supreme being through a system of postures and rituals. It is also a system or set of breathing exercises and postures derived from or based on Hindu yoga.

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