THRIVE program sets up Erie County inmates for success with new skills

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- When people are released from prison, some of the most common barriers they face can set them back on a path to incarceration.

A new program introduced at the correctional facility in Alden this summer is intended to set up inmates for success upon their release with professional skills in the kitchen and a fresh start. Robert Leon is excited to move on and out with a whole new career under his belt thanks to the THRIVE program.

"It feels great, it feels great," he said before the start of another class this week. "I want to go back and see my son. I have another tool under my belt, and just to keep on moving forward and stay out of here."

Leon is one of close to three dozen men who have participated in the new program run by Buffalo State University's culinary and hospitality department and Peaceprints WNY, which specializes in reconnecting an inmate with the community upon release.

"At first I was nervous, you know, I was cooking with other prisoners, so I just gave it a try," Leon said. "To be honest, we're all cool, we're all good friends, so it's a pretty cool thing."

THRIVE, which stands for Training in Hospitality for Returning Individuals are Valued Employees, graduated its first class on Aug. 1. There have been two since then, with plans to keep the sauce simmering well into the future.

"When Sheriff Garcia took office, it was one of his priorities: to continue to improve, expand, enhance the program offerings that were available within the jail, and again, start working towards putting people in a position to succeed when they get out," said Thomas Diina, chief of community reintegration for the Erie County Sheriff's Office.

"And that's why this division was created, that's why I was put in this role. And we've really seen nothing but success since the start."

At the direction of Executive Chef Donald Schmitter, lab coordinator for Buff State's successful culinary and hospitality program, these guys are pumping out more than soggy jail fare.

On the menu this night: seared chicken Reuben, steak Diane and fettuccine Alfredo.

"It's definitely the better food than what we had earlier," Leon said. "So, I'm going to eat good and then sleep good."

For Schmitter -- as is often the case on campus -- he strives to see the potential in THRIVE, and the men who are looking to win back their lives instead of wasting them away inside.

"I grew up on the east side of Buffalo, tough neighborhood," Schmitter said. "I very well could have ended up here had it not been for some luck. So I looked at it that way, people deserve a second chance."

"I wasn't so sure how the reception would be," he said. "I figured it might just be, I want to get out of my pod and be able to do something, maybe I don't have so much interest, but it has not been that at all. They have been extremely engaged, very interested, very motivated."

While Chef Don provides the culinary skills, Peaceprints passes out job readiness training. Local partners like Delaware North, Seneca One, Riverworks and Catholic Health are on board to provide feedback, interview training and even a job.

"There's no hiding the elephant in the room. They know they have a record, and that's something to overcome," Schmitter said. "But the good part is that we have partners that already know that. They know you're here, they're meeting you here."

"When I started here in 2001, if you had told me that I'd be sitting in a room with incarcerated individuals and a chef where they're developing a menu for a banquet, I'd have thought you were crazy," Diina said.

"But the reality is, that's where corrections, especially local corrections, is moving to. It's evolved from just locking people up behind a door. Now it's really being used as a primary intercept point to remove some of those barriers to success, to put people in a better place to succeed once they get out."