MCSO hold Groundbreaking Ceremony for New Re-Entry Resource Center

SALINAS, Calif. (KION) - The groundbreaking ceremony for the re-entry center was held this morning at the Monterey County Jail.

In what the sheriffs are calling a one-stop shop, people coming out of jail will have a better chance at reintegrating into society.

"Let's create hope for them. Give them opportunities. To come back into our communities to be productive members," says Sheriff Tina Nieto.

Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto says it's often an endless cycle for people leaving and returning to jail.

"We don't, we really don't want them back. I'll be honest: we want them to be productive. We don't them back; this is the most expensive hotel that the county can have," said Nieto.

Employment training, counseling, housing support, and legal assistance will be provided to each individual will be provided.

"Folks, the people that are incarcerated, they're from our communities. They're not coming in from somewhere else. They're getting bused in. They're from here. They're your friends, your neighbors," said Nieto.

The Monterey County Sheriff's Office has been awarded 5 million dollars in grant funds, on top of a 1.66 million dollars that has been approved in the fiscal budget.

Corrections program manager Charles Dasilva says this project has been a long time coming.

"I've been here for 10 years, it's been the vision I've had for 10 years."I'm not gonna take credit for the actual idea. I took it from a different county and I thought they were an example to what I wanted to see done here at our county here in Monterey," said Dasilva.

Work will begin the second week of April and the project is estimated to be completed by May 30th of this year.