ANN
ARBOR TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — For the first time in 10 years, Kirk
Herman is not spending Christmas behind bars. But he hasn't forgotten
those still in prison, or heading there.
Refused parole five times, Herman finally was released in
April. Since then, he has participated in the Michigan Prisoner
Re-entry Initiative.
The program, begun by the Michigan
Department of Corrections last January, is designed to reduce
recidivism and incarceration costs by coordinating housing, treatment
programs and job training for nonviolent offenders returning to society.
Herman,
33, was convicted in 1997 of driving drunk and causing the death of a
friend who was seated behind him when his vehicle hit a tree along a
rural road near Brighton. He was sentenced to 5 to 30 years.
"Unfortunately, drinking and driving was something we did way too often," he told The Ann Arbor News.
Unable
to find a job after his release, Herman enrolled at Washtenaw Community
College, where he's earned a 3.8 grade-point average as part of
two-year physical therapy program. He's now working part time and is
promoting his book, "What Happens Now?: A Look at Life Behind Bars."
Written
at the urging of his mother, Florence Collins of Chelsea, Herman's
70-page booklet provides a firsthand account of what prospective
prisoners and their loved ones can expect once the judge orders
incarceration. It doesn't draw on the unsavory aspects of prison life
often depicted on television and in the movies. Instead, it covers what
incoming prisoners need to know, including meal schedules, religious
activities and meeting with parole boards.
"You can read
books filled with tons of horror stories about the gangs, the drugs and
gambling going on in prison, but there was nothing out there like this
for families of people doing time," Herman said. "And there were so
many questions."
Harold Wimberly, program manager with
POWER Inc., an Ann Arbor-based organization that provides case
management for returning parolees in the state-run program, said Herman
has become the model for program participants.
"He's very
focused and when you meet a man who has the drive, potential and
genuine way about him that he does, it's very refreshing," Wimberly
said. "You see a lot of guys come in here with great plans and then
they fall through, but not him. Everything he says, he's done.
"And he could've done a lot of things, but chose to do the right thing."