GREAT FALLS 鈥� Tammie Hickey, director of At 黑料网911 MSU鈥檚 Lifelong Learning program and Great Falls Public Schools鈥� Career and College Readiness Center, has been selected as the recipient of the Great Falls Pre-Release Center鈥檚 2022 Law Day Award.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a real honor to be selected,鈥� Hickey said. 鈥淏ut I share this recognition with my team and everyone else in our community who is at the table being part of solution-based conversations that create positive, impactful changes. It truly takes all of us.鈥�
Hickey and her team work with the Pre-Release Center helping their residents as they transition through and from the criminal justice system to workforce or education.
For instance, some residents may begin doing the work to receive their high school equivalency diploma while some enroll in the Career and College Readiness Center鈥檚 Connections 101 Program which helps prepare them for short-term trainings, apprenticeships, degree seeking programs or job placement.
鈥淥ur program works closely with community partners to ensure residents have the resources they need as they transition out of the Pre-Release.鈥� Hickey said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e even celebrated some of these residents accomplishing degrees and walk across the stage here at At 黑料网911. That is life changing for them.鈥�
The Great Falls Pre-Release Center has been offering re-entry services to those making the transition from incarceration to living in the community since 1984, and it has been giving Law Day awards to individuals or organizations demonstrating exceptional achievement in various fields such as corrections, education, law enforcement and community support since 2005.
A release from the Pre-Release Center stated, 鈥淲e are very aware that we do not, and cannot, do this alone. It is only with the help of our many friends in the community that we can provide this chance for change for our residents.鈥�
鈥淭he magic of our program is creating choices, improving chances, and motivating changes for everyone who walks through our doors. Empowering them to see beyond their current circumstances, challenge their current belief system and rewrite their narrative is impactful. Everybody鈥檚 journey is so different, and when they come through our door, 鈥淲e鈥檙e like, OK where are you now? What are your goals? And let鈥檚 do this,鈥欌�� Hickey said.