The following story was written and reported by Ernestine Chasing Hawk. All content © Native Sun News.

RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA — When Berta (not her real name) left a federal prison in Phoenix and was transferred to the Community Alternatives of the Black Hills (CABH) facility in Rapid City, she was excited that she would be receiving the kind of help she needed to make it on the outside.

The CABH website touts that the facilities are designed to provide structured programming with a focus on substance abuse treatment and education and changing criminal behaviors. That additional services offered include comprehensive assessment, individual and group counseling, life-skills training, and aftercare. And that the ultimate goal of each Community Education Center (CEC) program is to help prepare residents to successfully reintegrate into their communities.

However soon after they arrive many find conditions at the facility not at all what they envisioned and wished to be back in prison.

Berta shared her story with a confidant, but fear of retaliation prevents her from giving her real name. Then at a Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meeting several other people shared similar stories about the treatment they received during their stay at the reentry facility. Most of the prison inmates that come to the CABH unit come from Federal prisons and many are Native American.

According to most of the former inmates of the facility, the comprehensive assessment of their needs and the treatment plan they are promised just doesn’t happen.

“They say they will evaluate inmate’s records and that they will sit down with you and make a plan but all there is, is a list of support groups,” one former inmate said.

The help with education that the CABH website boasts never materializes either.

“While I was away technology changed and the outside world changed,” Berta told her confidant and said she hoped she would learn some valuable skills during her stay at CABH that would help her meet those challenges.

Although all of the residents must seek employment and Berta’s job hunting skills needed to be honed, she never received help, not even with something as simple as compiling a resume.

As soon as residents secure employment they are required to deposit $150 into an account that is held as a safety cushion for when they are released. After that they must give the unit 25 percent of their earnings.

“CABH was not helpful in my finding a job. I was discouraged from applying where I applied and was hired. I was told that I should apply for housekeeping jobs at hotels, ignoring my CDL and past experience,” another former resident reported.

One of most consistent complaints was about food service. Almost of those interviewed said that each morning they are given toast, cold cereal and milk. Then everyday at lunch they are served cold meat sandwiches and do not get much of a variety for dinner.

A lot of the former residents interviewed said that family members brought them food on a regular basis so they would have a variety of foods to eat.

One person who brought food to one of the inmates complained, “Most of the money they must be getting from the residents is probably going to administration. I brought my friend a whole bunch of food and a blanket.”

She said she worried later whether or not any of the items she brought were ever delivered and that she had brought a blanket since all the rooms were cold because space heaters did not provide enough heat.

Worries about reentry into the community abound for inmates, many who have been incarcerated for years. But former residents complained that instead of assisting them to meet the challenges they face, staff at the facility hinder their efforts by making unreasonable demands of their time.

Housing is also one of the biggest obstacles many face and according to latest news reports Section 8 housing waiting lists can be as long as three years. Inmates must save money for deposits so they can find a place to live when they leave the system but it’s not always an easy transition. Many subsidized housing units don’t take drug offenders or other people who have been convicted of violent crimes.

In frustration Berta’s confidant said, “All she wants to do is get her life back on track. They don’t even give them the incentive to get their lives back on track. They don’t have anything to their names.”

Grace (not her real name) gave this statement; “I knew little about community alternatives of the Black Hills until recently. I knew that it was a transitional place for those coming out of prison into society. Then one day I met with someone who had been there and heard what a terrible place it was. To me it was kind of reminiscent of the mental institutions of long ago. People treated with little dignity, housed in questionable conditions, beaten down emotionally. This place did not do much to help the inmate integrate back into society. If anything, it made them angrier and to them, prison was a better place. How could this be I thought and here in Rapid City and no one to do anything about it? But after listening to more and more people who have been through CABH, I found out that their story was the same and the treatment from the same staffers was still happening to this day.”

Chris Greeder company spokesman for Community Education Centers across the United States said, “An initial assessment is performed on every resident who enters the CABH program. If determined necessary additional assessments are provided for certain residents based on treatment needs.”

“The treatment planning is a core service at CABH, it’s the facilities mission to provide quality reentry treatment services. CABH is closely monitored at all times by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The facility received a 100 percent accreditation score on their most recent accreditation from the American Correctional Association. The ACA measures a facilities operations which includes food service, staffing, treatment programs, educational programs and reentry services. And I can say that the facility serves a wide variety of sandwiches weekly for lunch,” he concluded.

Contact Ernestine Chasing Hawk at managingeditor@nsweekly.com