Dewun Mayo jumped into his grandfather's lap Wednesday, showing a toothy grin as he perched on the orange jumpsuit that marked his grandfather a prisoner.
Dewun's grandfather, Valeto Hendrix, was one of eight inmates at the Pulaski County jail Wednesday who graduated from the jail's first Inside Out Dad class, which teaches prisoners family relationship skills and how to better interact with their children and spouses.
"We talked all last night and this morning, thinking, 'What are we going to say?'" Hendrix said Wednesday before a crowd of family members who attended the graduation. "To my family, my children, I failed y'all. When I came here I didn't expect the class, but I knew I wanted to change for my grandchildren."
Terrance Long, who taught the class, said that although the class lasted only seven weeks, he could tell a difference in each of the men who participated.
"I came here with preconceived notions that these guys just wanted to get out of their cell for a while," Long said.
"They changed my mind on the first day. ...These are some great men, despite them being in orange suits."
Long said the class focused on identifying and solving problems within the family and making individualized plans for life after incarceration. The intent, he said, is to lower recidivism rates and to keep children from following in their fathers' footsteps.
"Statistics show if you're in a family of crime, your kids are more likely to be arrested as adults," Long said. "We can help deter that return."
Long, senior pastor of The Mercy Church, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on drug charges in 1990.
When he talks about understanding the difficulty of reentering life after jail, Long said he speaks from experience.
Antonio Travis, one of the graduating men, said the class allowed him to better relate to his family. When Long described Travis as a "counselor" to his classmates, several of the men began nodding and clapping Travis on his back.
"It gave us fathers a verbiage to make amends for relationships that were lost," Travis said. "What we're going to do here is hold one another accountable."
During his address to the crowd, Travis turned toward his fellow inmates.
"The devil desires you ... to break you down and separate you," he said. "... But we have been converted now, and we are going to work to strengthen each other."
Ruby Welch, who operates a similar program called Moving On that is geared toward female inmates, recommended Long for the job. Welch said she, too, was incarcerated on drug charges years ago and wants to help inmates find sustainable jobs and opportunities.
"You have to hold responsibility for what you did, and you have to change it," Welch said. "You have to ask yourself: 'Am I going to be bitter or better?'"
Sheriff Eric Higgins said he plans to continue the program, and that new inmates are already being interviewed for the next class. He said almost any inmate can be a part of the class, but they have to demonstrate a "desire to change."
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"It is so important that we look at people in this facility and help them," Higgins said. "We all need help."
After the ceremony ended, family members walked up to congratulate their husbands, partners or fathers.
Brandon Lea held his 11-month-old daughter, Miracle Heaven Marie Lea, for the rest of the time they had together. Lea's wife, Jazmyn Lea, watched as he lifted the child in the air and cooed to her.
Hendrix, too, spent as much time as he could with his family during the visit. Dewun, 4, spent the majority of the time standing near his grandfather or sitting in his lap.
"We did this class for seven weeks," Hendrix said. "But they gave us a lifetime."
Metro on 10/31/2019