A new program implemented at the Marshalltown Residential Center is having positive impacts on residents who choose to get involved.

Practicing Understanding, Service, Hope and Empathy (PUSHE) is a voluntary self-help program created by resident James Evans, and is the only program in operation at the facility.

“The credit isn’t all mine,” Evans said. “The guys in here take the group seriously and have shown a willingness to put in the work. We have also received an overwhelming amount of support from the facility staff.”

Community Corrections Program Coordinator Amy Landers-Kearney oversees treatment recommendations of clients, and helps them work toward discharge from the facility. Through PUSHE, she works with Evans and a team of residential officers to lay out the foundation and piece together the logistics to make things happen.

“James leads the program and I am overseeing the facility aspect basically, and navigating how we can make things work or not work in our program,” she said.

According to Evans, he facilitated self-help groups for years during his incarceration, and he saw people step up to lead and guide others. Seeing the positive results from those self-help groups motivated Evans to learn more about how they are operated. He is applying that experience and knowledge to PUSHE, which is organized to be perpetual.

Meetings are scheduled twice per week, one during the weekdays and another on weekends. Evans said the biweekly meetings give participants who are employed the chance to attend at least one meeting each week. The program consists of courtesies — basic group rules, such as appropriate dress, no swearing and participation — and pillars: behaviors such as pursuing education, showing respect and leadership, perseverance, accountability. Every lesson we have in the group is tethered behind one of those principles.

“When you go to a job interview, there are certain ways to conduct yourself,” Evans said. “This group is a way to reinforce the idea that there is a way to carry yourself at all times. These are all things that when people show these qualities in their character, it takes them further in life.”

To encourage participants, he said there are incentives and a point program. Members get a point for every attendance, whenever they offer something for discussion, turn in a homework assignment and more.

“These points lead to certain incentives,” Evans said. “There are class A and class B incentives. Class B is lesser and you might get another opportunity to go to the store and buy something that week. Class A incentives are things like getting a day pass to go to the gym, or you might get an opportunity to have your family take you out for dinner or lunch or go visit your family.”

Positive results

PUSHE is growing in participation. At one of the previous meetings, he said almost 50 percent of the residents attended. When someone first arrives, they fill out a survey, which asks for things such as interests, goals and concerns. The results from the surveys are tabulated, and that information gives PUSHE leaders the knowledge of what priorities to focus on. Evans said they will take the more common interests, goals and concerns of participants and focus on those, which provides motivation for participants, Evans said.

“Right now, education and physical fitness is at the top of the list for interests,” he said. “Now it’s a priority of the group to find education opportunities, and get them involved in some type of physical fitness. At the facility, we don’t have weights, an area where we can work out. For a lot of guys that’s a big deal and is a coping mechanism to release a lot of energy.”

Since the program started, Evans has seen improvements in overall behavior among residents, particularly an increased excitement. They are less likely to isolate themselves in their rooms or do something they shouldn’t because they are bored. They have also shown a willingness to apply what they have learned.

“The other day, a guy said he was done because [everything] was too much, so I reminded him of a conversation we had in the group,” he said. “[Some guys in the facility] think once they make a mistake, they might as well keep on making mistakes because they have ruined it. Now guys are seeing they made mistakes, but they didn’t ruin it. Seeing the realization in that man’s face, thinking, ‘I was going to take off. Forget this place, go on the run and end back up in prison.’ Instead of making that decision, he chose to take accountability and move forward the best he can. We see that with more and more guys in the facility.”

After Evans presented the idea of PUSHE in March, Landers-Kearney said the staff thought it would be an amazing addition and would help clients reintegrate into communities with new skills, and enhanced self-worth and motivation. Since its implementation, she has seen positive results.

“I have seen clients signing up for more chores, having positive conversations with peers of whom they may not have conversation with prior, I have seen a sense of belonging as well as an eagerness to participate,” she said.

The feedback provided by participants has been “astounding.”

“Clients are looking forward to the meeting, they come out of the meeting with key takeaways and a sense of accomplishment,” Landeres-Kearney said. “It is in its infancy. However, we have strong hopes for clients who participate to have the option of attending, learning and growing in who they are to be the best version of themselves when they leave the facility.”

Right now PUSHE is available for Marshalltown Residential Center residents, but Evans hopes to expand it into the community after fine tuning some details. By being a resident, Evans is working out the kinks of the program and discovering what works. He has also applied advice from other people, such as nonprofit representatives and counselors, so the program can optimally serve participants.

Evans has talked to community leaders about the possibility of PUSHE participants volunteering for different causes. Not only will it give group members the chance to donate their time and effort to causes, but it is also a way for the community to get involved.

“We have a couple dates set up to go cook and clean at the House of Compassion,” he said. “That’s the big part of the service aspect of the group. In order to better serve ourselves, sometimes we have to serve other people.”

If there are volunteer opportunities PUSHE could help with, Evans said he would love to know about them. He would like to expand the activities of PUSHE beyond meetings, as he is a big believer in action. Instead of just meetings, Evans said he would like to see group members get regular opportunities to volunteer, participate in education programs, “whatever we can get our hands in.”

“We hope the PUSHE program will empower our clients to re-enter their communities with a strong sense of self-worth, a clear set of values and a renewed commitment to becoming the best versions of themselves,” Landers-Kearney said.

Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.