Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center’s inmates program changes lives

On Thursday, December 20, the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center celebrated their first Turning Leaf Project (TLP) graduation. After 12 arduous weeks, 21 inmates received their well-deserved certificates to honor their hard work and completion of the program.

TLP provides an opportunity for inmates in Charleston and Columbia to change their lives by helping them develop a better understanding of the effect their behaviors and actions have had on themselves and others.

Amy Barch, who founded the Turning Leaf Program on 2011, believes that “every person has the capacity to change and offer amends.” The therapy approach of the program is based on the scientific assumption that most emotional and behavioral reactions are learned and that thoughts cause feelings and behaviors.

The program relies heavily on volunteers who have been victims of crime. These victims share their testimonies and how crime has impacted their lives with the inmates. Inmates, in turn, have opportunities to journal and participate in other written exercises to help them in the process of relearning new, more positive and healthier emotional and behavioral skills.

For more information about the program and how you can get involved contact Amy Barch at 843-847-1033;  write to P.O. Box 80112, Charleston, SC 29416.

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