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'I feel like I'm a better person'; LMDC celebrates program's first graduates

"In order for [my daughter] to have a stable father in her life, I have to change and make a commitment to the change too."

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville Metro Corrections' newest program saw it's first group of graduates on Friday. 

LMDC staff and loved ones celebrated six incarcerated individuals who completed the "Alternatives to Criminal Thinking" program. The program began in 2021 to improve incarcerated persons' lives.

"It helped me get to where I am now. I feel like I'm a better person," graduate Emmanuel Hudson said

Hudson says the program helped cope with his trauma and quit his drug addiction. He says it also made him a better man for his 1-year-old daughter Denym. 

"In order for her to have a stable father in her life, I have to change and make a commitment to the change too," he said. "I know my family's proud because none of them would of thought I would change because I had a cycle of going back and forth so to take initiative and change for myself, I know they're probably proud."

Alternatives to Criminal Thinking offers career development, education and different forms of therapy to men between the ages of 18 and 24. 

Program Mentor Shelton McElroy says this age range is a critical time because it's typically when many enter the correctional system.

"I know that when they're sitting in a orange jump suit on a plastic chair they don't know what the world has to offer," McElroy said.

He says the program not only helps inmates see who they can be, it helps lower violence in Louisville too.

"If we can invest in these programs and invest in these opportunities we will reap the reward and benefits twice," McElroy said. "When these young men get the resources, you typically save the community lot of dollars, and lot of hurt and pain, and you contribute to an entire family when you help one of these young men."

LMDC Director Jerry Collin say the jail is also partnering with KentuckianaWorks to provide job placement for incarcerated persons when they're released. 

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