Community service is a key element of treatment at the Alcohol & Drug Addiction Parole & Probation Treatment program, or ADAPPT. After months without outside service activities, program participants at the residential reentry center in Reading, Pennsylvania were finally able to spend time on a new project: cleaning up the grounds of the local College Manor Pool.
The ADAPPT program has reintroduced its community service element as Pennsylvania’s Stay at Home order enters its next phase of reopening. Now, state regulations allow ADAPPT participants to perform community service off-campus if precautions are taken to ensure a safe and infection-free environment.
From June 13 to July 3, participants and staff at the center run by GEO Reentry Services reported to the pool where their task was to freshen up the facility and surrounding areas. Program participants arrived on-site early in the morning accompanied by staff to engage in cleanup while following CDC, GEO Reentry and Pennsylvania Department of Corrections guidelines for PPE use and safe social distancing.
“Our participants worked hard doing landscape maintenance and cleaning detail, demonstrating nothing less than professional organizational skills,” said ADAPPT Deputy Director Dawn Martin. “For our residents, community service and giving back is a true labor of love. We are so proud of the job they did and the conduct they displayed.”
ADAPPT provides evidence-based programming to individuals referred from the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole to address the causes of criminal behavior and reduce recidivism. GEO Reentry residential reentry programs are designed to prepare participants to transition back into society with the necessary skills to support a productive lifestyle.
At ADAPPT, community service activities supplement participants’ cognitive behavioral therapy and skills classes with opportunities to serve less fortunate community members. ADAPPT works in partnership with the City of Reading so program participants can volunteer at city clean-ups, snow removals and local church events.