Kailua entrance added to sites tended by inmates

By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer

KAILUA — Inmates from the women's prison will take over upkeep of landscaping near the entrance to Kailua, saving the Lani-Kailua Outdoor Circle $10,000 a year in maintenance costs and adding to the sites that inmates care for in the community.

The work crew will begin Friday, tending to the naupaka, palm and other trees in the middle of Kailua Road, which is among the beautification projects installed by the Circle. The organization will provide tools, safety equipment and lunches for the inmates.

"It will not only be financially helpful for LKOC," said Carol Ann Ellett, Lani-Kailua Outdoor Circle WCCC project coordinator. "It will give the women exposure."

Two women who have worked on cleanups have been hired or were promised employment after someone noticed how hard they worked, Ellett said. "We're hoping the community will see how hard these women are working and that more of these success stories can come of it."

The Women's Community Correctional Center in Kailua already maintains and cleans the landscaping at Kailua Beach Park, Alala Point at the entrance to Lanikai, Boettcher Estate at Kalama Beach Park and the Pohakupu subdivision fountain. Many of these were installed by the Lani-Kailua Outdoor Circle.

The beautification group and the correctional center have had a mutually beneficial relationship since 2000, when the organization proposed helping to landscape the prison facility at the base of Mount Olomana and build a vocational education center in exchange for maintenance work at Alala.

The circle planted about two dozen fruit and flowering trees at the center and thousands of donated plants, and provided pruning service for four mature monkeypod trees.

Monica Powell, 32, said participating on the workline has improved her outlook and given her a sense of accomplishment.

Still, she said, it is not easy work. The women not only do landscape work, they have been helping with the renovation at Mayor Wright Housing — heavier labor than she was accustomed to as an accountant.

"It may not seem like much to somebody out there, but it feels good to us knowing we got the job done and we did it well," Powell said.

Worklines are part of helping women adjust to life after prison, said John Kellam, WCCC warden.

They also are a tool to evaluate inmates in making decisions about whether they are ready for furloughs and other privileges. And the women pick up skills that can help them.

"Sooner or later they're going to be your neighbor or mine," Kellam said. "They're going to come back out, and I would much prefer to send them out with some tools and skills to have a reasonable (chance of) success on parole or furlough."

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.