Worcester County Sheriff Lewis G. Evangelidis recently provided two inmate work crews from the Worcester County House of Correction Community Service Program to lend a hand with projects at St. Francis Episcopal Church as well as the Corner Shop Thrift Store in Holden.
The no-cost labor is provided through the Sheriff ’s Inmate Community Service Program, which places low-risk, nonviolent, non-sex offender inmates while supervised into the community to assist municipalities and nonprofits throughout Worcester County. Most recently both St. Francis and The Corner Shop, located at Holden’s First Congregational Church, benefitted from the sheriff ’s program.
More than a dozen different inmates worked six days to complete the extensive projects, which included a new brick walkway for St. Francis as well as a fresh coat of paint for all of the interior walls, hallways and trim work inside the Corner Shop.
In Holden, the inmate labor has provided more than $100,000 in cost savings including previous projects completed for the local EMS, police and fire departments as well as at theJefferson School. The most recent St. Francis and Corner Shop projects resulted in a savings of more than $15,000.
“The men did an incredibly professional job painting the Corner Shop, which exceeded my expectations. They were hardworking, well-mannered, and had a very professional attitude. I would highly recommend Sheriff Evangelidis’ Inmate Community Service Program to other nonprofit organizations,’’ said Corner Shop manager Lori Tokarowski.
“As sheriff, I am thrilled to have recently provided our inmate work crews to paint the interior of the Corner Shop as well as build a beautiful walk way for St. Francis Church, as both places have a long history of serving the residents of Holden’s community. Providing no-cost labor to our cities and towns as well as local nonprofits through our Community Service Program helps to complete projects that might not otherwise get done. This is truly a win-win program, that not only saves money but also works to turn inmates’ lives around,’’ Evangelidis said.
