The Unitarian Universalist Church of Las Cruces is entering its seventh year of work at the J Paul Taylor Center, the only boys’ correctional facility in southern New Mexico.
There is a new superintendent at the center and we hope she stays for a long time. Her name is Jean Tomlinson and she is thoroughly educated and experienced in directing a facility like the J. Paul Taylor Center and implementing the relatively new model of rehabilitation (as opposed to retribution). She is working hard to expand programs and draw in as many community organizations as possible. The center provides an impressive array of services to the kids; among them are:
• Secondary and post secondary education with distance learning to any post-secondary NM institution,
• Peer tutoring and access to Graduate Teaching Assistance – 22 week semesters
• Pre-GED and GED testing services
• Library services
• Behavior management and individual weekly counseling
• Family counseling
• Substance abuse treatment with weekly counseling
• AA
• Men’s Wellness mentoring
• Weekly parenting classes
• Work-service programs such as Habitat for Humanity
• Weekly welding classes
• Weekly art classes
• Quarterly dinners/etiquette program (THAT’S US FOLKS!)
• Psychotropic management, i.e., depression, ADD/ADHD, and other psychiatric issues
• Weekly physician and nurse practitioner assistance
• On-call nursing coverage
• Dental services including hygiene, optometry, lab, and off-site hospitalization services
This is indeed impressive, but nothing beats the human touch from a community of caring people. That’s where we/you come in. We want to show these boys caring compassion to let them know that the world can be a very good place, and we must never forget that these boys, whom an adjudicating judge had determined are salvageable, will someday be our neighbors. If you’d like to conduct an art, writing, music or other short-term project at the center or if you would like to tutor regularly, please contact the church. Tutoring is especially needed in reading and language skills and you don’t need an educational degree.
