Inmates ‘SWAP’ time behind bars to work on county farm

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FORTUNA, Ca., (KIEM)- Thousands of pounds of food are produced every year on the SWAP farm. Meat and produce grown in Fortuna, ends up feeding inmates and taking pressure off of tax payers. Some of the pigs raised annually on the little spread end up donated to FFA and 4H, boars and gilts that teach local children husbandry and end up vying for blue ribbons at the fair. All of them are raised by low-level offenders that would otherwise be behind bars.

Since the 1980s, the work program has offered this option for rehabilitation. In order to be eligible, inmates must have no cases pending, be sentenced to 180 days or less in jail, be physically fit enough to perform manual labor, capable of working eight hours a day, and have a physical address. If they meet that criteria, they can find a place in the “Sheriff’s Work Alternative Program.”

“They work one day a week out here, and that counts toward their sentence,” Deputy Jeff Dishmon explains. Dishmon is the correctional deputy who runs the farm. “They can do this job and learn things about farming and equipment. They can learn how to build things… make sure the garden is good, keep the pigs fed and happy.”

There are more than sixty pigs on the property now, along with twenty-plus cows, two goats, three horses, and a very productive vegetable garden.

“All of this stuff everybody uses to learn how to take care of animals,” Dishmon explains, “It gives them the confidence to go out and get a job.” He says a lot of the people who come through the SWAP program know nothing about farming to begin with. Some have never held a job, or worked on a crew with other people. He says they walk away with marketable skills.

“I have people that work with me, and then later on I’ll have them come up to me in the streets and say ‘this is my wife, this is my kids, I’m doing really great and I’ve got a job now, thank you for everything you did.’ It’s really rewarding.” Dishmon says.