NORTHAMPTON — Sheriff Robert J. Garvey hovered near the back of the Hampshire County Jail courtyard during the annual “reentry roundtable breakfast” on Thursday as others lined up for the buffet.
“Are you going to eat?” several guests asked.
Garvey eyed the spread of breakfast food — with its build-your-own omelet station, mini-quiches, fruit salad, coffee cakes, French toast and bacon — and assured others he would, but not before everyone else got the first pickings.
With this Garvey’s last year before he retires, this was his final roundtable breakfast as sheriff.
Garvey turned to his staff standing behind him as the line shrunk.
“All right,” he said, motioning them toward the line in front of him, “let’s go.”
It was the 12th annual Hampshire Sheriff’s Office Reentry Roundtable Breakfast, an expanded version of the monthly reentry workshops.
Once a month, representatives from Clinical and Support Options and Tapestry Health in Northampton lead an after-care workshop for inmates at the Hampshire County House of Correction who are within 30 days of their release.
Participating inmates also have the option of scheduling an intake session with Clinical and Support Options and are eligible to receive free Naloxone, an overdose reversal drug.
Area public safety and health professionals who do not typically participate in the standard roundtables are invited to the annual breakfast.
But the annual breakfast differs from the month-to-month roundtables in another very significant way: the food at the event is prepared by inmates. The dozen men who prepped and cooked Thursday’s meal were all a part of the jail’s culinary arts course — the inmates take a class and are required to pass weekly exams before they can become ServSafe-certified, which is a National Restaurant Association food safety program.
“They get that feeling of accomplishment, seeing people sitting down eating their food,” said chef Nelson Lacey, who heads the culinary arts program at the jail.
A panel of guest speakers, which included Garvey, addressed the crowd of about 100 after most were through with their meals.
“The people who work on these projects deserve an awful lot of credit and a lot of appreciation from all of us,” Garvey said. “I can’t tell you how hard people have worked with some very, very difficult people sometimes and turned them around to get them out (of jail). And I’ve been blessed with just a terrific, outstanding staff that have really dedicated themselves…”
Attendees at this year’s breakfast also heard from inmate Michael Johnson, who is on track to be released soon. Johnson, who said he has been at the jail for about six months, described a life of substance abuse in which he refused to accept responsibility for himself or his actions.
Substance abuse is technically considered a mental disorder, he recalled telling his intake counselor when he arrived in December, and then asking, “So can I get Social Security?”
“When are you going to grow up?” the counselor replied, according to Johnson.
And in that moment, Johnson said, “That’s when the seed was planted.”
He continued, “I’m here, I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing, (and) I’m becoming a productive, responsible member of society.”
William Litchfield, a former inmate at the jail, also offered remarks about his experience.
“I struggled with drugs and alcohol since I was really young,” he said. “This place taught me how to trust other people, to talk to them — my life was chaotic; it’s not like that anymore.”
Michael Majchrowicz can be reached at mmajchrowicz@gazettenet.com or 413-585-5234.