It was another great Friday at RCSE! After all Rotary business items were discussed, Katie Gingrich introduced Aaron Pineiro who is the warden at Coastal State Prison.
Coastal State Prison is located between the Savannah airport and Gulfstream. It is a medium security prison that can accommodate 1,836 offenders. Coastal State Prison has the only medical surgical dormitory in Georgia. Last month, 106 prisoners from all over the state came there for procedures. The prison has an operating budget of $19 million per year and has a staff of 270.
Aaron mentioned that they provide programming for the prisoners that will help with reentry once they are released. One day they will be somebody's neighbor and they want to make sure they are prepared. Some of the programming they offer is cognitive programming, substance abuse treatment, and partnerships with Savannah Technical College. A lot of the programming is made possible through volunteers in the community. Although these programs are offered, the prisoners don't always take advantage of them. Whatever happens in public will continue to happen in the prison. An example of this would be gang activity and drugs. Aaron said one of the biggest challenges they are currently facing is drones dropping packages filled with drugs and phones.