RAPID CITY, SD – For many inmates at the Pennington County Jail, unemployment means a complete change in their lives. Many find it difficult to return to work after serving their sentence.

That’s why the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office is partnering with IGNITE, a National Sheriffs Association initiative aimed at providing technical training and education to inmates across the country.

IGNITE stands for Individual Growth Naturally and Intentionally Through Education and currently runs a Community Work Program where individuals who are not incarcerated but have been sentenced to community service can fulfill their obligations through IGNITE.

The group is now launching the Sheriff’s Work Program, which will also allow inmates who are still incarcerated to find work opportunities. The program works by having local businesses partner with the Sheriff’s Office to provide these work opportunities.

Four days a week, participants are out in their yellow shirts working in construction, plumbing or other fields. Inmates are also required to spend one day a week in class, where they can work toward their degree, develop job skills and work on resumes.

Companies such as Scull Construction and Loyal Plumbing provide work opportunities for the program. For Dan Holsworth of GJ Holsworth & Son Landscaping, providing work for the program has a personal connection.

“I was incarcerated for drug offenses,” Holsworth said. “I went to prison, got out and got a second chance. I took that second chance, built this business with my dad and we took it to a new level.”

“The opportunity for a second chance helps me understand what these people are going through. Employers like me hope to help them reach that level.”

The program is run at the Care Campus on Kansas City Street. Initial sentences range from 30 to 90 days. The program is open to non-violent inmates and offers inmates full-time employment opportunities upon release.