Yakima — Nina Vickers was in the Yakima County jail in 2004 on a probation violation and other offenses.
“I couldn’t pass a drug test to save my life,” Vickers recalled.
But this time, she decided to get into one of the jail’s faith-based housing units — “God Pods” as they’re called by inmates and guards — in order to score a few extra privileges, such as television and coffee.
What she learned in the religion and life-skills classes taught by volunteers helped her eventually break the cycle of substance abuse and incarceration that had dominated her life, she now says. And she’s working with the program to help other inmates succeed on the outside.
“I know the God Pod impacted my life,” Vickers said recently in her office at Together Church in Yakima. “Here I am, working in a church, an outreach director for a church.”
For more than 20 years, the jail has set aside housing units where volunteers come in and provide Bible study and lessons on being better parents and role models in hopes of helping inmates be productive, law-abiding people when they return to society.
While they don’t keep statistics on the program’s effectiveness, corrections officials and the program’s staff believe it can help some people get out of a life of crime.
“It is a sought-after program,” said corrections officer Lt. Jeremy Welch.
The Yakima County jail established its first faith-based unit in 1996 in the men’s section, with the women’s unit opening in 1997, Welch said. Today, there are 24 beds in the women’s God Pod, while the men’s unit is capped at 60 inmates.
Phyllis Anderson, the current chaplain for the women’s unit, started as a volunteer when the pod opened, a job she felt she had to take.
“I had never been in jail, but I felt God was calling me to a jail ministry,” Anderson said.
Anderson said both her parents were alcoholics and she had a brother who dealt drugs and was an alcoholic. While she did not follow them into that lifestyle, she said it gave her compassion for those who struggle with addiction.
Abiding by the rules
Anderson admits that there are inmates who sign up for the program because they see it as a way to get privileges that inmates in the general population don’t have. The God Pod inmates have access to microwaves and a cup of coffee or tea.
But Anderson quickly points out that those privileges come with a price — one that some inmates may consider a bit steep just for a cup of instant coffee.
“They have to abide by the rules,” she said.
And the rules are in some ways stricter than those in the general population.
Unlike the rest of the jail, inmates in the God Pods have to be up and out of bed at 6 a.m., cleaning the unit before breakfast and morning Bible study. Then there’s class time from 9 to 11 a.m., with lunch and free time between 11 and noon, followed by an hour of quiet time and two more hours of class time before dinner and additional study time.
Lights out is at 9:30 p.m.
Classes range from Bible studies to life skills and how to be a better parent.
That regimented lifestyle helps weed out those who are signing up just because of the perks.
