Many of the men and women held at the jail have been there before, and Lauri Westfall wants to do something about that pattern.

Westfall, whose son is an inmate, will help host a meeting about the Re-Entry AfterCare program Monday night.

The program is designed to help inmates re-enter society after being incarcerated.

Westfall came to know of RAC through an uncle from Humboldt, Iowa, who does ministry work in a jail. He witnessed the "revolving door" of criminals who would leave the jail, only to be back again after turning to crime when they failed to find a place to live or work.

Her uncle decided to "adopt" a man who was being released from jail. He helped him find an apartment and a job. The process worked so well that he expanded it. The ministry has grown throughout Iowa and now involves 36 communities and more than 600 volunteers.

"I'm really passionate about it because it works," Westfall said. "We put criminals and addicts in jail but don't help them. Then we release them, and they do it all over again and go back to jail, and we're angry. Come on, people. We need to give them some help."

She'd like to get RAC started in Grand Island and said Monday's meeting could help determine the interest level for such a program.

"We're looking for volunteers and donations," she said.

Though she hasn't spoken to Hall County Corrections Director Fred Ruiz, Westfall said she did give a flyer regarding the meeting to one of the corrections corporals. RAC's process begins while a person is still an inmate and continues when he or she is released. A volunteer speaks to the person about his or her skills and what kind of support he or she will need to become a contributing member of society, Westfall said.

Ruiz said the new jail, which is scheduled to open this spring, has more space for meetings, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, GED, anger management, conflict resolution and life skills. The current facility has one small meeting room, he said.

The programs would be funded with money the Corrections Department already has from the Inmate Welfare Program, which includes the profits from phone calls and snacks sold in the jail, he said.

"We have the funds but no room," Ruiz said. "We need to do a whole lot better."

Even though the average stay at the Hall County Jail is between 11 and 15 days, Ruiz believes improvement classes and programs would be worthwhile.

"We want programs to keep the inmates busy," he said.

Alisha, a recovering addict who has been a Hall County Jail inmate, believes RAC can work here.

"Grand Island has to take action," she said. "We have to reach out and work together to find a solution. There are lots of people who get together and think of solutions, but thinking only brings more thinking. Action brings about change."

Drug abuse costs the taxpayers money and fills up jails, but a change could lessen that economic burden, she said.

"I think Re-entry AfterCare is an excellent way for Grand Island to dig in deep and pull together," she said. "I think Grand Island can bring about a change."

RAC Director Paul Harrison said the program has a 95 percent success rate in Iowa.

Volunteers are trained to communicate with inmates, recognize the obstacles they face and use the resources that already exist in a community. The desired result of each match is for the person to get a job, a driver's license, a home, pay his or her child support and get involved in the community, Harrison said.

It costs an estimated $30,000 a year to house an inmate in a prison. That inmate most likely leaves behind a family that will need government assistance in the inmate's absence, which adds to the expense, he said.

In Iowa, 82 percent of people in jail had at least one parent who'd been in jail as well. The roughly 2,000 inmates in Polk County, Iowa, where Harrison lives, have left behind 2,200 children.

"We're breeding disaster," he said. "I love it when people say, 'Why do this?' I say, 'Why not?' It's not going to happen overnight, but it will happen faster then you think."

For if-you-go BOX:

What: Re-entry AfterCare information meeting

When: 6 p.m. Monday

Where: Third City Christian Church, 4100 W. 13th St.

Contact: Paul Harrison at (515) 230-8815 or paul.aftercare@gmail.com or Lauri Westfall at 381-8231 or ljwestfall@msn.com for more information.