HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – Inmate workers and employees of Montana Correctional Enterprises (MCE) have manufactured over 6,500 pieces of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for state facilities in need.
MCE Division Administrator Gayle Butler said everyone jumped in to help and they have been producing all kinds of PPE.
“So, we’re making masks and then we are making face shields and we are making disposable gowns, bootie covers and caps. We also ordered two 3D printers and are producing the N95 Respirators.”
Butler said their sewing program has a crew of about 25 from the men’s prison and about 10 from the women’s prison and they are all working hard to make a difference.
“They’ve been working really hard. They’ve been working seven days a week kicking it out. You know, the hardest part was getting everything cut out because that took so much time and then starting to sew them – they’ve clipped right along.”
Butler said MCE is 95 percent self-supporting and provides job training, education and work experience for inmates who participate in their industry, vocational or agricultural programs.
“We’re 95% self-supporting. So, that means that when we make a desk, we sell that desk and the money for that desk pays for the materials and the inmate wage and the staff supervision in training. Our mission is to train eligible inmates and lower recidivism in the state of Montana. Our recidivism rate is quite a bit lower if they are involved in our programs. There’s 90 staff that work and 700 inmates on a daily basis. The inmates are in one training program or another and are going to school to get their high school equivalency or some sort of vocational education.”
For more information visit cor.mt.gov.
