After a programme was developed by the Reading Clinic to help inmates with their social skills, learning disabilities and anger problems, organisers say it has been put on hold for reasons they are unaware of.

Ann Dunstan, manager of the programme said she is disappointed that The Reading Clinic has not been contacted in over a year to conduct additional courses despite over half of the inmates signing up.

?We have had wonderful success stories with reading. Men who could only read first grade level are now reading tenth or eleventh grade level. So we are sad that they haven?t called on us to do the social skills?.

She also said reading instruction hours have been cut down. Her trainers have stopped calling to ask when they are going to begin with a new group.

?I feel the community needs to know that the Reading Clinic hasn?t dropped it (the programme). For whatever the reasons are that it?s not going on, I don?t know. All I can tell you is that it was so rewarding working. We really felt we made a lot of headway in a lot of different areas and I think one of them was certainly the interaction with white people and these black inmates?.

The programme was a 30-hour course conducted over seven weeks twice a week or 14 weeks once a week. At the end, a graduation ceremony was held where the inmates received certificates.

It began in 1998 after the Bank of Bermuda Foundation approved a proposal for the clinic to study literacy rates in the prison systems of Bermuda to compare it with other countries.

Mrs. Dunstan said in additional to teaching them reading and writing skills, social skills and anger management were also taught.

?One of the first things people will ask when we conducted a literacy research project was ?why put in a social skills and anger management programme??

What they don?t understand is it?s social intelligence as well as intelligence that affects our academic ability. We found that a lot of the inmates, their social intelligence was very low basically because they had never been taught. It?s not something your just born with knowing how to behave socially, how to react in certain situations and they had failed so many times but they really didn?t want to sign up for reading lessons.?

The programme included conducting exercises, drawing, role playing and more.

?Working with the guys in WestGate, we demanded a certain amount of respect. We weren?t addressing them for what they were in for but we expected them to behave well in our presence, perhaps a different way than they had ever been expected to behave. And they never let us down?.

Mrs. Dunstan said a common thing she heard amongst the inmates in the programme was ?if I had a teacher like you, I wouldn?t be here today?.

A concern she initially had was the fact that the majority of the men in the programme were black and all but two of her trainers were white.

?I discussed it with the person who is in charge of education. What are they going to think of this old white woman coming in and she said when they see how much you care about helping them you won?t have any trouble and I think it?s a wonderful opportunity to show them that there are some white people who really cared about them and would work with them and become a friend?.

Mrs. Dunstan said the success stories are numerous and she would like to see the programme back up and running so that the inmates can get the help they need.

She said two or three men had come to the clinic after being released for additional help and a woman in Co-Ed requested information for when she got back home.

?To me it?s success. It depends on how you look at success. When you see people begin to participate more and share their fears they know what?s right and wrong. You?ve done something in their life and at some point somewhere you?ve made a difference?.

?I don?t think there?s anything worse than finding out about a problem and not doing anything about it. It?s morally wrong?.