In the News

LUDLOW — Inmates in the York Street Industries vocational training program at the Hampden County Correctional Center have made 67,000 face masks as well as hundreds of protective face shields and gowns for the fight against the coronavirus.

And on Wednesday they got a visit from U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal congratulating them on their efforts and handing out award certificates.

"We are going to get you back on your feet," Neal, D-Springfield, said to the inmates when he first arrived in the sewing shop.

There, inmates were at sewing machines making gowns out of reusable — cleanable and able to be sanitized — medical fabric.

Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi recalled inmates coming to him early on in the coronavirus pandemic.

“You said, ‘I want to be part of the solution.’ That is what you said. ‘I want to be part of the solution,’” Cocchi said before reassuring them that they have been just that. “What you do is saving lives.”

Neal, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said the work he witnessed continues the great reputation for rehabilitation the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department developed under former Sheriff Michael Ashe.

“What it is they are doing in terms of masks and gowns, in the opportunity to quarantine,” Neal said. “It’s about humanity.”

Cocchi and his staff in April created the First Responder Recovery Home for frontline workers diagnosed with COVID-19.

At York Street Industries, inmates made enough personal protective equipment not only to meet the department’s needs but also to supply all the sheriff’s departments in the state of Massachusetts, as well as for health care providers, businesses and cities and towns.

At its peak, mask production was two shifts a day for 16 hours of work, both at the men’s facility in Ludlow and at the Western Massachusetts Regional Women’s Correctional Center in Chicopee.

On Wednesday in Ludlow, Neal also visited the graphic arts, woodworking, upholstery and welding programs.

After checking out new Adirondack-style outdoor chairs in the woodshop, Neal said these are just the type of skilled tradespeople in demand in the job market.

“When I had a chance to talk with those offenders, they are ready for the next step in life,” he said.

According to the Sheriff’s Department, there are 49 inmates actively working in the industrial arts programs at the jail, with 72 on the waiting list. They earn between 50 cents and $1 per hour as a stipend.

The Sheriff’s Department said the inmates are already housed, fed and provided medical care at an annual cost to taxpayers of $57,000 per inmate.

All inmates in the program are volunteers.

Coronavirus testing at the Ludlow campus in May revealed 12 cases. All those individuals have since recovered.