SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — South Dakota lawmakers will gather in the state capitol next week to decide the fate of a new men’s prison in northeast Sioux Falls. Two Sioux Falls men will be watching closely. Stephan Harrison and Ryan Vanden Hoek know all about prison life because they lived it.
Both committed crimes as teenagers and ended up serving time at the state penitentiary, or what they call “The Hill.” Harrison says lawmakers should understand that there is the potential for positive change behind bars. He was first incarcerated in 2002.
“Throughout that time, there was a growth process, maturity, and radical change in my heart that had taken place, all within a span of that time, to where now today I can live the life that I live,” said Harrison.
Harrison says he matured and found purpose thanks to prison programs involving faith leaders.
“One day, something clicked, and there was a change in my heart, and I just knew my life is different now,” said Harrison.
Vanden Hoek says he was also able to find positive role models while serving his sentence.
“I went into prison when I was 16 years old, so I was still living at home. And living then a life devoid of the presence of my father,” said Vanden Hoek. “Older men who became mentors, not by name necessarily, but certainly they took on that mentorship role, they became father figures in my life, showed me the right way to be mature, how to behave, how to act around others, how to do things the right way.”
Both men say that, whether it is vocational training, rehab, mentorship, or faith-based programs, lawmakers need to give inmates the tools to succeed outside the prison walls.
“All these things that should be made available to facilitate the meaningful change that these men have to have in their lives. I think the foundation for that has to be, am I making the right decision on what is going to be best for these men and women?
The two men are co-hosting an upcoming podcast called “Unconfined Conversations,” which will soon be available on YouTube. It will focus on issues tied to life behind bars. We will let you know when it launches on Keloland News.
