| Rick Pendery has spent the last 30 years | | | | not touched.", Pendery remembers. "We had |
| working in substance abuse programs and feels | | | | reached out to the community and provided |
| that he's got the keys to reduce recidivism. | | | | many in the local area jobs, so they |
| | | | protected the project." |
| Rick Pendery founded and ran a six year pilot | | | | |
| of the Second Chance Program in Ensenada and | | | | About a later project, Pendery says, "I was |
| Tijuana, Mexico as well as another pilot in | | | | one of the general partners on two inner-city |
| for nearly two years in Puerto Rico. The | | | | redevelopment projects in San Diego, in which |
| Second Chance Program freed over 6000 inmates | | | | we took major apartment complexes in two of |
| from the interminable treadmill of drug | | | | the roughest areas of San Diego and renovated |
| addiction that leads to more crime and | | | | them. We ran community programs to help |
| re-incarceration. He has now successfully | | | | regenerate community involvement and pride in |
| opened a 600 bed secure rehabilitation | | | | those areas. On one of the projects we worked |
| facility located in the vacated Westside Jail | | | | closely with the Muslim Community and in |
| west of Albuquerque, New Mexico. | | | | finding affordable housing for refugees from |
| | | | Africa. We took one of the apartments which |
| His road as a substance abuse expert began in | | | | had a recreation room, made it a prayer room |
| the 70s when he worked first in a methadone | | | | and gave the local Imam the adjacent |
| clinic. But there he saw too many people walk | | | | apartment with a private entrance to the |
| out of the clinic, into the parking lot and | | | | prayer room. The apartment complex was |
| buy heroin. This treatment was clearly | | | | quickly filled up with Muslims from Africa. |
| ineffective. Looking around, Pendery came | | | | The residents of this apartment complex were |
| across a program called Narconon. This | | | | very effective in cleaning up the |
| program he found to be very effective. | | | | neighborhood and reducing the drug use in |
| Working with them for several years he became | | | | that area of San Diego. Their high ethics |
| the chief administrator for a Narconon | | | | level permeated the surrounding |
| Program, in El Paso Tex. Later he was | | | | neighborhoods." |
| promoted to be the Executive Director for the | | | | |
| program and eventually became the senior | | | | Pendery continues, "The other area, known as |
| administrator over 30 Narconon programs in | | | | Bates Street, was an area where there were |
| the US. | | | | frequent shootings, drugs were rampant and it |
| | | | was the real Ground Zero for San Diego. We |
| Narconon uses the Drug Rehabilitation | | | | worked with various members of the San Diego |
| Technology developed by L. Ron Hubbard. The | | | | community on projects ranging from Federal |
| program has a drug-free withdrawal step, a | | | | Express coming in and putting on Thanksgiving |
| sauna detoxification step and an additional | | | | Day dinners, to the San Diego Charger |
| life skills training section with courses in | | | | Football Team and some of its players working |
| communication, remedial education. Also, it | | | | in that community to help bring back pride |
| has classes specifically designed to help the | | | | and a sense of self worth. One Thanksgiving |
| individual understand the reasons why he | | | | Day, our project was shown on national |
| started using drugs and giving him tools to | | | | television, during the halftime show of a |
| combat the urge to use drugs in order to live | | | | college football game, with members of the |
| a drug-free life. Pendery feels that these | | | | Chargers, the San Diego Padres baseball team |
| steps together cultivate self respect in | | | | and members of the local college football |
| these former addicts. | | | | team working with the Federal Express piling |
| | | | up lots of turkey. We worked with various |
| Pendery started his first Second Chance | | | | local churches and used the book the Way to |
| Center in the mid 90's. He explains why, "I | | | | Happiness, a common sense moral guide written |
| saw two things occurring. Drug use seemed to | | | | by L. Ron Hubbard, in some of the programs |
| be generally growing and the crime rate in | | | | that we were doing.". |
| many categories was increasing as well. The | | | | |
| number of people incarcerated almost doubled | | | | "The crime rate dropped from the highest in |
| in 1990s and because of this, the budgets for | | | | San Diego almost to zero and the neighborhood |
| the Department of Corrections were starting | | | | was revitalized. Business returned, other |
| to bankrupt our states. I had previously run | | | | developers moved in and renovated the rest of |
| a successful drug rehab program called | | | | the community. The only problem was that the |
| Narconon, which was both effective in | | | | really bad residents just moved to another |
| reducing recidivism as well as was able to | | | | section of the city and that area became the |
| scale up to where it could economically | | | | highest homicide and drug area," said |
| deliver to large numbers of people at once. I | | | | Pendery. "This is why I decided we had to |
| felt that this approach was particularly | | | | work out how to rehabilitate large numbers of |
| suited to the criminal justice system where | | | | criminals and drug addicts while they were |
| they had approximately 80 percent of | | | | incarcerated. This is an opportunity while |
| incarcerated offenders with prior drug | | | | there is some control exhibited on these |
| histories. With over 2 million people | | | | fellows that is currently being squandered by |
| currently incarcerated in the United States | | | | the government. Just look at the failure rate |
| it's been cost prohibitive for those | | | | - 65% or more return to prison within three |
| offenders to get rehabilitated in that | | | | years of release" |
| system. According to the US Dept of Justice, | | | | |
| the stats shows that over 65% of those who | | | | Rev. Alfreddie Johnson is the founder and |
| have been incarcerated, within three years, | | | | director of the World Literacy Crusade in |
| return to prison. I wanted to bring a | | | | Compton, Ca and the Mayor Pro-Tem of Lynwood |
| workable drug and criminal rehab program to | | | | Ca. He feels, "Second Chance Program is the |
| the criminal justice system." | | | | program for the future as far as the rehab |
| | | | and restoration of dignity and self respect |
| Pendery found more ways to assist his | | | | for former criminals, bringing humanity to |
| communities as a real estate developer. He | | | | the society. That can be done with that |
| had begun that career in the late 70s, | | | | program. Rick Pendery is a pioneer among |
| continued in the 80s and 90s, gradually | | | | pioneers, rehabilitating the human spirit and |
| becoming more involved in inner-city | | | | restoring men back to being men." |
| redevelopment. One such project was | | | | |
| redeveloping a section of Los Angeles that | | | | Three independent university studies were |
| had burned down in the Watts Riots. One of | | | | done that measured one outcome, did the |
| these projects was under construction in the | | | | released offender return to prison? Each of |
| middle of the Rodney King riots in Los | | | | these studies showed that less than 10 |
| Angeles. "Buildings around us were burned to | | | | percent of those who participated in the |
| the ground but our partially constructed | | | | Second Chance programs returned to prison. At |
| three story affordable-housing project was | | | | the helm of this program is Rick Pendery. |