Corrections_Today_July_August_2019_Vol.84_No.4

n Fatherhood Program

The first iteration of this faith-based program was called Keeping FAITH, which was developed in 1993. Keep- ing FAITH was a two-part system, with Ron mentor- ing inmates while Catherine would meet with the families of the incarcerated fathers and provide guidance. This program laid the groundwork for the Ridge Project and its renowned program, TYRO. Ron continued to mentor incarcerated men until his re- lease in 2006, and in that time Catherine worked with their families and also began an after-school program to help at-risk youth. Once Ron was released, the Ridge Project fully came into fruition, re- ceiving a grant from the Office of Family Assistance to pro- vide their services to prisons throughout Ohio. To this day, the Tijerina family continues to work with incarcerated fathers and their families as well as youth in order to achieve their goal of overcoming the culture of incarceration and to help build and maintain healthy, stable families. Their service is provided in 17 Ohio prisons

Frame: istock/mkurtbas; graphic illustration courtesy of The Ridge Project

Figure 1

TYRO Dads Participants of the TYRO Dads program are, in many cases, learning how to overcome societal and individual constraints for the first time in their lives. This is where the program gets its name — “Tyro” is the Latin word for novice, apprentice or someone learning something new. Individuals use the moniker TYRO as they take part in the program, and at the end become a TYRO alum- nus. The rigid and extensive curriculum of the program comprises of 10 workshops that helps the participants

and has served over 8,500 individuals, with incredible outcomes. With the groundwork created from the Keeping FAITH program, Ron and Catherine created the TYRO program, a holistic approach to strengthen incarcerated individuals and their families. TYRO is a multi-faceted program created in order to transform the lives of fami- lies and youth affected by the cycle of incarceration. TYRO consists of five different programs: TYRO Dads, Core Communication, TYRO Job Ethics Training (JET), Couple Communication and TYRO Youth.

24 — July/August 2019 Corrections Today