ALFRED — Tarina summed up the way things work at the new Southern Maine Re-entry Center on the grounds of York County Jail quite concisely:

“They believe in me, when others haven’t,” she said.

Tarina and another inmate, Jessica, who asked that their last names be withheld, are among the 20 women currently housed at the center, which opened a couple of weeks ago. More women will arrive next week and the numbers will increase until eventually the center will house 64 women, all of whom have fewer than three years to serve on their state prison sentences.

The outside of the building, which was once a home for overflow prisoners from the old York County Jail, sports new siding, freshly painted window frames, and flower gardens planted and tended by inmates.

Inside, there are the usual conference and meeting rooms, living area and cells.

And here, there’s more. There’s a buzz of positive energy ”“ and there’s hope.

On Wednesday, before the dignitaries spoke and the ribbon was cut, signaling the official opening of the state facility, the two women talked about the program and their hopes for the future.

“I go to work every day,” said Jessica, who has about five months left on an 18-month sentence, though she could be released sooner. “That’s huge. I’ve never held down a job before and I’m 30 years old,” she said. After her day’s work, she returns to the center and sleeps in a cell every night.

Tarina and Jessica both say they’ve learned how to present themselves to an employer.

“I’m a go-getter,” said Tarina. “I put my best foot forward and run with it.”

The re-entry center, part of the state prison system, is designed to integrate inmates into the community, as opposed to thrusting them out the door at the end of a sentence, where they’re jobless and may not have the skills to cope.

“This is my second sentence,” said Jessica. Her first sentence was for 20 months. “I was released from Windham (Maine Correctional Center) and I failed and I ended up back there.”

Tarina said she’s winding down a 10-year sentence, and had been a participant in a similar program in Bangor. State Corrections Commissioner Joseph Ponte said the program that was located on the campus of Dorothea Dix state hospital in Bangor for five years served slightly more than 30 women. It was closed and the women transitioned to the new program at the Alfred center about two weeks ago.

Tarina is focusing on reuniting with her family, re-entry into the community and recovery, she said. She’s excited about the prospect of seeing her four daughters soon after securing a pass for an upcoming weekend. While they’ve kept in contact by phone, Tarina said it will be the first time she has seen her daughters in eight years.

Director of female services for the Department of Corrections Amanda Woolford said the center focuses on providing inmates with personal growth skills, mental health services and employment skills ”“ the center employs culinary arts, landscaping and carpentry instructors ”“ and then they’ll move on to employment in the community. Some inmates, she said, are ordered to pay restitution as part of their sentence and must also pay court fines when they leave state custody. Some who have secured jobs through the re-entry program have managed to pay the fines and restitution while still incarcerated, so when they leave, that’s one less hurdle to overcome, she said.

The state will pay $70,000 to York County government annually over the course of their five-year lease for the modular building. The state also put about $180,000 worth of repairs into the structure, which had been mostly vacant, with minor exceptions, since 2004. The building was once attached to the old York County Jail on Route 4, now the county’s government center. The county bought the units, at a cost of about $1.3 million, following a February 2001 riot that, at least in part, was attributed to overcrowding at the old jail.

The new jail was opened in 2004 on Layman Way off Route 4, and a year later, the modular units were moved to that location, at an estimated cost of about $600,000, Philip Cote, who was sheriff at the time, in 2006 said there were not enough inmates nearing the end of their sentences to be housed there, nor was there staffing for the center. Since that time, there have been various attempts to find a use for the building but none have been successful, until now.

Sheriff Maurice Ouellette described collaboration between the county and the state to bring the project to fruition as a “win/win” situation.

County Commissioner David Bowles, also a member of the state Board of Corrections, agreed, spoke to a number of county initiatives, and said the re-entry center itself marks the beginning of a new future for female inmates in the state’s custody.

“(It is) the beginning of a new future for the women who will temporarily make this their home as they prepare once again to become fully engaged members of our society,” said Bowles.

Ponte, the corrections commissioner, said female offenders are different than their male counterparts and so programs for women offenders must be different. He said the opening of the re-entry center marks “a new day” for the female offenders and the corrections department.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, Ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.