Inmates receive Braille Transcription Certification, give back to community

(June 5, 2021) - Eighteen inmates participating in the Braille Transcription Program (BTP) at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution (RMSI) received their Braille Transcription Certification from the National Library of Congress last week.  A ceremony was held at the facility to commemorate their successful completion of this phase of the program.  RMSI Warden Tony Mays, TRICOR CEO David Hart, and Dr. Kathy Segers from the Tennessee School for the Blind attended the ceremony to show their support and congratulate the inmates on their achievement.

“Every time that you all do a book for students in the state of Tennessee, my heart just welts up with pride,”  Dr. Segers told participants.  “Because of this program, visually-impaired students in Tennessee are getting their books on time.  Kids have their books at the same time as their sighted peers.”

The BTP, which began in March of 2019, teaches inmates how to transcribe printed educational material into braille for students at Tennessee School for the Blind (TSB).  Additionally, two participants were awarded the National Braille Association (NBA) Braille Textbook Formatting Certification, a prestigious certification that less than 65 people nation-wide have received.

“Giving people a national certification that they can carry when they leave one of our facilities and go back into the community and not return.  That’s effective reentry, that’s effective rehabilitation in our prisons,” said Commissioner Tony Parker.