Evers, Panhandle libraries donate educational books for inmates

Front row, from left: Vicky Stever (director, Okaloosa County Public Library Cooperative), Cindy Deem (librarian, Santa Rosa County Library System), Gwen Wilson (director, Santa Rosa County Library System), Beverly Lacy (volunteer, Santa Rosa Correctional Institution Re-Entry Program) and Natasha Godwin (instructional technology specialist, Santa Rosa County District Schools). Back row: Charles Mayberry (executive director, Panhandle Library Access Network), Evers, James Coker (warden, SRCI), and unknown SRCI staff.

MILTON — Sen. Greg Evers, District 2, partnered with the Panhandle Library Access Network to provide more than 500 books to the Santa Rosa Correctional Institution’s re-entry program. 

Florida Panhandle libraries donated the books, selected to support the educational needs of inmates working on high-school equivalency diplomas.

Inmates have limited access to resources that help them transition and return to the outside community. Donated books include encyclopedias, dictionaries, textbooks and subject-specific books to improve reading and learning skills.

The Santa Rosa Correctional Institution is located in Milton, and houses adult male inmates.

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Evers, Panhandle libraries donate educational books for inmates