T-shirts declaring “Don’t let your past make you” and other sayings would fit in with clothes at most stores, but unlike the rest, these were made by a group of inmates at the Kane County jail.
After inmates in the Lighthouse Recovery program at the jail started complaining of boredom, Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain said he wanted to give them the chance to run their own business, while also raising money to help fund the program.
“It’s something tangible that they can be proud of and that the public appreciates,” Hain said. “The designs are all from their own minds and show their life struggles. There are some pretty powerful images.”
For Johnathan Ortiz, the Lighthouse Recovery program where he and approximately 60 other men receive medically-assisted treatment for addiction is something special. He has never been able to experience that kind of program before due to money issues.
“I’m seeing different ways of dealing with my addiction and I’ve never been able to go before,” Ortiz said. “It’s a good thing they have going and I can even attend when I get out.”
From designing the images to using a T-shirt press to processing orders, the men in the program are in charge. Hain said he is even working with staff to find safe shipping materials that comply with jail standards so they can complete the process from A to Z.
The program, which has been in effect for about a month, has sold hundreds of shirts so far, with the proceeds going back into the inmates’ canteen fund and to help with diversion programs in the jail, Hain said.
The T-shirts, which cost $29.95, can be purchased online through Etsy by searching “KaneCoInmateDesigns.” People can also contact the Sheriff’s Office directly through Facebook or email to request a T-shirt design for their organization, a fundraiser or event.
For example, inmates were pressing 300 T-shirts last week for an upcoming Thanksgiving dinner fundraiser.
Standing in a small room within the jail pod, the men were recently discussing how to use transfer paper to make the designs look as seamless on white shirts as they do on black shirts. They take their work very seriously, Kane County Sheriff’s Officer Eric Johnson said.
John Fowler, who also runs his own barber shop in the jail, said he hopes the extra funding provided by the T-shirt sales can bring more time for one-on-one counseling in the program, and to expand it so it can serve more inmates.
Marcos Hernandez’s T-shirt designs feature people who have contributed to society, he said, adding that he has chosen people to feature from authors and architects from Chicago in the 1920s and ’30s to Aretha Franklin.
“It gives us something in common with other people,” Hernandez said of the T-shirt program. “It shows them we are not alone.”
Hernandez, who hopes to receive an associate’s degree and is using a tablet to take college courses in the jail, said he wants to be a counselor in the future. After living on the streets and growing up with drugs in a bad environment, he said it has taken him a long time to see the light.
“Maybe I could share my life with someone who is scared to speak and bring them out of that dark hole,” Hernandez said. “I want to help those going through similar problems.”
mejones@chicagotribune.com
