Volunteer honored
LUZERNE TWP. – A volunteer at the State Correctional Institution at Fayette (SCI-Fayette) was honored Saturday in a statewide ceremony for Department of Corrections volunteers. Thomas Churchill will be recognized for the service he provides by leading a weekly Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meeting at the prison in Luzerne Township. One volunteer from each state prison was honored during the annual volunteer recognition banquet held at the Department of Corrections training academy in Elizabethtown, Lancaster County.
“It takes a very special person to enter a prison and help those whom society is punishing. Prison administrators are truly grateful to Thomas and others because they provide services that we don’t have the resources to provide. Without them, there would be fewer academic and trades tutoring programs, Alcoholic/Narcotics Anonymous group meetings, religious studies and other beneficial and life-changing services,” said Corrections Secretary Jeffrey A. Beard.
Churchill understands that many people would be uncomfortable volunteering at a maximum-security prison, but he says it’s not so much where he gives the help, as who is on the receiving end.
He said he wants to be with anyone who has a desire to change.
Churchill said his own journey led him to a place where he lost the ability to feel, to care and to have compassion. He credits NA with saving his life and serving as a motivation to reach out to those who have experienced similar circumstances.
“This program made me human again,” Churchill said.
Churchill has been a contributing member to the volunteer teams through hospitals and institutions since 1992. He has been a guest speaker and a weekly volunteer and has run or started NA groups at several state and county facilities including SCI-Albion, SCI-Greensburg SCI-Pittsburgh, the Washington County Jail and the Allegheny County Jail. He has also served as the chairperson for Fayette County area hospitals and institutions.