Behind the razor wire fences and cold walls of the Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield, incarcerated individuals are in the first month of running the new Good Spirit Cafe.
Using self-help books and some guidance from corrections department educators, Lewis and peers opened the cafe earlier this month — aiming to run it as close to a real business as possible, with spreadsheets, invoices, supplier contracts and more. "In an institution like this, often the focus is on the stick," observed Carl Butterfield, who is incarcerated on a furlough violation."And this gives staff and corrections officers an opportunity to provide a carrot for a change, which I think is really a positive thing."