“The personal fortitude it takes to get up day after day and come into an environment where many people will try to spend their whole life staying away from, it’s a hard thing to ask people to do.”
And yet, says Kent County Sheriff Michelle LaJoye-Young, she has hundreds of people who’ve chosen to do just that as their life’s work.
Last August, the Kent County jail needed to fill 20 corrections officer positions by May of this year. LaJoye-Young says they did that…
“But I’ve also lost about that many to retirement. If we could find 30 people who would be interested in a role, that’s probably how many we would need over the next year.”
LaJoye-Young says Kent County doesn’t have an issue retaining corrections officers; it’s the combination of additional posts plus multiple retirements that have led to the shortage. She admits it’s hard work and calls for a specific skillset: compassion, vigilance, and persistence.
“And to find all those qualities in the same person is sometimes difficult.”
The Sheriff started off as a corrections officer herself and recommends it to anyone that wants to make a difference in someone’s life.
“It takes a special person, but if you think you can do that, you’ll never be sorry that you did it.”
