Fair Oaks Facility Gives Female Criminals A Second Chance At Contributing To Society

FAIR OAKS (CBS13) — Female criminals are being offered a second chance inside a new state-funded facility.

Some prisoners are spending the end of their sentence in the facility, while others choose to go there instead of home.

These women have all sorts of criminal backgrounds—they were behind bars for burglary, murder, drugs. But this program is giving them another shot, a chance to learn and become a productive member of society.

"This is my oldest daughter Daja, she likes to take funny pictures," said Samantha Rovier, who was arrested for burglary.

It looks like anyone's bedroom. There are pictures, quotes on the wall, even a television. But the bedroom is part of something bigger.

It's part of a residential treatment facility focused on getting female parolees and inmates integrated into the community. These women take classes, have chores, and some even go to college.

"I wanted for once, to say OK obviously because I came to prison, I wasn't doing it right my way," Rovier said.

She was arrested for burglars and spent years in prison. She had the chance to go home after she finished her sentence. But instead, she chose to come here, knowing her chances of reoffending would be slimmer.

"I don't think anymore in sense of self or what I can get from the world, I think now of what I can give to my kids and to the world instead," she said.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation opened the all-female facility just a few months ago. Currently, 19 women live there. Some have children that visit on the weekends.

But homeowners like Matt Baker who live close to the facility say they aren't sold on the idea.

"These guys are just getting out of the pen and if they're going to relapse, I don't want it right across the street, with my kids, I've got two kids, too," he said.

Deborah Shoup, the program's parole agent, says she used to have that same not-in-my-backyard mentality. But she says these women could be back on the streets, and are instead trying to do what's right.

"Unfortunately addiction knows no bounds," she said. "It knows no race or class, or financial status or neighborhood, so the reality is they need to be in the community."

The facility is in need of donations including clothes, shoes and toys. Interested viewers can contact them at (916) 962-2800.