SALT LAKE CITY — There’s consistency in prisons across the country, barbed wire, plain clothes, and walls. The Utah State Correctional Facility is no different.
For Joseph Gardener, an inmate at the prison, that description of incarceration can come with bad sentiments.
“Obviously having been here so long, people tend to think I am some kind of a monster,” said Gardner, who has been in and out of prison for 34 years.
But in one prison unit, inmates like Gardener can escape the negativity of being behind bars through the colors and patterns of crocheting.
“When I came into prison, I wanted a hat to stay warm, so my mother sent me a book on beginning crochet and a hook and some yarn and I started,” Gardner shared.
The program has been around since the facility’s completion in 2022 and has only elevated Gardner’s crochet skills.
“Crochet is something that men have been doing in lots of jails and prisons around the country,” said Sherri Einfeldt, a volunteer with church services at the prison. Einfeldt and other volunteers help teach classes at the prison as part of their mission calling for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The state prison has several units, and each offers its own programs. In the Bear Low Chapel, over 200 lower-level offenders can participate in a variety of artistic endeavors like music, genealogy work and crochet two days a week. Over a third of the inmates who come to the unit crochet.
“It's very therapeutic for the men, and it gives them a new skill to learn, which is valuable for them to have something to do,” Einfeldt said. “The reason it's important here is it gets the men out of their units and into the chapel where they can socialize with the volunteers and with other men that are incarcerated, and they get to create beautiful pieces that we then donate to the community.”
Devin Osborne, an inmate at the prison who has been with the program for a year, says crocheting has been an activity to look forward to.
“It keeps the stress away, keeps your mind focused on other things. And I know you can explore a little bit, you can try different things out, talk to people and have good conversations," he said.
According to Einfeldt, many inmates have learned to master the craft.
“It starts off stressful,” Osborne shared. “Then it gets much better than what you learn, different designs and different stitches, then you can create your own. That's what makes it much better."
The inmates make everything from hats to scarves to elaborate blankets. However, none of the finished products are theirs to keep.
Since all their supplies are donated, all the finished products also must be donated. Inmates can keep what they make if they buy the supplies themselves at the prison commissary, which Einfeldt says can be expensive.
“Things are donated to homeless shelters and women's domestic abuse shelters and some of it's donated to the boutique at the festival of trees, which is then sold and the proceeds go to the Primary Children's Medical Center,” Einfeldt explained.
But keeping the fruits of their labor isn’t much of a concern. For inmate Justin Johnson, who crochets stuffed animals, the program's many benefits have kept him coming back to create more.
“When I make [stuffed animals], I think about my daughter,” Johnson shared. “Her name's Avalynn. So every time I make a stuffed animal, I always think about her... I think about when a little one gets it. So if it goes to a little one, then at least I put a smile on their face, and brighten their day”
And their work hasn’t only traveled stateside but to other parts of the world.
“[The program volunteers] had a sign posted up on the bulletin board saying they wanted scarves to send to the children in Ukraine, so I did a bunch of scarves just for that.”
Einfeldt says the crochet program is a win for those who receive the materials but also for the hands that make them.
“We even have some that have kind of saved their life because they had really nothing else to look forward to daily,” Einfeldt said. “When they can come here, they have something that helps them be productive and feel good about themselves, and it really increases the way they feel connected to their community.”
This year, the inmates have crocheted more than 500 items for the benefit of others. For Gardner, it’s a way to fight that "monster" image and maybe spread some warmth as well.
“This helps me to show that I'm not, and it allows me to express that I care about others, and I care enough to give my time and my abilities for someone else," Gardner said. “I don't care if I know them or not, that's immaterial.”
