Prison Barber Program Preps Inmates for Real-World Jobs

OKLAHOMA CITY — Eric Cotter has finally found something that gives him hope that there’s a place for him outside prison when he’s released after serving his two-decade prison sentence.

Incarcerated at the Clara Waters Community Corrections Center in Oklahoma, Cotter is one of the inmates participating in R.I.S.E Program Inc., a pioneering cosmetology and barbering project. It aims to set prison inmates up for success once they’re released, and, by extension, reduce the state’s recidivism rate.

“Every day I come here, this program gives hope,” Cotter said. “It lets me know that I don’t have to come back to prison, and I can do something different and be a part of society.”

Supporters say this program is a bright spot in a state that releases nearly 217,000 people a year from its prison and jails, but sees over 1 in 5 prison inmates re-offend within a few years and get sent back.

Since launching in 2017, not a single one of the R.I.S.E program’s over 180 participants has returned to prison.

It’s that 0 percent recidivism rate that gives Cotter, who is serving prison time for kidnapping, an extra confidence boost that he’ll be set up for success when he’s released. Prison officials said that could happen in August 2026. He said the program has allowed him to dream of the day he’ll be trained as a color specialist and to develop a business plan to one day open his own salon.

“[R.I.S.E] gives you something that you can do outside,” he said. “There’s a lot of programs in DOC where they don’t get you to the point of being licensed, but here you get to walk away with a cosmetology or barber license, but for me, I am going all the way to master instructor. It’s going to open so many doors for me.”

The mission of the program is simple: teach incarcerated men and women serving time in two state prisons — McLoud’s Mabel Bassett Correctional Center and Oklahoma City’s Clara Waters — cosmetology and barbering skills that will allow them to re-enter society with a useful skill set and achieve financial independence.

The program has seen so much success that a third location is set to open at the Eddie Warrior Correctional Center in Taft, which is just west of Muskogee.

The faith-based program was founded by Christie Luther, who was also once incarcerated, and is funded by donations.

Luther selects the inmates that participate after requiring them to complete an application process.

Recently, there were seven men and 20 women participating, and inmates are able to apply at any time during their sentence, said Stephanie Adams, administrator of programs at the Department of Corrections.

The program originally only served women because Luther knew of their situations from firsthand experience. But Adams said she suddenly received a call from Luther who felt compelled to open the opportunity to men at the Clara Waters in Oklahoma City.

The second location opened a few months ago.
The Clara Waters facility houses inmates who are nearing release and is open to outside customers to get their hair or nails done. The Mabel Bassett location, which is located inside Oklahoma’s largest women’s prison, is only for staff, inmates, or volunteers who have signed up.

Adams said she believes the selective application process is one of the reasons the program’s recidivism rate is at zero along with the fact that inmates have a guaranteed career and housing upon release.

“One of the biggest successes that you can have is the ability to make a living for yourself and that really reduces recidivism rates,” Adams said.

She said participants can also earn “achievement credits,” which can knock time off their sentences. There is also mental health support within the program using faith and prayer, and participants are encouraged to treat each other like family. That can help improve the mental health of an incarcerated individual and get them the motivation they need, Adams said.

Participants provide services on Mondays through Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the weekends. The State Board of Cosmetology and Barbering requires at least 18 hours a week of practice.

Great Clips partners with the program and guarantees participants immediate job placement once they have graduated and obtained their license.

Adams said R.I.S.E is the only program that she knows of that has a partnership with a company that can give job opportunities.

AJ Watkins, the program’s educational coordinator and teacher at R.I.S.E, received her education in cosmetology through the program while incarcerated. She later pursued an instructor’s license so she could begin teaching others in prison.

Watkins said the program is free, and Luther provides any resources needed such as “industry tools, clothing, housing.”

She said programs like R.I.S.E should be available in every prison because it is important to educate and prepare inmates for the outside world.

“There’s just everything that you need to get off your feet when you come out and be able to be a stand alone, productive citizen,” Adams said.

This story first published in Oklahoma Voice. Read the original here.

Editor’s note: This story was produced through a reporting partnership between Oklahoma Voice and the University of Central Oklahoma’s journalism program.